I Loathe Celebrity Gossip
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 11:41PM I really loathe the celebrity gossip culture. I read an article recently that suggested that celebrity obsession was a healthy outlet for most people. I can't find the link at the moment but no matter because I disagree with the article. Celebrity obsession is not good for most people. It distracts us from real issues. Al Gore said it best in his book The Assault On Reason:
"At first I thought the exhaustive, nonstop coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial was just an unfortunate excess—an unwelcome departure from the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. Now we know that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time: the Michael Jackson trial and the Robert Blake trial, the Laci Peterson tragedy and the Chandra Levy tragedy, Britney and KFed, Lindsay and Paris and Nicole.
While American television watchers were collectively devoting 100 million hours of their lives each week to these and other similar stories, our nation was in the process of more quietly making what future historians will certainly describe as a series of catastrophically mistaken decisions on issues of war and peace, the global climate and human survival, freedom and barbarity, justice and fairness. For example, hardly anyone now disagrees that the choice to invade Iraq was a grievous mistake. Yet, incredibly, all of the evidence and arguments necessary to have made the right decision were available at the time and in hindsight are glaringly obvious."
I hate to lose faith in our society just because we are searching for Britney Spears but it is hard not to. Thus the rant. I'm sorry to be negative. It is not my usual M.O. but sometimes belligerence is necessary.
Oh, and Happy Holidays!
Reader Comments (34)
Aww, don't lose faith in our society! Some of us are more updated in tech news than celebrity gossip!
I totally agree, part of my research is on social networking, search patterns, the web and mobile experiences.
Part of what I think is we are taken in by the noise and that's what causes us to search celebrity gossip.
Bah! We need to pay attention to the world around us not what some halfwit is doing with rodeo drive and the paparazzi.
I agree. I hate shows like Entertainment Tonight (and its clones) that both feed on, and create, the celebrity worship.
I blogged about this a while back when E.T. was using the tsunami disaster for its own benefit.
http://blogs.sun.com/kevin/entry/et_the_worst_tv_show
I am totally with you on this one...yes it is that sad. maybe we should just all move to iceland or something.
I loved the rant on Loaded today, and I wholeheartly agree with you.
Maybe if the celebrities blogged and twittered as much as you do, there wouldn't be a need for the gossip columnists in the first place. I know, wishful thinking...
By the way, don't stop the editorializing on Loaded! It makes the show unique in that it shows that you are not just another talking head spewing headlines from Engadget or Gizmodo. And don't sweat it if not everybody agrees with your stance on things... as long as your opinions are from an informed standpoint, most reasoned individuals will understand your perspective.
I can agree on this. I don't understand the appeal of celebrity gossip and I don't see what it adds to anyone's life. Although, you lost me completely in the second paragraph of the Al Gore quote. I found myself agreeing with him in the first paragraph (except for the "normal good sense and judgment" part), which is a very rare occurrence for me. The second paragraph is just pompous politicking on his part.
Take heart. I remember reading about Nero entertaining in the coliseum while he brought Rome to it's knees with his rule. History is littered with those who obsessed themselves with entertainment while the most important aspects of their lives passed them by. I think we will be different.
It is a shame you were not on Buzz out Loud today to listen to the talk about these search ranks. Yahoo is not the major player in this field and Google does not mirror yahoo in their results. I would trust Google ranks as a greater bell weather of where many are focusing. I am not even sure I trust yahoo as the voice of the youth with their market share.
I remember during my masters when I watched only the simpsons on TV for a mental break from the work. If they took my viewing habbits and looked at them during that time things would look equally bleak. As a first grade teacher with kids who came in cheering the day after the election and who even knew the electoral college numbers ( I was shocked!) trust me, American kids are not only interested in Spears.
"the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media"!!!???
Uh, what planet does Al Gore live on?
Yes, the fascination with the minutiae of the lives of celebrities is an interesting and somewhat bizarre phenomenon. I must admit that I am guilty of it myself. If there is a particular celebrity that I empathize with or admire I will follow news about them. In some way it seems that I care about them and what happens to them. In some cases I am really rooting for them to do well - to make good decisions and be happy because I enjoy who they are. I care. In other cases, it's like I take some twisted satisfaction in seeing them running headlong into their karma.
It's a very vicarious type of existence this celebrity fascination. Perhaps there are so many of us who are not really living our own lives to their full potential, that we must seek some satiation of our emotional hunger in the trials of people we have never met.
It is as if we consider these celebrities to be some sort of tribal leader. We look to them for guidance in how to act, dress, feel, talk - live our lives. In other times, this role would be filled by our chief or wise person or even a character in myths and legends - someone who would be either worthy of our respect or teach us a lesson of what not to do.
