The comparison is appropriate. Whitney was an extremely wealthy celebrity who squandered her money away on drugs, wasting both her talent and life, which led to her unexpected death. The other people pictured, like the starving children in Africa or people like Lt Michael Murphy, would give anything to keep on living.
On the homepage of CNN as I am writing this blog, an article about Whitney is featured, titled: "Celebrating Whitney Houston". Just below it, in much smaller font, is the heading "Slaughter in Syria". In terms of which issue is more pressing to world issues, I would think that the Syria story should be more featured. But, the thing is, people don't like to be bombarded with the serious issues.
In 2010, CNN published an article in response to one of Paris Hilton's drug arrests, wondering why, in light of current issues like climate change and war, people were so eager to focus on the most recent celebrity mishap.Among other things the article discusses, they interview Danny Bonaduce, a former child star, who comments on our appetite for celebrity news: "It's just way more fun than facing what is actually happening out there...The news is bad. Who wants to know that when we can watch Lindsay Lohan drown in a sea of Vicodin?"
How can we expect to combat the problems of today if so many of us are collectively caught up in the trivial and shallow issues of our celebrity culture?
I'd have to agree with you Kathleen. Although I was a Whitney Houston fan myself, the amount of attention she received was absurd. She was a cocaine addict that had a great voice. She may have inspired people with her voice, but all of her flaws don't disappear once she dies! Many people were also outraged at the fact that the state of New Jersey, Houston's home state, lowered their flag half staff in honor of her death. Many felt that that honor is meant for true heroes like members of the armed forces- not a famous druggie with a great voice. Even though Houston had a great voice, I don't think she deserved to be remembered for only her positive qualities as an artist.
ReplyDelete(NJ flag article: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501368_162-57377837/nj-flags-to-fly-at-half-staff-for-whitney-houston/)
This is a very interesting question. I think that it's definitely hard to find ways to fight against things like genocide and other worldwide problems when people are so caught up in celebrity drama. But I think the reason why people are caught up in it so much is because it's publicized so much. Also people love gossip, so when it's there, they gobble it up. If celebrity drama was downplayed in the media and the deeper more meaningful problems were brought to light, it would be much easier to fight these problems. To put it simply, the solution lies in the media.
ReplyDeleteBut isn't it all about our own individualism? We are a culture that is predicated on that notion and there fore we relate and celebrate the individual more than the collective...
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