It concerns this:
It began rather innocently, as it often does. I'm eating my lunch with some friends, chatting about things of such paramount importance as what we're planning (or hoping) to have for dinner, with a pandora playlist humming over the speakers, when someone recognizes a favorite artist. I'm asked if I know said artist and it happens to be one of the many thousand I just can't keep up with. So then a race ensues to see who can be the first to pull up a picture of the strapping young man on their phone.
"Isn't he gorgeous?"
Uhh, well, maybe . . . I guess. I don't know. And frankly, I don't care.
This is followed by a breakdown of his life, or at least the parts of it that, thanks to the media coverage's so incredibly accurate portrayals, we are experts on.
It's obvious that every word of it is news to me and this seems to astound and rather interest them.
"Seriously, you don't know who this is?"
Uhh, I think we've been over this, but even after your perfect recounting of all his past crushes and breakups, no, I still don't know him.
By the time this is through another song has come on and I am asked once again if I can identify the singer. Once again, I don't have a clue. This spikes their interest and it becomes a sort of game. Name after name is rattled off. I catch one that I happen to know is an athlete and that's my only cue that we've stretched beyond the realm of musical idols.
"Johnny Dep?"
"Nope."
"Arnold Schwarzenegger?"
"Nope again."
"Lionel Messi?"
"Wait, who?"
"Selena Gomez?"
"Kierra Knightly?"
"Nope, nope, nope, nopity nope."
"Wait. How do you not know ANY of these?"
"Well, I don't watch TV, I don't listen to the news much, it's not a hot topic of conversation with my friends either because they don't care or they know I really don't care, and I don't read People Magazine."
So then came the question that struck gold.
"Why not?"
I had to think for a moment. I had lots of reasons for it, the trouble was boiling it down to one reason that could say it all. And so it came down to this, "If I were famous, I would hate having the paparazzi and the media stalk my life, blow it out of proportion, take creative liberty, and then advertise it to the world as though there were no better news to cover and as though everyone would be in absolute peril if these reported 'facts' ceased to stream through their digital devices or onto their coffee tables."
I know I wouldn't appreciate it. I've seen and known it to ruin good people and to drive them insane. It was something Kate struggled with and hated when she began dating Prince William. So why do we support it?
Could it honestly be because, with millions of libraries worth of knowledge at our fingertips, and the greatest streaming and spread of knowledge the world has known of yet, we have nothing better to read, listen to, and talk about? Is it because we feel the need to live vicariously, to create idols out of men, or to measure our comparative beauty and success against the top .0001% most successful, most beautiful, and most photo-shopped people in the world? We know that gossiping isn't good, but celebrities aren't people, so it doesn't count right?
I don't mean this to come across as an assault, nor to point fingers at anyone in particular, but I do hope that we can take stock on what we choose to listen to, read, and talk about and the effect it has on us and those we discuss. Though admittedly there are some good uplifting stories out there, overall there are few uplifting things about People Magazine. I don't mean to attack just any one magazine, but since it's the only one I can think of off the top of my head, it bears the brunt and serves as an icon to encompass all the rest. I'm not saying I think it's a bad thing to follow up on your favorite sports team or track the new releases of your favorite artist. I'm not saying we need to burn all the magazines and shut off the gossip-news either, but if you should feel so inclined, I wouldn't be one to stop you.
Food for thought.
Candidly,
Cookie
