(no subject)
I've thought about it before, but as of late the concept of "professional reality show celebrities" have been on my mind more. It is often my wish that these personalities self-destruct so that I don't have to see their faces anymore when I'm in the checkout lane. So I have felt gratified as of late over the crash-and-burn of J&K Gosselin, who are somewhat local. I know some people from their county. If reality show people had a life philosophy, I think it would be a weird spin on Descartes along the lines of "a camera follows me, therefore I am." I know the Gosselins are just the tabloid characters du jour, and InTouch will eventually replace them with whomever they stalk next, but something about them irritates me a little more than your standard Anna Nicole or Britney. Along with the obvious ill of exchanging your children's privacy for money, Kate reminds me of a cliche of yuppie motherhood--the severe look, the overbearing personality, the nouveau riche aspirations. So on more reflection, I think what really bothers me is that she could be substituted by the most obnoxious mom in any random PTA (and every PTA has one) in any town. Everyone has someone like that in their community, so imagine if that person got their own reality show and made an art out of using that newfound attention to get everything they ever dreamed of. And thought the attention was a reflection of how fascinating they and their everyday dramas are. That is what this is like.
Itronically, I just started a book about people who are actually the total reverse of the famewhore persona. I wasn't aware until recently that Japan has a growing trend of young men who retreat into lives of complete seclusion. As the author interviews them, it becomes clear that nothing is wrong with these men--if anything, they may be the sanest of all. When the author details the pressures, lack of options and bullying that led them to separate themselves from the system, my reaction was that what these men did was perfectly logical....it might actually be abnormal to participate in all of the things they left behind. One of my favorites was a recluse who went with a friend to India, and said he was struck by the shining eyes of Indian children who were living in poverty but were filled with expression and energy. He said it was a contrast from his own upbringing, where people lived in affluence but were corrupted by a culture of materialism and walked around with deadened eyes. I might write more about it later since I've only started it, but it's titled "Shutting Out The Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation."
I have to go because the baseball game is soon to start. I can't believe tomorrow is another new week already. I am thinking about taking a couple of days off sometime this week or next because it just doesn't feel like summer yet and something breezy and responsibility-free seems in order.
Itronically, I just started a book about people who are actually the total reverse of the famewhore persona. I wasn't aware until recently that Japan has a growing trend of young men who retreat into lives of complete seclusion. As the author interviews them, it becomes clear that nothing is wrong with these men--if anything, they may be the sanest of all. When the author details the pressures, lack of options and bullying that led them to separate themselves from the system, my reaction was that what these men did was perfectly logical....it might actually be abnormal to participate in all of the things they left behind. One of my favorites was a recluse who went with a friend to India, and said he was struck by the shining eyes of Indian children who were living in poverty but were filled with expression and energy. He said it was a contrast from his own upbringing, where people lived in affluence but were corrupted by a culture of materialism and walked around with deadened eyes. I might write more about it later since I've only started it, but it's titled "Shutting Out The Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation."
I have to go because the baseball game is soon to start. I can't believe tomorrow is another new week already. I am thinking about taking a couple of days off sometime this week or next because it just doesn't feel like summer yet and something breezy and responsibility-free seems in order.