Has anyone else noticed this trend? Stupid is the new smart. We pay people millions just because they look good, or look good and sound good, or because they sucked someones dick on video or showed their hootchie to the paparazzi. We pay people millions because they can play a game. We exalt the beautiful and often brainless. We even elect the stupid to public office.
It’s unfortunate we no longer reward or hold in high esteem real talent or intelligence. Okay – so maybe some of us do, but a vast majority of people don’t.
Even in publishing real authors with real talent are being passed over for the easy money makers. I was watching CNN the other morning and some little starlet (don’t know who she was, just that she was blond and cute – probably something Disney) was talking about the new novel she ::wink:: wrote. When asked about her writing process she said, in a ‘duh‘ way, “Well, like, I had these ideas and I wrote them down.”
When asked how she got published she said, “Well, I met the right people and got a contract.” Which is likely code for, “I sucked someones penis and they had an ‘in’.”
Yeah, I know, it sounds like I have sour grapes and truthfully – umm, yeah. I mean I know a lot of talented writers out there. But they’re not pretty, and they don’t already have a teeny bop audience who will buy whatever they’re selling either. It’s sad because real storytelling talent is left unrewarded while marginal, or even completely brainless hacks can write a book about anything and sell it just by virtue of their celebrity regardless. To add insult to injury – most of them don’t even write their own stuff. A ghost writer does it. So if there is any talent behind it – it’s the ghost writer’s, not the person whose name is on the cover.
Whether most people realize it or not, the recording and publishing, television and movie making corporate moguls dictate what we read and what we like and what is popular. They’re the ones who reward the incredibly stupid. This is in part why I’ve really gone to reading and listening to stuff on the Indie side of the fence recently. To prove I’m not just supporting or enjoying whatever New York or California tells me to. Not saying there aren’t talented authors or musicians in traditional venues – there are – but their books are often cookie cutter and they all start sounding alike after awhile.
No child left behind rewards the incredibly stupid by saying, “It’s okay to be average and everyone is the same, and you’re all entitled to the same rewards as someone who’s worked their ass off and actually has some talent. Bullshit. Hard work, contribution, and talent should be rewarded. Those who have nothing but looks, or a voice, or whatever – should be encouraged to use their brains. (Not saying all pretty people are stupid, just that sometimes when they get what they want by virtue of their looks alone, some don’t exercise their brains anymore – Paris Hilton asking that farmer’s wife what a well was used for comes to mind. Seriously, if you’re that dumb that you don’t know what a well is, we should throw you into one.)
As a result we’ve got a generation of selfish people who are entitlement minded and think they deserve something just because they’re pretty or popular or because they did a sex tape. Or they think they deserve what everyone else has just because they exist.
I think of what that says about our culture and I am saddened that the true role-models worthy of our respect and admiration — and our money, the scientists, authors, inventors and musicians (the ones who actually have the talent but who aren’t necessarily the loudest or the prettiest) are often the ones who get the shaft and the least respect of all.
The only celebrity books I like tend to be written by comedians. Hmmm, I wonder why. Oh right, they tell stories for a living.
I am guilty of buying books by comedians, too. They're often well-written AND they're often written by the comedian themselves. Imagine that! 🙂