AM I SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS ENOUGH?
8/21/07
It occured to me the other day that, I did not know who the latest American Idol was, I haven’t seen SICKO yet, I haven’t seen Bourne Ultimatum,(though I want to). I haven’t heard anything about Paris Hilton since she got out of jail. I began to wonder if I was a socially irresponsible American, because I was not well informed on these popular news items and events.
I don’t think I’ve been socially unaware, I know of many popular news items . They just may not be the most current pop news items, like the name of the murdered actress in the Phil Spector murder trial, or all the movie stars who got married this year, or what Spice’s real name is. I know about many things I think are more important, but for some reason most of the people in the media and most people in general, don’t pay as much attention to them.
People want what will make them happy, or more money, or what attracts more attention , they want excitment, or scandal, or rumor, or sports competitions, and need tabloid news to break up the monotany of their day. I can’t help but look at the tabloids in the supermarket. Their headlines often read: “GUESS WHO THIS IS?” Printed across a front page picture of a sagging rear end in a bikini. I enjoy the photos of G.W Bush talking to aliens, or a photo of the famous Rat Boy, or G.W’s twin brother Chimpanzie. Tabloids always mention the prophets and prophecies of doom. Some stated the world would end a few years ago. I remember 1999 tabloids were screaming 2000 was Dooms Day in every issue. Pop and tabloid news is fun, mindless,and an ongoing source of questions and answers for the “inquisitive mind wanting to know.” I may suffer from popular news fatigue, but I can’t blame myself or anyone,who doesn’t know the names of all the cast members in the Simpsons or The Family Guy cartoons.
I’m as interested as the next guy for a wild story. The wilder the story the better I like it. Like Big foot or Alien invasions, or Bush’s twin chimpanzie. The woman with 10 fingers on her feet and 8 toes on her hands. I believe I am socially responsible, since I’ve never bought a tabloid newpaper. They always say more than I want to know about their feature stories, by the headlines and pictures on the front page. Often when I open a tabloid newspaper or magazine to find the feature article I’m interested in,I have to look through the entire paper to find it, and it is only a paragraph long,with the same picture they used on the front page. I’m grateful that Ruppert Murdock doesn’t own the National Enquirer , or the Star , or the Globe yet. If he ever does own them, I won’t know what newspapers to trust anymore.
L.A STEEL
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