That's an angry subject isn't it?
I must admit, before you get too far into reading this and feel bitterly let down, that I don't have some witty or anecdotal rendering of society and its inherently stupid people. I do have some random thoughts on how I love Sundance Film Festival though. Or how I think our society destroys people.
My brief thoughts on that are this: why is it we are so consumed with idolizing or obsessing over notable figures? Is it because they are notable? Is the celeb really America's royalty? And do we push a little too far to find the next thing that will capitalize upon the masses and roll another dollar into some suited-fuck's wallet? I don't really know the answer to these questions; or maybe I do.
Why do we grab at celebrity news like it is... well, news? I look at things like Britney Spears, for example. Everyone loves to discuss Britney - good or bad, defensively or derivatively. But honestly, how can you look at a mess like Britney and not wonder how she arrived there?
"She couldn't take the fame." Or perhaps the fame takes no prisoners. I suspect that we overlook the underlying issue here, as we from our comfortable anonymous beds pass judgement on individuals because they make far more money than we ever will. Now I don't pretend to know Britney's motives for her actions or career path. But I do believe that the media, and the american public - all of us - destroy things put before us. Guilty too are the parents and moguls who pushed and shaped people into these marketable little icons of popular culture.
Part of this idea emerged in my head after watching "Gonzo," a documentary at Sundance about Hunter S. Thompson. Say what you will about his sanity; his journalistic and literary work was tremendously revered. In the end though, his success and fame made it impossible for him to create anything of value anymore and eventually he shot himself.
It makes you wonder if anyone is really built to deal with our invasive desperation.
Maybe it makes us feel better about our own sad, pathetic, lives. After all, celebrities have sad and pathetic lives, often though they also have any material possession within their reach as well.
I suppose in the end, the buck is really pushing everything. We live a limited viewpoint in the United States thanks to capitalism. Sure, it creates free markets and free trade that ultimate benefits the consumer. It also has allowed us to put a price on everything , even our own humanity.
We've lost scope of those things that are beneficial to expanding our minds to those that will makes us richer. Art, business, relationships, politics, and entertainment have been casualties to this cultural mindset.
Money may not be everything, but it certainly has it's fingers in every aspect of our puppet lives.
P.S. I'm starting to consider a move to an actual blogging site and a dismantling of my myspace (seeing after all how myspace is fairly retarded). More information to come.
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