I didn't care about Anna Nicole Smith
I just saw a newswire story stating that we "cared about Anna Nicole Smith" because she persevered in life.
Sorry, guys...we "cared" because scandal-hungry news outlets in this informationally gluttonous time told us we had to. She wasn't a survivor. She's dead. I'd like to see the media focus once on a while on a woman as a role model for young women who accomplished something in this life with something other than their breast implants or sleeping with someone.
I know people who are survivors, who persevered. People that I admire. Not a small town Texas girl who lucked into a fortune because she was the stripper in the off-shift when the enfeebled billionaire got taken to the club by associates trying to cheer him up.
I am sorry for her friends and her family, they mourn for real. But haven't we had enough of shows like "Entertainment Tonight" dictating what is entertaining, what is noteworthy? They have become so frightened of losing market share, of being behind (or over the head of) the public tastes that they manufacture our news, our icons, our heroes. I never laughed with Anna Nicole Smith, I don't know anyone who did. I know many who laughed at her, who considered her a slow-motion car wreck unfolding on 6 channels at 7:30 pm every evening.
And most of them, except for the media telling us we should, we must, we have to, do not care. The same day she died, how many US servicemen and servicewomen serving in Iraq died? How many children starved to death in Darfur? How many abused girlfriends and spouses and children succumb to their injuries?
And you want us to lionize Anna Nicole Smith? What is so perverse about American culture that we trivialize the real world to hide behind cartoonish buffoons and untalented photo-op hogs like her, Paris Hilton and the entire raft of "celebrities because they are celebrities".
By whose annointing?
As a Christian I love everyone, I want no one to suffer, even my enemies, but if you think I am going to disengage from my friends, family, career and faith to celebrate someone who did nothing to deserve my respect or honor, besides get someone to photograph her ass, I'm sorry.
Sell that down the block. We're not buying here. Move along. Move along.
1 comments:
I couldn't agree more with your post.
When I was younger I remember seeing the Guess Jeans ad's that she did, and actually thought she was kind of pretty. She almost looked wholesome then. I'd never heard about the stripper background. Later, when I heard about the man she married, I remembered being skeptical about her motives, but tried to keep an open mind.
I saw her show exactly twice-once by mistake when flipping through channels, and then I had to take a second look to make sure it wasn't some sort of parody.
It's vulgarity disgusted me. I couldn't figure out if someone could really be that pitiful, and have such low self-esteem. Seriously, one of the most depressing bits of "entertainment" I'd ever seen.
It seems the press is now trying to paint her as a tragic heroine beaten down by circumstances. She made her choices. It makes me a little nauseated.
You are right. People should make up their own minds about what is considered newsworthy. Atrocities the world over are overlooked by the American press, and people in our country suffer and die everyday. Why are so many Americans sitting in a vapid drug-like haze over insignificant and morally vacant entertainment stories?
Do a news story on real people, people that have overcome adversity or have given of themselves.
I'm tired of this ugly, base trend in "journalism." Haven't seen "Dirt" yet, but am thinking that program may bring some of this to light. I hope so.
Thanks for the honest post.
-Didn't mean to imply that Anna Nicole's life was unimportant, everyone's is, just that it wasn't any more worthy than my next door neighbor's or than the people sleeping on the street tonight.
I've taken up enough space here. This sort of thing gets me RILED.
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