Being famous

Q: Is the culture of celebrity and reality TV eroding our understanding of what constitutes success? What should we tell our children about people such as Tareq and Michaele Salahi who apparently crashed a White House state dinner in pursuit of reality TV fame?

People these days tend to confuse instant manufactured fame with being interesting enough -- or, God forbid, talented enough -- to be famous. Frankly, anyone can be famous; all you have to do is try to kill someone else who is already famous! (Not that I recommend that approach.)

But let's get real about reality TV: 90 percent of reality show contestants are actors pretending to be real. This truth applies across the spectrum of reality TV, from "Survivor" to those horrible shows about what sleazy guy will pick the best sleazy girl. You might have noticed that the most interesting or disturbing people always seem to make it to the end of the show.

I know people in television who will tell you that they have to use actors mostly for legal reasons. So reality TV is mostly fake. That "waitress" is really an actor, which smacks of fakeness unless you have spent any time in Los Angeles -- there it's reality!

Tell your kids that honing a talent or being willing to create your own fame takes effort. Even Paris Hilton worked hard to be famous. (It did take a few years and some cash.) Blonde? Yes. Dumb and lazy? Not so much!

By Garrison Wynn  |  December 7, 2009; 4:37 PM ET  | Category:  notoriety vs. success Save & Share:                 
Previous: Honesty and trust | Next: Paying for fame

The comments to this entry are closed.