There we all are, waiting in the checkout line to buy dinner. (My version of the South Beach Diet™: a can of tuna and a 2.5 liter jug of Sauvignon Blanc.) We cannot escape. We must walk through the gauntlet of magazine racks, a highly compressed and unavoidable photo gallery, their faces and bodies dominating every publication. They demand to… return to article
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Reader Comments (7)Page 1 of 1 pagesFor many, it’s just so easy to escape what Tom Lehrer characterized as “their drab, wretched lives” by living vicariously. This is a piece that needed to be articulated. Thanks, job well done.
Posted by Danneau on Aug 1, 2006 at 7:48 AM Yes the point about feminism was particularly well articulated, I am tired of hearing about how Madonna is supposed to be some sort of modern day Sylvia Pankhurst. However, there is an obviously pragmatic societal function to celebrity culture. That is to dull the minds of the contemptible masses and ensure their isolation from matter which actually affect them and that they might have some idea about changing given sufficient opportunity. Unfortuinately given the overwhelming success of these things, such as the lauding how disgustingly wealthy these people are opportunities are few and far between
Tony, Ireland
Posted by TonyB on Aug 1, 2006 at 9:47 AM I agree wholeheartedly with your premise that this “celebrity culture” that we have in America is totally anti-feminist. However, I think it is worth noting that most males will suffer (are suffering) in a culture that supresses women’s true qualities and potential. What we must all realize is that by accepting this celebrity culture we are condemning ourselves to become mental and spiritual slaves. We must reject this celebrity culture, and teach our daughers and sons to reject it as well. Thank you for this article.
Posted by jayw on Aug 1, 2006 at 12:40 PM Celebrity culture is just one more part of a hollow model, a pseudo-culture where one is supposed to be “popular”, “politically correct” (according to who?), successful, have no wrinkles, read only self-helping books, take all kind of pills not to be depressed, or furious about world events, smile with artificially swollen lips, dress in expensive clothes of poor taste, drive a huge car, watch movies empty of contents and feel you are part of the only world worth living in.
This is good for sales and keep you so busy you have no energy left for deep thinking and least of all to feel any trace of empathy. Ah, I forgot you must be cell-phone dependent and be willing to resign any doubts about the system and its cruel methods imposed upon other cultures to keep you, the chosen ones, in the bubble.
Posted by Maria on Aug 1, 2006 at 4:01 PM Inthesetimes needs to “get with the times” and pay attention to the crisis in Lebanon. Hollywood occupies enough of our attention.
Posted by Epistrophy on Aug 5, 2006 at 8:27 AM Epistrophy, the war in Lebanon needs something more than a little attention. As usual we will never know which side of the border were the two Israeli kidnapped soldiers. As usual, again, USA stopped UN from calling a cease-fire to give their partner the chance of destroying Lebanon infraestructure and, incidentally murder a number of civilians, including children. Nobody is very much surprised at that. As with Afghanistan and Irak, wars in the Middle East are based upon lies.
The same thing happened with the Kyoto Protocol. USA enjoys playing Almighty God’s role but, in spite of the obvious manipulation of the media, the number of people around the world who can see through the distortion of the truth is growing by the minute and with it the loss of respect. So, perhaps we should go on with the show and talk about celebrities and their ugly faces.
Posted by Maria on Aug 5, 2006 at 5:16 PM We must realise that we pay attention to Holly wood as the lines have become, for me anyway, very much blurred between the news media and clebrity culture. If atrocities continue in Lebanon then it should be linked directly to celebrity culture. It is true a lot of attention is focussed on celebrities and we should consider large amounts of passivity and docile consumption as complicit in these atrocities. There is no line between watching the vacuous and trite matters forced upon by Hollywood and others, and the lies foisted upon us by FOX, Sky News, CBS, or whatever your respective mainstream media may be. Thankfully, among the few commentators on this article escaping this rigid dogmatic structure seems to have been possible. However for many it is not. Inform everyone you can, but remember; anger gets you nowhere. The more fanatical you appear about these things the more you will be ignored. Sure, inform people but leave the decision to them. If they can’t establish their continuing role in war crimes through their passivity and their refusal to hear a more open dialogue then we may consider our task done, and them to be a lost cause. Another major feature of the media, not just celebrity culture but all of the mainstream media is its ability to dehumanise us. Its ability to ensure that we feel no rapport with Lebanese or Iraqi or Palestinian people. We have evaded this structure we must spread the word. Show people what is happening. Force the human change with information. If anything we dont pay enough attention to Hollywood and its role in facilitating the Military Industrial Complex’s hoisting of such ridiculous falsities into our daily lives. One thing I have noticed about the current conflict is how the entire historical context has been lost, not that it was ever accurately reported in the first place. Spread the word brothers and sisters. That is the best focus of our energy, individual and collective.
Posted by TonyB on Aug 5, 2006 at 5:31 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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