My Rare and short Rant…
What ever happened to the work at it, naturally talented, studied at to become recognised for what you love, famous? When will this being famous for being well known or being the daughter, son, sister or brother of one of those individuals who actually made it based on the merits of the above attributes end? I am fucking sick of “it girls”, would be actresses, photographers, reality show celebrities et al being thrown into the limelight by those artistically talentless yet shrewd marketers who are in a position to make it happen for the banal, pedestrian and often quite mundane, lacklustre and talentless individuals who happened to be related to one of the above individuals meriting success.
We are in a creative Dark Age a black hole of meaningless, never to be ever remembered epochs. Well maybe, as this last decade being known as one of the “least inspiring epochs of this era” famous.
I do believe that the whole reality show phenomena kicked off this phase of banal uselessness and branched out into every sector of what used to be considered the arts and poisoned everything from music to literature to art and media as a whole.
So, one might ask, if concerned, “when will it evolve into something better or just go away?” Well, I do believe we are starting to see an inkling of a backlash. A very tiny hint of light at the end of this very dark and overly populated forest of misery. Reality shows are being cancelled and being overshadowed by more meaningful programming that truly highlights the talent looming in the shadows. But until that day comes full throttle, we will have to deal with the likes of the Kardashians and all of the other ilk that I find so distasteful to my sense of what really should constitute the merit and acknowledgment of talent.
Until then, I like many others will have to be underwhelmed and uninspired with the overwhelming wave of banal, pedestrian uselessness of the here and now of our “Me, me, me, me, selfie, selfie, selfie culture.
Addendum: The Selfie
Also, to add to the mix, we have the Selfie. We all know what that is and I will delve further into this diatribe later on, as the subject of the selfie will need more time and space than I have the time for today. I am busy in preproduction for a few up and coming shoots and actually working at my craft.
As Alessandro Berga https://www.facebook.com/alessandrobergamodediplomatique so aptly states and I concur with taking the adage “Being famous for being well known” to greater heights.:
“This is what a Hog Kardashian looks like. The real thing, not the air-brushed, photoshopped version. Can you imagine what this trash arriviste is going to look like when she’s 40? Are you done with this disgusting family yet? Can you stomach the sight or thought of any of these talentless, publicity-crazed, unctuously self-absorbed, vacuous wastrels for a single moment longer? Does that feeling of utter, skin-crawling anathema towards all things Kardashian and Caitlin “whatever-the-fuck-it-is” Jenner been creeping up inside your intestines feel good? Have you had enough of this pitiful parody of stinking, sobbing hypocrisy that should no longer be encouraged or tolerated in civilized society? Yes you the hundred million of you following her on instagram.”
Jules Bilotta of NYC had the following commentary that I felt was worthy of posting:
Ok – say you want to ‘create’ a bullshit following: It’s easy to troll for ‘fans’, likes, etc. Even on YouTube you can doctor views and such. On music sites rankings mean really nothing… it’s just interaction. So an unemployed garageband dude can take his and his fellow cronies and talk on Facebook all day to create views, sharing modules, etc. and *poof*! they have a higher ranking due to the metrics of the site. It’s kind of amusing when you see something not so great with a little following.
I guess at the end of the day, there are people that can view an artist’s work and fall in love with it organically. There are other people who deem something ‘good’ by the applause it gets. Random example, but it makes me think of a time where Natalie Cole was singing in a club and hardly anyone was there, but she was amazing. I think it was past her heroin days and she was rebuilding her career. Point being that to someone unfamiliar with her work, she could have just been another ‘somebody’ singing in a club with no people.
People are very influenced by numbers for some reason.
I always thought at heart it’s a very weird concept, this whole ‘like me’/’notice me’ way of life. I thought that kind of ‘celebrity’ were for the artists, the scientists, the writers, the people that were known for a body of work or something that propels them into the spotlight… not some random chick taking ass shots.
Everybody’s a celebrity!