“Television is the first truly democratic culture - the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want.” ~ Clive Barnes.
What has become of our society? Our lives have been completely submerged in the fatuous waters of which I like to call: the media. Pop culture has defined us. As Americans, we crave the latest scoop on whichever celebrity is challenging the constraints of normal rational reasoning or whichever tween idol has the best haircut of the season. We have become a race engrossly obsessed over human idols, gossip, and impractical reality.
For instance, take pop artists. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we promote them. I bet some of you probably grimace at the recollection of some of today’s most popular (or most criticized) songs. For example, take the music video about America
The same is with certain Canadian teenagers with good hair or “musically-gifted” Disney Channel stars. However, in this case, the fetish over these figures amongst adolescents has come to be mainly image driven. Let us face it, T.V. stars look good. Many of us like to deny it or pretend that we do not care, but in reality, most of them are fairly attractive. And because of this, it is nearly impossible to walk into a department store, like Walmart, and not see someone’s obnoxiously well known face plastered on t-shirts, magazines, lunchboxes, books, calendars, etc. Unnaturally, the media has provided our society with many opportunities to form unhealthy fascinations. We are constantly concerned with the lives, actions, and appearances of individuals of which we do not even have any direct correlations to. So why is it that we care so much?
Similarly, we cannot help but prey upon the latest captivating gossip. An incessant buzz of “those two are dating” — “she just had a baby” — “he’s in rehab” —or, “that guy thinks he is always winning![4]” constantly circulates around the proximity of our beings. The media delves into the lives of those subject to such discussion and publicizes them explicitly. What is it, or rather, why is it we want to know? Perhaps it is for our own entertainment, or maybe it is for the fulfillment of our subconscious desire to compare ourselves with those who publicly receive more attention. Either way, we all have browsed the periodicals in line for the check-out at the grocery store or tuned in once and while to see what the evening talk show hosts have to say about the latest public scandal. Our need for celebrity news encompasses every aspect of our lives, and, in doing so, creates a country fueled by the press and their views.
All in all, our opinions are being fed by what the media perceives the world to be. Our minds have become addicted and influenced by the drama of the rich, famous, and attractive. Pop culture and the media have defined us. We obsess over lives other than our own and make them major parts of who we are as a society. It is the source from which we, as Americans, thrive. And so, I ask one last time, why?
[1] “Friday” – Single by Rebecca Black (See Works Cited for full citation)
[2] Youtube.com. 17 April 2011.
[3] Based on the “like/dislike” rating system available on YouTube for feedback for posted videos, “Friday” has only a received 13% like rate based on a ratio of 286,093 likes: 2,153,262 dislikes, as of 17 April 2011.
[4] “That guy thinks he is always winning.”: in reference to Charlie Sheen and an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” Citation listed in Works Cited.
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