Famous for what????

I get it. Socialites like Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton are famous for their names. They don't need to "sing" even though they do, much to our horror, nor do they have to have their own perfume to maintain their notoriety. But their widespread popularity has always had me thinking, WHY are we obsessed with talentless, braindead individuals who contribute to society by keeping designers in the spotlight.

Take the whole, recent Gosselins phenomenon. Granted, it's interesting to watch how a couple raises 8 children and fascinating to wonder how a woman can maintain a pregnancy that delivers six healthy babies. Beyond the show, though? The ONLY newsworthy tidbit of the whole he slept with/she slept with debacle is that it's newsworthy.

Why are we obsessed with other peoples' lives, strangers we don't know who don't provide us with anything substantial, aside from ridiculous entertainment? Most of these shows are scripted and edited to look more exciting and dramatic than they are. Additionally, most people come across as morons (Housewives of Orange County? Or how about that old NYC based ludicrousness called The Gastaneau Girls....plastic mother and daughter living their Upper East Side, shallow lives?)

On the flip side, there are shows with average Americans living in average towns, and perhaps that's where the popularity of reality tv sets in. It's alluring to watch other families and "normal" people get spotlight and fame. If it happens to them, surely, it can happen to me? Let's not forget the other voice going off in our heads. Just like a soap opera, their lives are worse than mine.

Kate Gosselin told People magazine, "I don't know that we're in the same place anymore, that we want the same thing." Now THAT is amazing!!!!! How could anyone feel that way about a marriage? How could anyone cheat and be confused about his or her spouse and raising eight kids? Truly groundbreaking interview, folks. I have no ill will toward her, don't get me wrong. I feel sad for her that her life has been thrown into the public eye in such a degrading, embarrassing way, not to mention that her husband is a total ass for thinking that his affair could be kept from the public or his kids. He's a selfish prick. I'm sure she's under a tremendous amount of stress anyway dealing with a large family, and now this. It must suck.

However, I do blame the media. People feels the need to publish this? This is the same level as the death of Natasha Richardson, a beloved stage and screen actress who did good work for society? I believe reality television cheapens people. Women look like bimbos (Housewives). Men look like schmucks (The Bachelor). HORRID singers and dancers get televised and applauded. Moreover, as a society we soak it up like pathetic amoebas.

I'm fully aware that it's entertainment, not to mention reality shows are cheaper to produce so their presence is conducive to a bad economy. But I, for one, learn nothing from them. I never gave two shits about Paris and Nicole's old feud, nor have I ever cared about them when their bizarre "show" was being aired. It's not very smart to parade them on magazines, either. They are hardly acceptable role models for young women, but then again, how many socialites are? The only one I can think of is Ivanka Trump, or whatever her name is. At least she is educated and works. Hopefully, she won't follow in dad's footsteps and start some insipid apprentice garbage. (Plus, her father's plastic surgery was always too distracting for me--I could never watch an hour of his immovable face. Let's get real.) Maybe she already has. I wouldn't know. I don't watch those types of shows.