I think in a way, celebrity fascination is a natural outgrowth of our desire to expand the reach of our consciousness and connect with others on a larger scale. Unfortunately this relationship often shares the same codependent dysfunctional patterns that our direct relationships do. We are always wanting to get something out of it. We crave celebrity gossip in the same way that we crave drugs or sex or a new car or a jesus phone. We crave because we perceive that we are incomplete - that we need something from outside of ourselves in order to be content. It's just not true.
Britney is our princess and she is also our daughter, our sister, our temptress and our own living myth. She's a story of hope and despair playing out in realtime right before our eyes. It's fascinating.
I think what we are watching for is a glimpse of realness, of truth, of grace. We sure as hell aren't getting much of this from political leaders. We want a connection - an exchange of energy - a mutual admiration even if it only takes place through a video screen.
Why aren't we searching Yahoo for "Darfur" or "bailout"?
A) We feel powerless to do anything about it.
B) These are complex issues and difficult to understand even without the lies of politicians and inept and inaccurate reporting of those who are supposed to be finding out the truth on our behalf.
C) Those things are depressing and it seems that if we just bury our heads in the sand deep enough it will all go away.
Natali, don't be too discouraged. I think there is cause to have faith. We just haven't collectively grown up yet as a species. It has been said that the influence of someone who is living a good life and giving of their essence freely to the world, outweighs the influence of a hundred who aren't. I actually think that we are not that far away from a tipping point, a critical mass where the world is going to drastically change for the better. We may have a bit more of a rough time first but there will be a silver lining.
Cheers!
I'm so with you on this one, even though I'm guilty of subscribing to the RSS feeds of a couple of celebrity gossip sites. I use them as meaningless filler during the day when the brain is a little overstimulated. Yeah, that's why I read them, yeah. :)
unfortunate yet so true. that's why we as americans knows nothing about the world outside; we're so busy being in our own bubble.
I completely agree! It's one of the greatest things I love about living abroad now, no entertainment gossip shows or tabloids everywhere in supermarkets. Sure they like a bit of it here but it's not some money making force and pseudo culture like it is in the states. There's nothing my wife can say to ever make me understand why she reads People magazine, I just don't get it at all. Fame as a goal has become to idolized and I think all those people who realize they can't be a superstar just give up on making an actual life for themselves. Fame is an anomaly, and a shallow one at that.
The sad thing for you is you now have some fans that are probably of the same caliber. They just see the face and you're on the screen and network TV now. The Youtube video you showed me is evidence of that I think. I'm just glad I knew you before you were famous. ;)
I'm also glad to have never once typed in the words "Britney Spears" in my Google search bar!
Happy Holidays to you as well!
I made note of that section of Loaded. Although I tend to agree that celeb gossip is pointless, I think the google numbers are a tad off. They show the raw numbers but not in true context.
People search for Britney Spears and other celebs because you have to actually type in their names to get any information on them. I think most people on the net have a set of sites they use most, and don't need to use search txt to get what they want. Most sites I visit are either bookmarked or are linked from aggregation sites like Digg.
I've actually noticed my own behavior on the web changing throughout the years. While the web was new and constricted to dial up speeds, you had to search on yahoo to get anywhere.
Now that we have highspeed connections, and an enormous selection of places to visit I've culled my experience down to the sites that give me what I want, when I want it. I know most of my friends have done this too. Banking, email, news, & shopping all bookmarked and ready go without the need to enter a search term.
While I join you in your distaste for celeb gossip, I'd bet the numbers don't carry as much weight as "the interwebs" would have us believe.
Happy Holidays. =)
Natali,
Just started watching Loaded a month ago. Awesome show!
Totally agree with you in this entry and on Loaded! Glad you brought attention to the subject of such superficial searches today. Hopefully, things will get better and it won't take such huge mistakes to get people thinking and aware of what's really important. Awesome quote there, by the way.
The situation reminds me of the movie Idiocracy. Have you seen it?
I really hope American society does not continue to slip down that slope of dumbing down so much.
On a more positive note, it's been cool hearing you on the 404 and BOL lately! Sorry to hear about Thanksgiving.
Happy Holidays!
Take it easy,
Miguel from Washington, D.C.
P.S. I just heard on the news today that the DC Council is trying to pass legislation to keep bars open in DC, until 5am, or even 24 hours, for a at least week, in the days leading to President-elect Obama's inauguration. Not sure what I think of that.
I dunno, Natalie... maybe there are some good reasons for this?
Gossiping seems to be a pretty fundamental behavior of many (most?) people. It's been going on forever. People appear to have a deep need to compare themselves to others; to see where they "fit in" to society. What's relatively new is the celebrity angle.
