I tend to get the strong feeling at times, that there is a strategic agenda in place to slowly churn the minds of the public into one massive clump of butter.
For example:
I know so many people who are pissed at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and who are going to boycott Mr. & Mrs. Smith just because it was the movie that allegedly broke up their beloved Brad & Jenn.
Why is it that public figures' - whom most of us have never met personally and will probably never EVER meet anytime in our lifetimes - lives mean so much to us? Especially freakin actors. They do what they do in order to INTENTIONALLY be someone other than who they are, and the better they are at it, the more into them the public gets. Then, we want to know about who they "REALLY" are, so we listen to and watch the tabloids and entertainment news, and think that all of a sudden, the people who make their living off of their image and pretending to be other people in films, WANT us to know them intimately, who they REALLY are, and what their real convictions and morals/ethics/ways of life are...
Who gives a s*** who they are in real life? In real life, it's doubtful that they would be my friend, or I theirs. Our respective worlds are far too different to be compatible for any significant length of time... As long as they aren't committing any SERIOUS crimes (I could care less if they smoke weed, even though I've never done it and loathe the smell of it...), I really won't be phased by what's going on in their lives.
I guess I'm different than most of the people I know. I see actors, actresses, singers, musicians, and other entertainers, as exactly that and nothing more. They ENTERTAIN me through media like tv, radio, magazines, etc. That's what they do, and that's what I EXPECT them to do. That is the extent of my expectations of them, because I recognize that everything else is bull****, all part of a stylized image engineered to lengthen that individual's career by making them more appealing to a larger demographic. It's all crap, and sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who chooses to pay no attention to it.
Who cares if Brad and Angelina Jolie got together? Angelina and Brad don't know me, and they don't owe me any explanations. Neither do they owe fans of THEIR WORK any explanations, unless this incident affected their WORK in the film in someway that was noticably bad.
For some reason, people tend to think that because they pay money to see these people in movies, they are somehow entitled to every bit of information regarding the entertainers' private lives that can be scrounged up by any means necessary (read: over-the-top a****** paparazzi, etc...). We are entitled to the entertainer's BEST EFFORT, and that's all.
That's how I see it. How did I avoid the brainwashing, while so many others fell at the media's hand?
I don't pay much attention to celebrities and who did what and who is doing who, simply because if I want to witness people with distorted perceptions of reality, I just spend the day on the grounds of the local mental health facility. One thing that is certain: Those people will never be worshiped, appreciated, or rewarded for believing that they are something they actually are not.
When I see celebrities in interviews, I often wonder at what point it was in their careers that they crossed over from being a real person to going through their lives portraying a fictitious character. I feel an incredible amount of sympathy for them, but I refuse to encourage their illness by buying into the whole celebrity hype.
I do watch the odd movie every now and then, but a celebrity's personal life is of no importance to me, simply because I'm lucky to have the capacity to understand that their personal lives are nothing more than a replica of the movies they make. Celebrities are the highest paid, untreated people living with mental illness in the world today.
Well, I know and talk a lot about movies, and I know a lot of actors' names, but what I'm not into is the whole "I-gotta-know-all-there-is-to-know-about-this-person's-life-cuz-I-got-a-RIGHT-to-know crap. But that's gotta come from somewhere, if so many people subscribe to that line of thinking. It really bugs me sometimes...
Dekka00 said this in post #5 : sometimes someone will ask me a question like "who do you think is hotter, so-and-so or such-and-such?"
I scratch my head for a few seconds, then inform the questioner that I haven't a clue who so-and-so or such-and-such is.
they look at me like I am some kind of alien from a nother planet.
it is those moments that I feel proud to be completely out of touch with pop culture.
it's amazing how much people know and talk about TV/movies. Some people's very lives center around such things.
I get the same reaction from people. I have no idea who they're talking about most of the time, and I really don't care to know.
It's always fun trying to make outdoor acticity plans with people who schedule their lives around television, or when they rush whatever outdoor activities they are engaged in so they can be home to catch the latest and greatest on television.
They are total and complete slaves to their televisions.
Sierradaddy said this in post #1 : I tend to get the strong feeling at times, that there is a strategic agenda in place to slowly churn the minds of the public into one massive clump of butter.
For example:
I know so many people who are pissed at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and who are going to boycott Mr. & Mrs. Smith just because it was the movie that allegedly broke up their beloved Brad & Jenn.
Why is it that public figures' - whom most of us have never met personally and will probably never EVER meet anytime in our lifetimes - lives mean so much to us? Especially freakin actors. They do what they do in order to INTENTIONALLY be someone other than who they are, and the better they are at it, the more into them the public gets. Then, we want to know about who they "REALLY" are, so we listen to and watch the tabloids and entertainment news, and think that all of a sudden, the people who make their living off of their image and pretending to be other people in films, WANT us to know them intimately, who they REALLY are, and what their real convictions and morals/ethics/ways of life are...
Who gives a s*** who they are in real life? In real life, it's doubtful that they would be my friend, or I theirs. Our respective worlds are far too different to be compatible for any significant length of time... As long as they aren't committing any SERIOUS crimes (I could care less if they smoke weed, even though I've never done it and loathe the smell of it...), I really won't be phased by what's going on in their lives.
