We are generation Lost.
Watch VH1, MTV, E! or even formerly somewhat-intelligent channels like A&E, The History Channel and HGTV these days and you'll find that there is no end to the number of things we can count down, no end to the excuses to show four second vid-clips of some celebrity doing something "outrageous" or "hot" or "awesome!"
I could put on my scholarly pop-culture pundit persona and over-intellectualize this phenomenon as a horrific consequence of our increased dependency on random cultural stimuli and addiction to the idea of easily accessible fame.
I could write a long, well-sourced academic dissertation, quoting philosophers, theorists and sociologists on the growing lack of differentiation between our authentic non-representational lives and reality TV.
I could also cite the evil origin of these shows as a long-forgotten VH1 program from 1999, "The List," in which C-list talking heads would make a list of top cover songs or something similar.
That's far too easy.
In the spirit of a culture too lazy to bother with anything besides headlines and soundbites, I simply say, "so what?" Far from being a whiny culture snob bitch about all of this (although, believe me, I've tried), I say hooray for the idiocy of "The Hills," "Laguna Beach," "Rock of Love," "Shot at Love with Tila Tequila," "The Salt 'n Pepa Show" etc. etc. etc. et al, ad infinitum! There's really no stopping all of it anyway.
I'm over being morally outraged that people like Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag, Brody Jenner, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian are famous for doing absolutely nothing. I'm over decrying the death of "good" pop-culture, when movie stars had talent and singers could really sing.
The truth is that movie stars never had talent and singers could never really sing, at least no more than today. We used to think at least some of these people had talent. Look at the origins of our fallen idols today: the Olsen twins started off as "actors" on "Full House;" Britney Spears was a "singer" on The Mickey Mouse Club; and even Lindsay Lohan used to be a real actress. They all started off on authentic, old-fashioned, wholesome scripted media. Now, they're more famous for multiple trips to rehab, the relative "hotness" of their bodies and whether or not they are wearing panties. Live and let live!
I used to have a haughty attitude towards the people that like this kind of entertainment. I no longer mock it; now, I revel in it. In the end, I simply see a culture of greater media literacy and discrimination - that is, the ability to recognize good and bad art and still find the time to enjoy, facetiously, the latter. No one I've met actually believes "The Top 100 Celebrity Breakdowns" is comparable to Shakespeare. I now understand that we are not generation List - we are generation Irony.
Inevitably, the novelty of all these shows will wear off, parents will become their biggest audience, and soon advertisers will no longer be interested. The fact that my mother now calls me and asks, "Have you heard about Nicole Richie?" and tells me to turn on "Rock of Love" attests to the fact that the grip these shows have on our generation is slowly wearing off. Until it finally relents though, I say enjoy (ironically) the crap that this culture is currently feeding us - it may not be nourishing, but rest assured that everyone gets sick of junk food eventually.
Billy DeGregorio is a senior majoring in English and Spanish with a minor in communications and media studies. Contact him at william.degregorio@tufts.edu.
