the Hype

When I named this blog 'Hype' it was because it seemed to describe what I saw in popular culture. More and more pop culture, seems to be about fame itself and not about any kind of talent. More about self-promotion and marketing than about being good at anything. I cannot, try though I might, figure out the culture of celebrity. The only thing I can assume is that it is some kind of replacement for religion. I don't know why some people who are famous, are famous. For example, I have yet to see a shred of talent from Lindey Lohan, Katie Holmes or Nicole Richey, I know that Paris Hilton is famous for being very rich and that's about it. Tom Cruise has been in a great many movies, but has anyone else noticed that he only seems to be a 'good actor' when he's playing conceited, self absorbed assholes? What makes anyone think that's acting?

Beyond that, even if someone does have talent - I don't care where they eat dinner, who they sleep with or marry, if they have a drinking problem and go into rehab, good for them but it's really none of my business. I care about the work they do and whether or not it's good and that's about all. If they lead a particularly interesting life then maybe, just maybe, I'll read their biography someday.

It also seems absurd to me that all these Americans who are famous for being famous get so much media attention in Canada. Canada has produced many excellent bands in recent years, at least three of them: Broken Social Scene (Toronto), Arcade Fire (Montreal) and the New Pornographers (Vancouver) are recognized internationally as being among the acts that will define this decade. But, If you put all of the Canadian press that all three of them have generated in a pile I'm sure it would be dwarfed by the Canadian press received by Brittany Spears (who is neither Talented, nor Canadian.)

Now I'm sure that media people in the country will tell you that that's what people want to see. I hope they're wrong, but in any case - it's why sites like this one, and all of the blogs and podcasts and indie media around Canada need to exist. Whether Spears gets attention because it's what people want, because it's simply easier to produce or whatever else the reason may be there have to be alternatives to the trivial, mind numbing, IQ dropping, hyper commercialized, cult of the talentless celebrity that seems to be absorbing the airwaves.

The only theory, by the way, that I have come up with to explain people's facination with the intimate personal details of the lives of celebrities that they don't know and will never meet is that it is some kind of substitute for religion. If that theory turns out to be correct then please people, pick better gods.