October 10, 2012
Have you noticed lately that the popular morning network “news” shows lead off with about 8 to 10 minutes of news, and then slip into the clownish, messy world of show business gossip for the next couple of hours? I have, and it really disheartens me. This phenomenon, I think, reflects the fact that America has been shamelessly dumbed down. Hollywood gossip has become more important to many of us than what’s going on in the real world.
I suppose now would be a good time to jump on that same bandwagon, then, with respect to dishing Hollywood gossip. If it works for them, I guess I can do it too. I have to say that when I heard that Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman announced the fact that they were ending their 30-year-marriage, I was a little taken aback, a little sad. I mean, if two people ever looked like they were supposed to be together, it’s those two. Oh, well.
When we hear of one of those 30-minute marriages dissolving, that’s just silly. That’s not news; it’s just so out-there ridiculous, but then again, we seem to be mesmerized by it all. But 30 years in Hollywood? That has to be some kind of record.
We’re transfixed with who Justin Bieber’s dating today, or with one of those dark-haired sisters and who they’re marrying today, or having a baby with, or what colors they’re painting their foyer. This one gets arrested again for the same transgression, that one’s buying a house in Italy; we all roll our eyes and sigh, but we still stay tuned.
Maybe it’s because Hollywood is so different from the lives that you and I lead every day. Their “reality” is like living on another planet. Different rules, different consequences - just different. Fascinating enough to some, I suppose, to drive up ratings.
I personally cannot relate to show-biz types. Their antics exhaust me, and it just seems that most of the time they behave like spoiled children. Even the “real” housewives are so out of touch with “real” that I don’t understand why the shows are so popular.
Then again, Honey Boo Boo, “hollering for a dollar” and Glitzy the Pig are real. Maybe I have my priorities mixed up.
Carole Townsend is also a Gwinnett Daily Post staff correspondent and author of two books: “Southern Fried White Trash” and her newest, “Red Lipstick and Clean Underwear” (releasing October 15). She is also a regular guest on FOX News Radio station WYXC 1270 AM on Wednesdays during the Drive at 5. Townsend has been quoted on msnbc.com, in the LA Times, USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor, been featured on FOX 5 Television News and CNN, and is often a guest on television and radio shows nationwide. She currently travels throughout the southeast, meeting readers at book signings and speaking publicly at various events.
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