Ramblings About the Media, Whores, and Voting

VH1 just aired a multi-part show about the sexual revolution, covering everything from "free love" to homo-hysteria to the onset of the AIDS epidemic. For the most part it seemed informative and thoughtful.

Immediately following? The Maxim Hot 100. The intro described the chosen 100 women as "sexy and talented" or something like that. It's hosted by the Pussycat Dolls [a Barbie band]. Number 97 is Kim Kardashian, one of many party girls famous for being famous, or as Maxim.com tells it, "A sex tape with R&B star Ray J catapulted this stunner from daughter of O.J. lawyer Robert Kardashian to front and center of the blogosphere."

Granted, a network like VH1 couldn't care less about the irony of running these two shows back-to-back. They're in it for the ratings, like anyone else. But at the same time, if you're going to make an investment into a socially-aware program, it seems like you might want to cushion it with other shows containing pertinent themes. Did the average viewer tonight notice the dichotomy between these shows, or just pop another bag of popcorn and settle in for a night of easy viewing?


This quote, so eloquently phrased by Tila Tequila, sums up the whole thing. "Tequila" has more "friends" on Myspace than any other member. She claims to be recording artist, but as far as I can tell, she's more of a porn star. I think she looks like an alien with grapefruits stuffed unceremoniously into her chest cavity. Anyway, after reaching a certain status on Myspace, she proceeded to declare herself a bi-sexual and star in a reality television show pitting men against women to win her heart. So, here's the quote. She was talking about a fight between two of the contestants.

"And I'm like, 'Two bitches fighting over me? Sweet.'"

And, from one of the "Hot 100s" I can't remember: [talking about being pulled over for some driving offense] "And I'm like, should I keep driving or slut my way out of it?"

Given the starts of those quotes, I suppose they both could have been Tila Tequila's. Who knows, and really, who cares? I don't understand our newfound infatuation with people famous for being totally useless media whores. More people vote for the next "American Idol" than the next American president. Maybe if the elections were a little snazzier, involved more hair and makeup, and fewer clothes, people would be more interested.

I guess the upside would be, more choices. We could start with thousands of potential presidents, weed out the worst candidates right away by hilarious measures [ahem, Fred Thompson anyone?], and go from there. Each week, someone gets sent home and everyone gets to campaign another day, until there is only one...