America used to be a society of admirers. We used to look up to athletes, actors, politicians, writers and artists. They used to be given great respect. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. We have fallen into a vicious — I think detrimental — cycle wherein we systemically destroy famous people to make ourselves feel better. It is a sad side effect of our culture today that this is scarcely mentioned by those who suffer from it, because of how well off they really are. So let me, a college student with thousands of dollars of debt, say it for them.
Our society has become mean, spiteful and even in some ways, disgraceful. There are many facets of this but I want to focus on the two main ones, the way we treat celebrities and reality shows. First, celebrities used to be treated as gods, and while that wasn’t exactly a good thing, look at what we do to them now. Magazine upon magazine, blog upon blog, snoops on and stalks these people so that they can’t go anywhere without being photographed and/or harassed. This phenomenon is becoming deeply embedded and accepted in our media culture. There is now even a daily syndicated show on FOX created by the popular paparazzi Web site TMZ.
What’s worse is this process often follows an ugly cycle of putting people on a podium and knocking them off. I call it the “Britney Spears Cycle.” First, you build the person up into a superstar. Then, you tear them down. You push and push and push them, until they make fools out of themselves. And finally, just before their career, and perhaps their life, is about to bottom-out, you love them again, so you won’t have any guilt over the torture you just put them through. What a cruel way to treat people; imagine what it must be like for other countries to witness this American phenomenon.
This isn’t limited to celebrities, either. This foundation of hate has been used to build the gigantic reality show monopoly that has taken over TV. All reality show producers look for as many contestants who are clearly mentally unstable as they can, and then let them loose and push them to their breaking point. Entertainment has become watching an emotional meltdown, a bitter fight, a screaming match. And it’s not like scripted television or film — there’s no real point or lesson or food for thought contained in reality shows. You’re only meant to hate who they want you to hate, laugh at who they want you to laugh at, and put-down who they want you to put-down.
My question then is: Why do we always have to tear people down? Why do people buy tabloid magazines that harass famous people? Is it so we can feel better about ourselves? And if it is, is this any way to live? Why not, instead of tearing others down, we build ourselves up. I know it’s not easy out there — our economy’s a mess, unemployment is at a high, and real progress has faced an uphill battle all year long. I’m also not saying satire and humor are bad things; I love them. But this hate, this viciousness, which is at the base of this behavior, is not good for us as a society. So I propose this: that we collectively stop buying these magazines, stop reading these Web sites, stop watching these TV shows and put that time, money and effort towards something productive. Or we can all buy Snuggies, whatever works.
Nick Field is a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and a liberal columnist for The Eagle. You can reach him at edpage@theeagleonline.com.