Fifty or a hundred years ago, people would gossip about their extended family, their neighbors, and others in their social groups. Today, though, for many people, such extended social groups don't really exist; so they can't easily compare themselves to others that they know. They still have that need though.
Enter celebrity culture; the TV tabloid talk shows that showcase the lowest of the low in society; and soap operas. I think all these are just replacement sources for the extended social circles in which people used to move; and these let people address their needs to figure out how they "fit in" to the world. People feel happy when they can say to themselves, and to their friends, "Well, my life is better than the losers on Jerry Springer; and even though she has all that money, Britney still isn't happy. But I really admire David and Victoria Beckham - I wish my life was like theirs" etc.
I'm not saying that it's all positive though. Far from it. Celebrity gossip culture, in particular, is used by powerful people to take attention away more important issues that they'd rather the general public ignored; and to manipulate public opinion. So when a newspaper breaks a really huge celebrity story, it's worth remembering they might have been sitting on it for months (or even years). So, it's worth asking the questions - "Why now? What *else* is going on in the world at the moment? Which stories have been shifted off the front page, to make room for the celebrity scandal? How are they trying to manipulate public opinion on which subject?" etc.
Just my two cents...
Some people enjoy the opera. Some people like to read about Britney Spears (or look at pictures of her in her underpants ;). Some people like both. I have extremely pretentious tastes myself but gave up on being judgmental of others' interests and preferences long ago. An individual being legitimately aware of Darfur is no better than an ill-informed, chronic internet gossip/picture-hound, and being worldly and being pervy are hardly mutually exclusive traits. To each their own. It is also worth noting that most people's lives involve more than the internet and their usage of it. Is it worse to have TMZ as your home page or to follow the twitter of and comment on the blog of a weblebrity? (Even one that is actually qualified, talented, and deserving of fame.)
And this certainly is not an indictment of your stance on the subject as I do not necessarily disagree with it, and your editorial comments are often my favorite part of your show. Happy Holidays to you!
im with u delconte
Hi Natalie!
I just found you also have a blog, I use'd to follow your loaded show, but with the new site style and my work restrictions I just simply don't work :(.
I have just become your blog fan ;)
Greetings from Mexico
Couldn't agree with you more Natali.
I agree that society pays too much attention to celebrities. Madonna and the Yankee, Alba and the Yankee, Kardashian and the Saint, Simpson and the Cowboy, Larry King's coverage of Pitt's mustache, Pitt's stance on gay marriage, Aniston-Pitt-Jolie, TomKat, Tom on Oprah's couch, Tom on Psychiatry, JLO Puffy, BenJen and BenJen2, and anyone who has been on Dancing with the Stars... and what designer are they all wearing to the awards show.
And that's just from watching the news. If you know that's bad, you can imagine how nauseating it is to consider the worthless content of shows devoted strictly to gossip.
Perhaps more alarming, watching political coverage take a turn down the road of gossip when the 24/7 news cycle runs out of actual news.
Who cut Bill's hair? Where did Sarah buy her glasses? Which reporter did Bush nickname Slickie? Which dance move did Obama bust out on Ellen? Who has more money, McCain, Kennedy, or Kerry? The answers to these questions probably won't improve the country, but, apparently they are easier for the media to cover.
Having star quality, charm, or charisma is a positive human trait... but, surely there are some other human traits we could celebrate, such as intelligence, kindness, courage, or generosity.
Hello Natali. I have to respectfully disagree with you. I feel that these distractions are a necessary part of today’s society. I wish our society focused more on real issues but I understand and feel that mind numbing obsessions (celebrity, sports, etc) are a healthy outlet for the masses. The majority of us (the masses) toil with the stresses, overwhelming challenges and harsh realities of our current everyday existence. These distractions, albeit not productive, provides a necessary escape that helps our society retain their sanity. Without such obsessions we all would need to be on Prozac to make it through everyday life. Looking back at history, the Romans used gladiators and brutal coliseum games as a political means to distract the masses from their harsh realities. At least celebrity obsessions are not quite as brutal.
nice job on the early show this morning.
Great post.
I think entertainment news is very shallow these days. They grab on to a celebrity and cover it to death. And as you can see with Yahoo!'s list.
It's all about the money. Talking about popular celebrities gets people to watch.
It's unfortunate...
great post. funny that I stopped by the site to check in on my favorite celebrity. I do think that there's some value to harmless esacapism, though. some people read books, some head to the gym, some think of old lovers with lust and regret.
some buy in to the Hollywood-industrial-complex. I don't blame them. there's a great deal to run from in the world, and not a whole lot to run toward. so I don't blame them. I just don't share their taste. I disdain most celebrities as vain and sheltered and vapid, so I can't understand peoples' fascination. But then, most "normal" people are vain and sheltered and vapid, too. What does an ideal look like?