You know what I just don't do anymore?
Keep up with current pop culture.
I used to read all the gossip blogs, and look through the magazines... I wanted to know all the things about all the things, and pop culture is actually a large part of urban life. It is what everyone is talking about, all the time.
Out here in Idaho, though? Not so much. Here, the big talk is about Cord taking some 38-year-old woman from Eurasia who spoke NO ENGLISH to the film festival, where they both got so wasted that while crossing the street, one of them barfed and the other peed her pants. Or that Karl is having an affair with a girl who's not even old enough to drink legally, and they aren't even trying to hide it. Or that Luke got into a fistfight at a pastry store over a tiling job. Or that Justin's girlfriend is totally coked out and he is in denial.
It's kind of the same shit as everything you see in the gossip rags, just involving people who aren't as rich, beautiful, or famous. But there is kind of a clear divide between the two, which seems really contrived to me.
I mean, the lives of the rich and famous are generally seen as fodder for public consumption, whereas local gossip is-- well, just that. Gossip. In the derogatory sense. You could argue that celebrity gossip is public domain because these people are public figures, but aren't we all figures in public, in our own domains? What's done in public can be spoken of publicly.
I dunno. I mean, gossip in general is not a savory enterprise. I'm not sure that picking apart every outfit Kim Kardashian wears on the nightly comedy shows is any different than sniping about Lucy and her nip slip at the Mini Mart.
Thoughts?
I concur. Celebrity gossip gives me a headache. As does normal gossip, truth be told.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could give you guys access to the Scientific American article about gossip, but I don't have sufficient connections there (yet), but this is equally interesting. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26600206/ns/health-behavior/t/guess-what-theres-no-harm-little-gossip/
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting, Jade, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAs a front desk receptionist, "Office Gossip Filter" is totally part of my job description. I'm good at it, too, knowing what to send through, and who is safe to share certain information and opinions with, and what things stop here. But it is definitely work, and 95% of it is PAINFULLY boring.
You know what I heard?
ReplyDeleteI heard that Lacrema is an AWESOME blogger!!
Also that Guin is prone to forget to select the thing where it notifies her about follow up comments, so then she comes back and leaves a lame, conversation-ending post for her own convenience.
What a selfish slut!
Huh... interesting article. Although I still tend to think that gossip is pretty sucky. I don't like people talking about me, because no one knows me well enough to have anything gossipy to say about me that is actually true.
ReplyDelete