2008 Woodie Awards
Will There Ever Be A Time For American Heroes?
Mike Sangregorio
Issue date: 2/2/05 Section: Perspectives
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Past the media holidays that occur from such high-class divorces, we are bombarded each and every day by the continuous flow of gossip concerning the celebrated elite. The advent of 24-hour news channels and real time video streaming across a broadband internet connection means that there are more available venues to be filled with that we are told is important. After the contested Presidential election, and the indescribable devastation done by the tsunami, people still have hours and hours of possible air time to fill. The recent passing of television legend Johnny Carson was another example of this feeding frenzy. Many of us have unique ways of dealing with such developments, but many more can see it from an objective stance, rather than a personal one. One person close to me remarked that the result of Carson's death would be a sizable amount of tributes and reports. This was true, but it was also expected in advance. Deaths, divorces and personal dilemmas translate into ratings and magazine sales, as certain as a war in a foreign land.
The aura of celebrity given to our movie stars and politicians has in itself become a sellable commodity. This "commodification" rarely stops at those that portray heroes on the screen, but translates into political exposure both positive and negative. The House of Kennedy gave the office of the presidency a youthful commander and chief with a beautiful wife and children that the country could watch grow. This was a package that Hollywood would have made into a heart-tugging blockbuster, and as a result the public took to it like never before. Today, we who find ourselves in "blue state America" have made the mantra of Bushisms into the chicest of commentaries. The mass media deification given to political leaders is at least one step in the right direction.
That direction? America has been devoid of true idols for too long. We are a rich amalgam of a myriad of ancient beliefs but too few of these ideals have survived the turmoil that made us what we are. I have never felt the need to idolize anyone in a traditional sense, but was that only because I had no options? I did not see the bastardization of American values result from Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston wanting to live separate lives again. There is a void in American culture that needs to be filled with more John Wayne-esque archetypes and less Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson circuses.
The aura of celebrity given to our movie stars and politicians has in itself become a sellable commodity. This "commodification" rarely stops at those that portray heroes on the screen, but translates into political exposure both positive and negative. The House of Kennedy gave the office of the presidency a youthful commander and chief with a beautiful wife and children that the country could watch grow. This was a package that Hollywood would have made into a heart-tugging blockbuster, and as a result the public took to it like never before. Today, we who find ourselves in "blue state America" have made the mantra of Bushisms into the chicest of commentaries. The mass media deification given to political leaders is at least one step in the right direction.
That direction? America has been devoid of true idols for too long. We are a rich amalgam of a myriad of ancient beliefs but too few of these ideals have survived the turmoil that made us what we are. I have never felt the need to idolize anyone in a traditional sense, but was that only because I had no options? I did not see the bastardization of American values result from Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston wanting to live separate lives again. There is a void in American culture that needs to be filled with more John Wayne-esque archetypes and less Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson circuses.