Any Kool-Aid for the Cult of Celebrity?
The country is reeling in the aftermath of the Rosie/Elisabeth shouting match on the May 23 airing of the morning gabfest The View. If you missed it, Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, in an unscripted exchange, systematically dissected the issue of the Iraq war, the dynamics of friendship, and the importance of behaving courteously and in a dignified manner.
When two of our most learned pundits debate the issues with such vehemence, it can be difficult to return to whatever semblance of normalcy we were able to construct for our lives prior to the unleashing of such biting wit and vitriol, and often we think that perhaps there is just no reason to go on.
I think back to other important confrontations among members of the show-biz literati, other face-offs between heavy-hitter of the celebrity intelligentsia, like the post-Katrina rant by Kanye West with a deer-in-the-headlights Mike Myers looking on, like Sean Penn's Jefferson-like open letter to the president and half of his staff, and Rosie's Platonian battle with Donald Trump over . . . umm . . . over . . . uhh, morals. In my recollection of these events, I recall the seemingly Sisyphean task of making my way back to a world that made sense to me. I remember how hard it was to find innocence again.
Of course I eventually made it back, but I can't help but feel for the folks going through this for the first time; this shattering of Utopian existence. I'm speaking of course of the young people.
My god, poor little Lindsay Lohan went off on a booze and blow bender over the weekend, because she was simply unable to come to terms with the fact that our brightest and most respected luminaries can behave in such a manner. O'Donnell herself was unable to cope with the raw truths that she and Hasselbeck brought to light in their impromptu debate, and she had to resign her position on The View's esteemed panel weeks before she was officially scheduled to do so.
Miss USA Rachel Smith, bless her, was so upset by the trimmers reverberating through the world of the beautiful and famous that she could not even walk across the stage at the Miss Universe pageant. What does it say to the rest of the universe when our political and philosophical giants arguing on a morning show have such an impact that our Earth representatives cannot even sachet across a stage looking beautiful without falling on their keisters?
An onion has many layers, but sometimes when we peel back too many, we cannot bear the pungent strength of what we've exposed. We are ill-equipped to behold the man behind the curtain. The venerable Charles Nelson Reilly died for chrissake.
I'm frightened, because I don't know if our country can survive many more of these celebrity clashes. I truly don't.
But folks, this is just way too important for us to ignore . . . umm . . . isn't it?
When two of our most learned pundits debate the issues with such vehemence, it can be difficult to return to whatever semblance of normalcy we were able to construct for our lives prior to the unleashing of such biting wit and vitriol, and often we think that perhaps there is just no reason to go on.
I think back to other important confrontations among members of the show-biz literati, other face-offs between heavy-hitter of the celebrity intelligentsia, like the post-Katrina rant by Kanye West with a deer-in-the-headlights Mike Myers looking on, like Sean Penn's Jefferson-like open letter to the president and half of his staff, and Rosie's Platonian battle with Donald Trump over . . . umm . . . over . . . uhh, morals. In my recollection of these events, I recall the seemingly Sisyphean task of making my way back to a world that made sense to me. I remember how hard it was to find innocence again.
Of course I eventually made it back, but I can't help but feel for the folks going through this for the first time; this shattering of Utopian existence. I'm speaking of course of the young people.
My god, poor little Lindsay Lohan went off on a booze and blow bender over the weekend, because she was simply unable to come to terms with the fact that our brightest and most respected luminaries can behave in such a manner. O'Donnell herself was unable to cope with the raw truths that she and Hasselbeck brought to light in their impromptu debate, and she had to resign her position on The View's esteemed panel weeks before she was officially scheduled to do so.
Miss USA Rachel Smith, bless her, was so upset by the trimmers reverberating through the world of the beautiful and famous that she could not even walk across the stage at the Miss Universe pageant. What does it say to the rest of the universe when our political and philosophical giants arguing on a morning show have such an impact that our Earth representatives cannot even sachet across a stage looking beautiful without falling on their keisters?
An onion has many layers, but sometimes when we peel back too many, we cannot bear the pungent strength of what we've exposed. We are ill-equipped to behold the man behind the curtain. The venerable Charles Nelson Reilly died for chrissake.
I'm frightened, because I don't know if our country can survive many more of these celebrity clashes. I truly don't.
But folks, this is just way too important for us to ignore . . . umm . . . isn't it?
posted by Sam Ogden at
12:56 PM
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