With Snooki getting pregnant, there’s been a backlash of people questioning why we allow celebrities like her to become as famous as she is.
Why, in a society filled with firefighters and good Samaritans, do we celebrate a woman who thinks peeing in a bush is an acceptable act? The answer is actually pretty simple, it’s just one that we all don’t want to face.
She’s famous because we pay attention to her.
Snooki’s not some natural disaster that’s popped out of nowhere, forcing us to deal with her. She’s famous because a huge amount of people gave her attention by watching her show.
And in a world where attention means money, our need to laugh at Snooki fall all over herself is netting her about $100,000 an episode. The only reason a TV studio would pay someone that much is because they know they can make a lot more off them. And more views mean more paychecks.
But why should we stop all this, you might ask? What’s the harm in making Snooki rich and famous? It’s harmless fun.
And to a point, this argument has some validity. But let me try to direct your attention to a little show called “Toddlers & Tiaras,” a show that garners more than a million views per episode.
For those who haven’t seen it, “Toddlers & Tiaras” is about beauty pageants for children. And if you think that sounds bad, you might not want to hear about the swimsuit portions of the show.
Seriously. More than a million people tune in to watch 5-year-olds strut around on stage in revealing bikinis and short shorts that probably wouldn’t be allowed in most high schools. I have absolutely no way of explaining this without feeling dirty.
I watched all of five minutes on YouTube to gather material for this article, and never in my life have I felt like a scummier person.
And you can’t blame these numbers on fans of child pageants. There is no way there are that many people watching the show purely because they enjoy children’s beauty pageants. And if there are, I think I’d like to officially wash my hands of this country and move to Iceland.
Shows like these exist because we like to be reminded that we aren’t the worst people on the planet. I mean, we’ve all done some pretty horrible stuff, but at least we’re better than those pageant moms, right?
Yet, we are paying for something that isn’t a far cry from child porn, and it needs to stop. We need to stop being so fascinated by things that disgust us and move on to healthier forms of entertainment.
So read a book or take up woodworking, or go figure out however the hell you
wplay “Frolf.”
If we starve them of their views, we can get be rid of these terrible people forever.
— kevsjack@indiana.edu
Why, in a society filled with firefighters and good Samaritans, do we celebrate a woman who thinks peeing in a bush is an acceptable act? The answer is actually pretty simple, it’s just one that we all don’t want to face.
She’s famous because we pay attention to her.
Snooki’s not some natural disaster that’s popped out of nowhere, forcing us to deal with her. She’s famous because a huge amount of people gave her attention by watching her show.
And in a world where attention means money, our need to laugh at Snooki fall all over herself is netting her about $100,000 an episode. The only reason a TV studio would pay someone that much is because they know they can make a lot more off them. And more views mean more paychecks.
But why should we stop all this, you might ask? What’s the harm in making Snooki rich and famous? It’s harmless fun.
And to a point, this argument has some validity. But let me try to direct your attention to a little show called “Toddlers & Tiaras,” a show that garners more than a million views per episode.
For those who haven’t seen it, “Toddlers & Tiaras” is about beauty pageants for children. And if you think that sounds bad, you might not want to hear about the swimsuit portions of the show.
Seriously. More than a million people tune in to watch 5-year-olds strut around on stage in revealing bikinis and short shorts that probably wouldn’t be allowed in most high schools. I have absolutely no way of explaining this without feeling dirty.
I watched all of five minutes on YouTube to gather material for this article, and never in my life have I felt like a scummier person.
And you can’t blame these numbers on fans of child pageants. There is no way there are that many people watching the show purely because they enjoy children’s beauty pageants. And if there are, I think I’d like to officially wash my hands of this country and move to Iceland.
Shows like these exist because we like to be reminded that we aren’t the worst people on the planet. I mean, we’ve all done some pretty horrible stuff, but at least we’re better than those pageant moms, right?
Yet, we are paying for something that isn’t a far cry from child porn, and it needs to stop. We need to stop being so fascinated by things that disgust us and move on to healthier forms of entertainment.
So read a book or take up woodworking, or go figure out however the hell you
wplay “Frolf.”
If we starve them of their views, we can get be rid of these terrible people forever.
— kevsjack@indiana.edu
