Comments on: The endless cycle of a declining popular culture

By: Destructor

Destructor — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:33:33 +0000

While we can’t stop the madness, we can end our participation of it and eliminate if from our personal spheres. I never really bought celeb mags, but now I ask my girlfriend why she buys them, and ask if she would stop. If a news item comes up about a celeb, change channel. If i read a blog entry about celeb-obsession by my favourite trek reviewer, I write about how he should quit with that.

Some people will always be obsessed with celebs. But democratically, all we can do is ‘vote’ the obsession over- by not looking ourselves.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:53:45 +0000

I think potentially you missed the step where the celebrity themselves cultivated the media and the paparazzi for their own means. For me, it removes most of the pity I could ever feel for these people.

By: stallion

stallion — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:50:54 +0000

I really hate the paparazzi. They just make me sick. All this media attention isn’t really helping Britney Spears. Her new album was a flop and the only people who are benefitting from all of this are bloggers, entertainment shows, and whoever is taken these pictures. But at the end of the day Britney is rich. It doesn’t matter if her music is a success or not.

By: smeos

smeos — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:42:13 +0000

The simplest solution is for the celebs to stop doing stupid shit all the time. Too drunk to drive home from the club? Call a limo. Don’t like living in Beverly Hills? Move to Montana and hire private security. Got an obsessive parent shoving you into the spotlight? Tell them to piss off and have a normal life.

By: Chief Oddball

Chief Oddball — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:39:19 +0000

I think smeos has a point, in that there are a good number of actors and actresses who get comparatively little attention because they’re not very interesting to photograph. i.e., their house is consistently in some semblance of order. The consuming public gets bored with that; they want reports of juicy scandals, debauchery and destruction.

But at the same time, there’s a certain point of no return where it no longer matters how normal you are. When you rise to the level of stardom that Britney Spears [once] commanded, you could be a paragon or a loon — the paparazzi will hound you incessantly regardless.

By: David Payne

David Payne — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:53:33 +0000

Jammer, don’t forget what happened to Princess Diana just over 10 years ago. The paparazzi have always been scum!

By: Jamahl Epsicokhan

Jamahl Epsicokhan — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:37:36 +0000

^ I haven’t forgotten, and, yes, the paparazzi were scum there too. But that brings me to another question: Who the @#$% still cares about all the Princess Diana hoopla? More than ten years later, we still get hour-long special documentaries on TV about the “investigation” of the crash and “new evidence.” Enough already.

By: Max E.

Max E. — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:01:52 +0000

I find it deliciously ironic that in the current sidebar is a Google ad for Us magazine. I know Jammer has no control over those and they show up based on the keywords in the current page, but I found it amusing.

By: David Payne

David Payne — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:59:01 +0000

Totally agree with you there as well Jammer. And it also has the annoying side effect of giving the conspiracy theorists too much air time!

By: Menbailee

Menbailee — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:41:18 +0000

I’m dubious that the public consumer is as significant a step in keeping this downward spiral turning as the standard argument would have it. Yes, the media keep pushing it, and yes, people keep watching it, but does that mean that people wouldn’t watch something else if it were pushed instead? I actively avoid this stuff, and I have yet to know anyone who doesn’t complain about it. For that matter, did that old B.S. reality show even get worthwhile ratings? A large chunk of people just tend to watch whatever is on television. That could equally well be something immensely more edifying than what it is.

Yes, I am challenging the notion that pandering to the lowest common denominator actually pulls in the best crowds. To cite a show Jammer reviewed, note how Andromeda’s ratings sank when the show lowered its standards in association with assumptions about what American viewers wanted. Yes, networks still made money by putting it on the air, but less than they could have, and they persisted in putting forth brainrot due to lack of respect for their audience. With the b.s. about B.S., I believe it’s the same. I put responsibility for the disgusting pattern of paparazzi and their media in the hands of the paparazzi and their media. Distributing that responsibility and consigning ourselves to the inevitability of the cycle strikes me as the best possible defense of the behavior that this article begins by critiquing.

Good lord, I read and enjoy Jammer’s reviews for years, and my first response argues with him? Hi, Jammer. I’ve frequently found your thoughts insightful, and I look forward to commenting now that your reviews page enables it.

By: Dingdongalistic

Dingdongalistic — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:19:44 +0000

“But that brings me to another question: Who the @#$% still cares about all the Princess Diana hoopla? More than ten years later, we still get hour-long special documentaries on TV about the “investigation” of the crash and “new evidence.” Enough already.”

Here in Britain, the people still care enough for the Express to sell more newspapers by focusing on the story, despite what Private Eye and Have I Got News For You might say about it.

By: Dude

Dude — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:43:15 +0000

Did you not watch the last episode of Extras? The Christmas special? Enough said.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:38:09 +0000

“Here in Britain, the people still care enough for the Express to sell more newspapers by focusing on the story, despite what Private Eye and Have I Got News For You might say about it.”

If that was a scifi story it would be a predestination paradox though, I mean its the Express! If they haven’t filled their Diana or Madeline McCann quote for the week, what would their ‘we think we’re reading a classy newspaper when in fact its just another red top’ readership do?

By: Destructor

Destructor — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:36:09 +0000

The irony of the Diana crash is that all the people who wailed and blubbed over her grave were the exact same people who created the demand for photos, which led to the hounding of the paparazzi immediately preceeding her death. The people who mourned her were, in effect, her murderers. If that was not enough to wake people up and make them stop reading celebrity goss mags, well, nothing will.

By: Stef

Stef — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:11:26 +0000

To be fair with the Princess Diana debacle: Remember, it wasn’t just her that died. Dodi’s father has never been satisfied with the official reports of his son’s death, and who could blame him?

I too get sick of the Diana stuff on TV, and Britney, and the whole Anna Nicole Smith death stuff.

Like Eddie Izzard said about Princess Diana dying:

“My dad said to me that his mother died when he was 12, and no one gave a shit.”

Has Britney shaved her hair off again to pass another drugs test?