15’s the new 30!
With the excessive amounts we as Americans need to suffice our ever increasing hunger, it comes to no surprise to know that even now how much exposure our flash-in-the-pan celebrities has increased. Take Kevin Federline for example. As I’m about to compose this sentence, he should’ve been officially renamed; No-Name Spears. But since he has managed to niche himself as one lucky sonofa… he’s been getting more work than his former teeny-bopper ex these days. He’s managed to snag a Superbowl ad--- no matter how insulting it was to the Foodworkers Association of America (I didn’t know they formed an association!!!). He’s been flicked by a popular photographer who will place his photo on exhibit. And I’m sure that with his notoriety alone he can fall back on his day job as a backup dancer for an up and comer needing any form of publicity. This all just makes me wonder, just where did the 15 minutes of fame go? I remember a time when a William Hung would be the oddest CD choice to buy just to talk about it years later, when now I’m thinking about copping Playing With Fire just because the standards of music today has made him seem credible.
Tiffany “New York” Pollard is another example. After being twice dismissed by Flavor Flav on Flavor of Love, she was tapped to do her own show I Love New York which has fared its share of ratings. You would’ve thought after a summer or two of club appearances she would’ve faded away like the rest of the contestants, but something about her was interesting enough to the execs at VH1 to green light her own spin off. Next we’ll be seeing One More Chance in the future, thus handing off the proverbial 15-minute torch to someone else.
And it’s not just Kevin or New York, novelty celebrities of pop culture past have decided to jump on the reality television bandwagon as a means to resuscitate their career. There’s a slew, but I’ll just focus on just one for example. After being the laughing stock in the music industry for about 15 years and a black eye to all lyricists who happen to be Caucasian, Rob “Vanilla Ice” Van Winkle decided to remake himself, and VH1 said “Okay, we’ll give you a special.” The perfect platform right? Instead of humbly embracing this golden opportunity teamed with the top stylist, producers, choreographers, and a personal trainer, he decided to defecate all over them and even discredits their talents by staunchly stating that he didn’t want to be made into an image like his former days. Now that I think about it isn’t even his moniker a nod to his past and the product of the industry he was? Riiiiiight… That’s a rant all in itself. (Wait, since he was on a season of Surreal Life, doesn’t that mean that he was given 45 minutes of fame? That too is a rant all in itself.)
With the excessive amounts we as Americans need to suffice our ever increasing hunger, it comes to no surprise to know that even now how much exposure our flash-in-the-pan celebrities has increased. Take Kevin Federline for example. As I’m about to compose this sentence, he should’ve been officially renamed; No-Name Spears. But since he has managed to niche himself as one lucky sonofa… he’s been getting more work than his former teeny-bopper ex these days. He’s managed to snag a Superbowl ad--- no matter how insulting it was to the Foodworkers Association of America (I didn’t know they formed an association!!!). He’s been flicked by a popular photographer who will place his photo on exhibit. And I’m sure that with his notoriety alone he can fall back on his day job as a backup dancer for an up and comer needing any form of publicity. This all just makes me wonder, just where did the 15 minutes of fame go? I remember a time when a William Hung would be the oddest CD choice to buy just to talk about it years later, when now I’m thinking about copping Playing With Fire just because the standards of music today has made him seem credible.
Tiffany “New York” Pollard is another example. After being twice dismissed by Flavor Flav on Flavor of Love, she was tapped to do her own show I Love New York which has fared its share of ratings. You would’ve thought after a summer or two of club appearances she would’ve faded away like the rest of the contestants, but something about her was interesting enough to the execs at VH1 to green light her own spin off. Next we’ll be seeing One More Chance in the future, thus handing off the proverbial 15-minute torch to someone else.
And it’s not just Kevin or New York, novelty celebrities of pop culture past have decided to jump on the reality television bandwagon as a means to resuscitate their career. There’s a slew, but I’ll just focus on just one for example. After being the laughing stock in the music industry for about 15 years and a black eye to all lyricists who happen to be Caucasian, Rob “Vanilla Ice” Van Winkle decided to remake himself, and VH1 said “Okay, we’ll give you a special.” The perfect platform right? Instead of humbly embracing this golden opportunity teamed with the top stylist, producers, choreographers, and a personal trainer, he decided to defecate all over them and even discredits their talents by staunchly stating that he didn’t want to be made into an image like his former days. Now that I think about it isn’t even his moniker a nod to his past and the product of the industry he was? Riiiiiight… That’s a rant all in itself. (Wait, since he was on a season of Surreal Life, doesn’t that mean that he was given 45 minutes of fame? That too is a rant all in itself.)
At the rate we’re going, it won’t be too long before an hour will be the new half-hour. Just imagine, taking lunches like executives do. But then, we’ll be working longer because 12-hour will be the new 8-hour workday.
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