It has been almost a week since Anna Nicole Smith passed away and yet media of various sorts continue to give the story prominence. Mainstream media are still churning the story as the issue of paternity of Smith’s six-month old daughter gets tied up with the complexity of her estate. Web sites like TMZ.com cover the story incessantly as do other pop culture oriented web sites. Bloggers churn the story providing readers with insights, news, information, but mostly commentary. We as a culture seem to feed on this stuff: Access Hollywood; Entertainment Tonight. Need I say more? Why are we drawn to stories like this? Tragedies like this one generate public discourse through which a shared culture is created and furthered; it’s how we make sense of our world. Not only do such tragedies fill our imaginations, but also provide us with moral grounding. That I think is an unaccounted for effect of pop culture. As we read, hear or view such stories, talk to others about them, process them both in our thoughts and imaginings, we draw conclusions. Such conclusions provide terra firma upon which ordinary people walk. We have an innate need to be grounded, and such tragedies, among other topics, provide the fodder that allows us to make our way through daily life. As the question over who fathered Smith’s child evolves—and it will continue for a long time as this situation makes its way through the courts and the media—so too will the moral lesson evolve. Culture is not a free-for-all. Culture imposes limits. We learn those limits through the processing of events such as this. What did we do before there was a popular culture? Other institutions held more sway: family, church, and government to name three. But these institutions have weakened giving space for media to step in and fill the void. It may not be that media are so strong that they have displaced traditional institutions; it may be that those other institutions are merely weak. Nevertheless, tragedies such as Anna Nicole Smith’s death provide a shared cultural reference point. The story provides many opportunities for ordinary people to engage with others directly or through social networking on the Web. Such are the opportunities to understand ourselves and the world around us.Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Anna Nicole Smith: A moral tale
It has been almost a week since Anna Nicole Smith passed away and yet media of various sorts continue to give the story prominence. Mainstream media are still churning the story as the issue of paternity of Smith’s six-month old daughter gets tied up with the complexity of her estate. Web sites like TMZ.com cover the story incessantly as do other pop culture oriented web sites. Bloggers churn the story providing readers with insights, news, information, but mostly commentary. We as a culture seem to feed on this stuff: Access Hollywood; Entertainment Tonight. Need I say more? Why are we drawn to stories like this? Tragedies like this one generate public discourse through which a shared culture is created and furthered; it’s how we make sense of our world. Not only do such tragedies fill our imaginations, but also provide us with moral grounding. That I think is an unaccounted for effect of pop culture. As we read, hear or view such stories, talk to others about them, process them both in our thoughts and imaginings, we draw conclusions. Such conclusions provide terra firma upon which ordinary people walk. We have an innate need to be grounded, and such tragedies, among other topics, provide the fodder that allows us to make our way through daily life. As the question over who fathered Smith’s child evolves—and it will continue for a long time as this situation makes its way through the courts and the media—so too will the moral lesson evolve. Culture is not a free-for-all. Culture imposes limits. We learn those limits through the processing of events such as this. What did we do before there was a popular culture? Other institutions held more sway: family, church, and government to name three. But these institutions have weakened giving space for media to step in and fill the void. It may not be that media are so strong that they have displaced traditional institutions; it may be that those other institutions are merely weak. Nevertheless, tragedies such as Anna Nicole Smith’s death provide a shared cultural reference point. The story provides many opportunities for ordinary people to engage with others directly or through social networking on the Web. Such are the opportunities to understand ourselves and the world around us.
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I was not at all suprised to see a blog thread on the Anna Nicole fiasco. It did however go in a direction i find myself still questioning (moral tale??). Everyone knew Anna Nicole, some admired her new body, some watched her show. Yet others, like me, did not quite agree with her lifestyle and yet curiously watched bits of her show to find out who this woman is and what she is about.I am actually suprised that the day her E-True Hollywood story came on..i watched it! I cannot say why, but i can assure you it has nothing to do with me seeing her as a cultural icon or me "caring" about her, in that sense. Similar to Jesus saving the prostitute who was being stoned- that how i feel about this tragedy. I just feel dying is a sad thing- no matter who the person was--famed James Brown or Playboy Bunny extraordinaire.Anna's death of course is all the more tragic with the recent death of her son and the fact that her baby is media bait.I'm sad for her, but even sader that so much time will be spent drawing out her family's pain, but also wasted. I mean, does Anna Nicole really represent America? Do we consider following her escapades American Culture?
R.I.P Anna Nicole Smith(or whatever her zillionaire hubby's last name was! Another Anna Nicole tributary pop culture story...oh brother!)
While this phrase doesn't exactly pertain, what comes to mind is 'morbid curiosity.'
As Americans we have come to focus our interest on others lives so that we don't need to judge our own, or that we have someone else's life to compare to our own.
