April 20th, 2009

Celebrity in the last ten years has become a somewhat muddied term.  The traditional association of talent with fame has become increasingly distant, and with this decrease in traditional talent has been an increased desire to knock people down.  However a coupling of a return to more traditional values harnessed with available technology may see a shift in this trend.  The talent case in point would be the recent viral phenomenon of Susan’s Boyle performance on “Britain’s got Talent.”  As for the knock down effect, the popularity of the Lindsay Lohan self mockery treatment on “Funny or Die” speaks for itself.  With the numerous negative effects of the dissemination of celebrity in the last ten years, perhaps we are witnessing the power of the online force to revert to a less cynical approach to what we value from our stars, which I think can only be a good thing.

Source: The Independant, Funny or Die