I guess I'm different than most of the people I know. I see actors, actresses, singers, musicians, and other entertainers, as exactly that and nothing more. They ENTERTAIN me through media like tv, radio, magazines, etc. That's what they do, and that's what I EXPECT them to do. That is the extent of my expectations of them, because I recognize that everything else is bull****, all part of a stylized image engineered to lengthen that individual's career by making them more appealing to a larger demographic. It's all crap, and sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who chooses to pay no attention to it.
Who cares if Brad and Angelina Jolie got together? Angelina and Brad don't know me, and they don't owe me any explanations. Neither do they owe fans of THEIR WORK any explanations, unless this incident affected their WORK in the film in someway that was noticably bad.
For some reason, people tend to think that because they pay money to see these people in movies, they are somehow entitled to every bit of information regarding the entertainers' private lives that can be scrounged up by any means necessary (read: over-the-top a****** paparazzi, etc...). We are entitled to the entertainer's BEST EFFORT, and that's all.
That's how I see it. How did I avoid the brainwashing, while so many others fell at the media's hand?
I love you good sir.
Personally, I watch about an hour and a half of tv a week (except for the past two weeks, I've missed the whopping two shows I watch). I don't miss it. In fact, if I begin to watch any regular programming I can almost feel my brain melting out of my ears. I do, however, keep up on my movies since they are, in fact, friggin awesome. I couldn't care less about any of the actors, however. Like you said, they're there to entertain us. It is a job. I'd like to think that my life is sufficient enough in that I don't have to know everything about a certain actor to feel good.
I don't like hearing people talk about this type of stuff (the only time I'll hear it since I stay away from any of those crapola publications and tv). So yeah, that's about what I've got to say.
I couldn't agree more, SD. I've been saying the same thing for years.
People are so fascinated with the public persona celebrities put out there. Sadly, they confuse that perception with some sort self-delusional notion that they 'know' this person- I feel this is strikingly apparent when celebrities are accused of crimes (see: Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant.) A fan, which is short for fanatic, by the way, feel they know this larger than life person based on what they perceive to be true. They are spoon fed this spin through all facets of the media.
I would never go as far as to blame the media; they're just peddling what people obviously want to buy. Society has become so enamored with celebrity that it's borderline clinical. I cannot give less of a **** about Paris Hilton or who she's banging this week - I really don't need to know if one of the Olsen twins is in rehab - the fact that Brad Pitt got divorced means zip to me - yet here I am yapping on about it.
But why do we HAVE to know all we can about celebrities private lives? Could it be shades of the Happy Meal generation- the incessant need to have everything right away, the unquenchable thirst for seemingly unattainable, yet horribly useless drivel? I don’t know. But I think that John and Jane Cheesburger want to know about whoever is on the cover of People because it makes that god of the silver screen human. It makes them like us. What most don't realize is that they already are exactly like us. They all eat, sleep, cry, laugh, crap, love, hate, dream and put their pants on just like us. Of course, their pants cost more, but when you get down to it, it's all the same.
I've been around dozens of celebrities. I was a little intimidated when I was younger. But once you see them as people the glamour fades and you just have a former cast member of a popular sketch comedy show hitting on your co-worker and asking you what her deal is; or a 80's movie star talking about being a parent; or an actor on a top rated TV series eating a hamburger and fries, alone, in a booth, where you've eaten dozens of times before him.
Yeah, it makes sense, I can understand having some involvement, because with the scale of entertainment, naturally they should use their fame to do good things. The fact that they actaully have fame is another matter. I guess it just goes with the "wow" factor. Wow, i saw Brad Pitt shopping, blah blah blah, people like ot see that stuff, so that's what you see on TV. just like people who are very desperate to get on TV at sporting events. Why are they so desperate to do that? Who knows, but it's just the feeling of wow, I did this that motivates them. I think at least.
That said, celebs are ridiculous, live your own lives people.
But the problem with that, is that so are movies and TV. They regurgitate the same premises over and over because they sell, and those who get caught up in the hype and in the lives of the actors themselves, obviously don't realize that they are STILL living a repetitive life...
Well, you can't expect most people to have interesting and fulfilling lives because that requires thinking (!) and most of what's on TV and in movies is designed to prevent that.
I think its not just Americans that tend to watch too much Television ... Television is adictive, and as long as the makers get money out of it, i doubt thats going to change. The Film and TV show makers run on what the public want, and what will get them the most money.
So if the majority want to watch Reality shows at that particualar time, there will be a million and one reality shows
True. But who put the first reality show on tv? The public, or a creative individual who made a strong presentation to an executive board? So, who's leading who? The tv network, or the people it caters to?
I say the tv network... But it doesn't stop there....
In anycase, I'm one of the biggest tv nuts around this place. I was raised by my tv, and I still suckle from it to this day. I just try to recognize that it's my addiction to ENTERTAINMENT, not to those who provide me with entertainment. A subtle distinction, I admit, but I still feel it's an important one.
The TV companies do control what we watch, yes ... but if nobody watched there programs they would change the type of viewing they broadcast, so at the beginning the Companies have control but, but if the public dont like what they're doing, there not going to be doing that for long
flying panda said this in post #27 : Sometimes i think leaving a light on or your tele can help to stop you from being robed, because they might think someones home
what type of tube is it? a plasic one, and pipe? or just any tube.
you think your a wise guy then do ay ... how do you spell it then? is it robbed?