In “What Happens When People Stop Being Polite,” an excerpt from Chuck Klosterman’s infamous Sex, Drugs And Coco Puffs, Klosterman takes an insightful look at the tragic irony in the name The Real World, possibly one of the most unrealistic shows to ever hit television. Klosterman makes a lot of good observations on the inner workings of how a show about absolutely nothing is chopped and edited to make the final product seem interesting, but the quote that sticks out and resonates most in my mind is when he writes, “being interesting has been replaced by being identifiable” (40). I cannot help in mine own observations of popular culture but to whole-heartedly agree. Now I want to start by saying that my opinion, as always, should be taken with a grain of salt because I always try to put myself on both sides of an argument and sometimes end up switching sides when trying to formulate my argument. I thought about saying something along the lines of “Yeah! I agree! Look at Paris Hilton, she does nothing and everyone knows who she is!” But then I started thinking and though back to my entry on uncelebrity and decided: what makes someone “interesting” is completely subjective. Someone identifiable may not seem interesting to you, but someone may be really interested in how Paris hilton has made herself famous. Some may argue money made her famous but I believe there was also some personal effort involved. Now lets look at someone identifiable that people often regard as “interesting” or “talented”:
Here is the trailer for Jennifer’s Body, a movie from earlier this year starring supposed “acting sensation” Megan Fox as a possessed sexy cheerleader. My humble opinion is that the only thing “interesting” to some about this “starlet” is her looks and as referred to in the title, her “body”. I am not bashing any Megan Fox fans out there, but at the same time I want to make it clear that it seems equally unfair to bash the careers of Paris Hilton or Real World stars (and yes, they are making money, it is a career). Its like the old saying goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and what Klosterman might think is uninteresting, I believe that there is at least someone out there who will find it interesting. I find organic chemistry uninteresting but I have plenty of friends who think it is one of the most fascinating things out there.
Any Chuck Klosterman supporters out there wanna jump in and give me a run for my money? Feel free! Just wanna show some love for Megan Fox? Well you can keep that one to yourself…
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Klosterman, C. (2004). “When People Stop Being Polite.” Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs. New York: Scribner.
