The Pop Culture Pedestal

Is it just me, or have more celebrities died this year than in any other recent year? Maybe I have just become more aware, but it just seems like there have been so many celebrity deaths. It's sad that when I heard about the recent death of Brittany Murphy I was only slightly surprised. I thought, "Wow, that's sad; she was so young. But there have been several young celebrity deaths recently..." I can't help but wonder if it's almost a wake-up call. Josh Groban actually said this on his Twitter, though I'm not sure if he meant it the same way I do. I'm not saying God is striking down the celebrities for their sins, but I think we could learn something from the fact that those we idolize are human and mortal. The whole Tiger Woods scandal seems to tie in with this as well. People cannot stay on top of a pedestal.

This morning I read this article about a movement in the UK to dethrone the winning X-Factor's single for the "Christmas number one" spot with a Rage Against the Machine song. The X-Factor is a lot like American Idol from my understanding, and has the goal of generating performers with the sound and look people want. Now I'll admit what you already know, that I watched and enjoyed three seasons of American Idol. Reports of the show being fixed did not phase me too much as my favorites did well on the show, but as the last season came to an end, Paula left, Ellen joined, and all that, I think I started to realize maybe I was not into this anymore. I love some of the people who have been through American Idol and will continue to support their music, but I'm not sure if I want to watch AI anymore. The title says it all really: IDOL. I don't want to be too dramatic about this, but in essence, it's about creating an idol. I don't believe there's something inherently evil about the show and that we should boycott it, but I am saying we have to be careful about how we're treating those who rise to the top.

In college I wrote and presented reports that both defended media and rebuked media. Today I think I am going to have to rebuke them, because they're the creators of celebrity news. They follow them, lie about them, harass them, and invade their lives, and I think this is a very large reason why pretty much all of them fall. But to be fair, we latch on to their every word. We buy the magazines, click on the links, and absorb it all. I wouldn't consider myself a celebrity enthusiast, but I'm guilty in my interest for some of these stories too. If we want to see a change in the media, it's going to have to start with the people. The consumer can dictate the media, because they have to meet the consumers' demand. It's time to wake up and knock down the pedestals.

*EDIT* I found this interesting article about celebrity deaths of the year. It credits social media movements like Twitter as having an impact in spreading the news and making it more known. I think there is definitely some credit to this theory.