Perez Hilton. For those of you have heard of him, the name might spark a smile or a grimace. To others who don’t, you may be thinking to yourself, “Does Paris Hilton even have a brother?” Well thankfully, he’s not a spawn of the Hilton clan but it’s safe to say his infamy is just as real. He is one of Hollywood’s most famous (or infamous) gossip blogger. He is known for posting photos and articles about the “secret” lives of celebrities, often adding witty yet crude captions or doodles for effect. He began to develop some positive and negative attention for his satiric and sometimes vulgar remarks. He has faced various civil litigations and controversies throughout the years. The man has said and done it all, from leaking Britney Spears illegal recordings to nude pictures of Jennifer Aniston. He even once went as far as reporting the death of Fidel Castro (a little prematurely). But what made his website ranked 143 most trafficked site in 2009? It wasn’t just the celebrity news he was reporting, because the American public can’t even go grocery shopping without the media gossip being shoved down their throats. It was, however, the WAY he said it. Our society thrives on controversies and conflicts. We love our political debate shows as much as we love the juicy upscale lives of the “rich and famous”. Popular culture trickles down to one word: Rhetoric. People loved his crass nature and opinionated responses. After all he was named #1 Web Celeb 3 years in a row. He was snarky and sassy and at some times even down right mean.
With this being said, it made his next move that much more powerful. After the tragic story of Tyler Clementi’s suicide and the up rise on cyberbullying, Perez Hilton wanted to take a stand. He knew he could not sit behind his computer and stress the importance of anti-bullying if he was society’s biggest celebrity bully. It was then, when he decided he was going to stop what he was known for best: his attitude.
“I’m not going to sanitize what I do, I still want to be me, and be fun, and be sassy, without being vanilla — and also without being malicious and hurtful and nasty.”
A decision that could either make or break his career. Some praised his choice and some were more cynical, pointing out that he was only trying to gain more attention. While others lost interest in his gossip completely once all the insults were done.
Was it his remarks and wit that drew such an impressing audience to his website? And if so what does that say about American culture? Is it possible for us to enjoy information, whether it is political or social, without the addition of negative rhetoric? Does this give Rhetoric and Civic Life a bad name? These questions, unfortunately, I do not have the answers to. But they do spark some further questioning about our culture. Regardless of the reasons people believe Perez Hilton has chosen to stop bullying his celebrities, I applaud his actions to go against our society’s obsession with abuse, in hopes that other bullies mirror his idea. Better late then never right?
Until next time...
"Keep Calm and Carry On"
Joanna
I had no idea Perez Hilton said this! This piece was well written and interesting, keep up the great work!!
ReplyDeleteI've a feeling his career will suffer, but it is an admirable position to an extent. I'm am always wary, however, of anything that is hyped as an "epidemic." I do not believe that "cyber-bullying" is nearly as big a social ill as some have purported it to be. Fear mongering is just as much a part of American rhetoric as slanderous gossip.
ReplyDeleteToo true. Modern society thrives off gossip. Star worship, in particular, has reached an all-time high. People like Perez Hilton only perpetuate society's love of gossip. It seems like people these days are more concerned with Kim Kardashian's relationship status rather than the oil spoil in the Gulf of Mexico.
ReplyDeleteI have to see it will be very interesting to see where he is a year from now. I think, what made his site so appealing to the public was that it provided something different than most tabloids. So I see your point J.S. Yarnell on the feeling that his career will suffer.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to JRossi, I couldn't agree more on the society's focused concerns nowadays. Our society as a whole is a very fascinating group when considering our norms and it usually sparks many questions for me to mull over...
I wonder how much of a change this will be, and how long it will last... We all have the best of intentions after a tragedy, but it's very easy to fall back into old habits, especially if other people provide positive reinforcement for this behavior. From the delivery, it seems as though he's genuinely conflicted about this, but I think he's going to realize that this change will involve giving up more than he currently anticipates.
ReplyDeleteNot sure why I'm so jaded about this, as there are plenty of people out there who DO make actual change. But I also recognize how difficult it is to give up bad habits like mockery.
It reminds me a bit of the TV show House. If anyone's been watching it over the last few years, you saw how Dr. House made some efforts to change after his breakdown, but still ended up being the same cynical jerk a season later. I gave up on the show when it became clear he wasn't going to change. (While it would likely have limited the show to only a couple more seasons, if the producers had decided to tell the very story of how a person undergoes a transformative character change--that would have been something challenging and a story truly worth telling.)