The Linear Canvas

Why is it that so many people spend so much time and money following and drooling over Hollywood celebrities? Most of them are just people, some are less than that. Rich or poor, people don’t get enough of “celebrities”. They are quoted, pampered, and treated as deities almost. For what reason, I am unsure.

Politicians from the past have been known to quote great thinkers and writers in their speeches. Now it is not untypical for politicians and the media to quote movie and television charactors and don’t even recognize that in most cases the actor had nothing to do with the dialogue that is being quoted, other than saying it in front of a camera. Was Ronald Reagan a great thinker? How about Arnold Schwarzeneger? Why can those men win elections?

I suppose that any entertainer is entitled to their opinion, but the fact that they are in the public eye, gives them a head start in the marketing of these people as a political candidate. If Ah-nold had been just a body builder, which he is really, would he have been mostly elected as govenor of California? (does a recall election really count?). If Ronald Reagan had not been on television so much in the late 50’s, would he have been govenor of California? Is California to blame? Is Hollywood? I doubt that the Democratic leaning state as a whole can bear the blame on its own, but the money that is generated in the media business in “Hollywood” has been buying and selling America since before Ronald Reagan. It really isn’t about who can lead America anymore because they have the greatest ability (was it ever?), it’s more about who can win the election so that the faceless and nameless can maintain power in our country.

That is the stench of democracy in America today, and it smells a lot like Hollywood, California.