This mindless judging of others lives makes us feel better about ourselves because oftentimes they present the extreme case.
ex. I am skinny and only eat salad but look at Nicole Richie.
ex. from real life: it's always easier to comment on someone else's relationship with their significant other than your own.
Because many people have come to adopt this escapist tactic from their life and actions it has led to the focus on the wrong things and the judgements made on people where we don't need to be judging.
-Sadly this has become a part of our American culture. We work all day and come home desiring of mindless activity. We turn on the television and judge away...
I don't think this is such a popular topic/story in American culture because of the moral issues surrounding Anna Nicole's life and death, but rather people are drawn to the mystery and intrigue of it, that mirrors something you'd see in a hollywood murder mystery film.
The mysterious death of Anna Nicole's son only several months ago, the unknown cause of her death, and finally the paternity suit over her daughter, which has (last time I checked) three men fighting over the right to be recognized as the girl's daughter, the latest man being a foreign prince married to Sza Sza Gabor. All of these aspects are simply strange and intriguing at the same time, and as this is a story that is still playing out, I believe American pop culture is so obsessed with it because they want some closure to this sad, bizarre mystery.
I don't think that a fascination with tragedy is any new facet of pop culture. As far back as Shakespear, the general public seems to be fascinated with trajoc stories, as is evident from the numer of tragedies written by Shakespear and others.
The difference now, is that mass media has progressed to the point that the public can know about real tragedies to people we have only seen on television, almost as soon as they happen. Our fascination with tragedy can also be seen by watching any local news broadcast, and noting the number of murders, fires, and accirdents given coverage. We seem to have reached an era where only tragedy qualifies as news, and anything positive does not.
Shows like Law and Order SVU have capitalized on this fascination, as countless more probably will. I think our culture's fascination with this, is that it keeps us grounded, and makes us realize that is something could happen to Anna Nicole Smith, it could actually happen to them too. I think it also adds excitement to people's lives who lead a relatively tame life when compared to celebrities notorious for wild weekend escapades.
It is hard to believe that it has now been over a week since Anna Nicole Smith passed away. All the media coverage surrounding her death has made the event seem like it just happened a few days ago, especially now with the new development that another man has stepped forward to claim he is in fact the father of newborn Dannielynn. While this is a tragic story, because any death is saddening on some level, it is even more heart-breaking because of the death of Anna Nicole's 20 year old son just 5 months ago. Some have mentioned the eerie similarities between Anna Nicole's death and the death of her son, citing that both involved sudden deaths of seemingly healthy individuals, but also that both deaths may have involved a lethal mixture of prescription drugs that, taken correctly, would not have been dangerous.
I wouldn't say that our culture's preoccupation with celebrity life is a new part of pop culture, but it has seemed to reach new levels in recent years with more and more insider shows and magazines going to the limits to expose the most personal aspects of people's lives. It is hard to say whether this fascination with mainstream media is a good thing or not, but it definitely does speak to Americans' desire to relate to celebrity culture and feel as though these figures are just like them in many ways, with their own share of conflict and heartbreak, but with moments of hope also.
I remember the day Anna Nicole died because my roommates all started to scream and called me over the TV immediately to share the shocking news. I couldn't believe it either. Here was a middle-aged woman just dropping dead. Why did we all react with such intense interest? It was not because we cared about her. It was not because we were sad. It had to do with being curious. It is often easier to examine the tragic circumstances in someone else's life than in our own. My roommates and I put off our other obligations and remained in front of the TV, eager to find out more details about the death. I was very surprised to see that all major news channels were covering the story. I was also partially disgusted because I saw this incident as minor compared to the other really serious events going on in the world. However, the fact that the media has become obsessed with the story speaks about the media's audience: the American public. Most of us, to varying degrees, paid attention to the news (at least initially). We like having something else to focus on other than our own problems. And, on the plus side, our problems don’t seem as bad anymore.
Even to this day, weeks later, her death is still a common issue. Whether it comes down to who is the father of her child, her funeral service or who gets her inheritance, Anna Nicole even though dead is still talked about. What comes to mind to me is what we discussed in a class, about pulling stunts or bad happenings to make a person gain news coverage or re-hack a name. With coaches abusing players or even racial slurrs being said, people do this type of thing for attention.
Granted, her death was not a joke or stunt, however the drama and uproar that the media has made this issue will haunt the memories of this generation for years to come.
Instead of issues concerning the news or good things happening in the world, our society has come to segments regarding a dead woman who was into drugs, had a past marriage with a man significantly older, a child that had died and now her own death. I agree with another blogger that responded in a way in which we looked to this woman our of curiosity. I remeber watching her show and looking at what she ate at a dinner table and was disgusted; however that is how i knew who she was. The this rapid transformation with a significant weight loss and new product, she was back in the spotlight.
I certainly to do agree with her lifestyle, despite the fact it is wrong to speak ill of the dead. However, what amazes me is that still to this day she is STILL in the news. My question is...what's next?
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