A vast majority of these skin specimens have done little more to gain their status than traded their pride for profit via this 'reality tv' garbage, loosely presented as entertainment . Its hard to believe there may already be a generation of people who dont have a rootin' tootin' clue that Kerry Katona was once a 'real' person as part of Atomic Kitten (and to be fair why should they give a shit?).
A cross examination on the ineptitude of what 'celebrity' is would certainly not be done much justice by myself, nor is it an original observation that Charlie Brooker or the likes could do with more fury and eloquence than I can in my painkiller-fuelled (long story) rants.
I think the point I am slowly yet hopefully limping towards here is that the popular media have more influence than they should. This is our fault. Yours, mine, and all thats in between.
Why, you ask? I'l tell you why.
Because our own single-minded lives arent enough to keep us interested, and as is human nature, we care far too much for someone else's problems/achievements/issues than our own. So we buy the magazines, the DVDs, the celebrity 'pap-apps'. We create the monster, clothe it, feed it, fill its head with horseshit, make it seem more important than it is, and then freak out when it breaks outta the lab and goes global.
And yet, we expect to be told the truth, to be shown whats wrong, and whats right, by the media. What we should care about, how we should judge. Love Thy Neighbour, Hate Thyself. Nuclear good, but only if we own it. What not to wear, what not to eat. Too fat, too thin... End Scene.
So I'm reading the Daily Mail online.. (Im a cheap bastard, and the computer was already turned on, so add lazy to that). Admittedly, Im drawn to an item on Amy Whinehouse, and how she now has a muffin-top and apparently looks just plain obese.
I know what youre thinking. I'll even do an impression of how your thought process is playing out: adopts whiny high-pitched voice, consumed with self-righteousness- 'Adam, what a hypocrite you are, young man. Youve just ripped celebrity culture, only to then admit you DO give a shit. But my.. you ARE handsome with it.'
Yeah, well... bite me. I was drawn to this story, because its typical of the hypocrisy we now come to not only accept, but in some quarters, except from the media. The same media that informs us of what our oh-so trusted government are up to, or what we should be putting into our mouths (in hindsight the former and the latter arent always mutually exclusive).
My secondary reason is on a completely personal level. I was chastised for much of my childhood, and a small portion of my adulthood about my weight, and for a while it ruled my life.
And the media are bucking this trend by making the rules on whats acceptable and what isnt in the same breath.
Oh, and according to http://www.disordered-eating.co.uk/eating-disorders-statistics/anorexia-nervosa-statistics-uk.html, in the UK 1 in 100 women between 15 years old and 30 years old currently suffer from anorexia.
Go figure. Again, I know Im not the first to point this out. But enough is enough.
Im not particularly singling Miss Whinehouse out for any other reason. Yeah, from time to time I enjoy her music, but I dont care who she's dating, what shes smoking, or what craaazy tattoo she may get yet. She is a genuinely talented woman, who has unfortunately had some problems along the way, but just cant seem to win in the eyes of good friend Media.
Check out this story from 2008 about Miss Whinehouse.
And... its the Daily Mail again. Lets not beat around the bush. This is pretty fucked up. And there is NO excuse for violence (unless someone really annoys you in ways such as stealing your tupperware, or getting your dog pregnant).
And clearly the Daily Mail agrees with these. Summit climbed, moral highground maintained, and we can all hear them down here from up on there high horse. Well done. Top Gun journalism.
But Amy sure as hell isnt beating the crap out of anyone, chasing the dragon, scuffling with fans, or cutting herself in 2011. No, the worst thing she has done is to look a bit healthy and grow a belly. The opposite to her previous condemnations.
What sort of a message are the Daily Mail sending out?
A) the fact shes filled out a bit isnt news worthy and anyone who has an iota of whats relevant on the general scheme of things wont give a shit anyway. Japan, Gadaffi, Iraq... hell, I'll even throw the current state of OUR nation in to that.
In fact, it pains me to think that an actual real life person I work with termed Robert Mugabe as a 'man who did some naughty things', without a trace of irony.
B)Articles like this are also having too much of an effect on an already frail generation who are possibly already struggling to see any hope in our fast crumbling infrastructure. Are there jobs to work towards? Is the personal debt of university worth it? Am I worth a damn in this cold and imagine obsessed land we have forged for future generations? It all sounds a bit dramatic, sure, but these reasonings Im presenting here hold more than a few grains of truth.
C) Of course, theres also the fact (I can prove it) that for every piece of ass-crack article like this one, there may be one, ten, maybe a hundred young people who are now almost so groomed to care about putting on weight and whatnot, that pretty soon its going to be innate from womb-exit. And those statistics are gonna just climb and climb.
So join me on this.
Im not going to pay out for my TV license anymore. Its trash. Unfulfilling, self-governing trash. Whether its the news, reality tv, political broadcasts, celebrity specials.... its bullshit.
Instead, Im going to do some good with that money, most likely I will donate it to an eating disorder charity.
Maybe you can do that too. Or even if its just that 70p or whatever on Heat, Closer, Celebrity Train Wrecks, or whatever the hell it is.
Thanks for your time. And join me again when I will be asking ' Should Lollipop Ladies Be Armed?'
No comments:
Post a Comment