These people are famous for ultimately nothing. They have created a world that revolves around America's obsession with icons. The rise of the popularity of Anti-icons has risen consistently with the fall of our traditional hero worship. While its easy to think, shame on them for earning vast amounts of money and fame for just having their life filmed on a reality show. I think we need to give props to some of these people for turning the monotonous events of their everyday lives into insane amounts of money.
So I think its time for confession hour. Who is your ultimate hero? and Who is the Anti-Icon that you love to hate? Or maybe you don't hate them. maybe you are just plain entertained by their successes and failures. Okay so fess up, don't be ashamed!
(pst-mine's Kim Kardashian! but my real hero is Edward R. Murrow)
35 comments:
Someone I absolutely love to hate is Lindsay Lohan. Last year, I worked as a manager of the Bath and Body Works in the Riverwoods shopping center. Lindsay was in rehab up the street. Awesome. So one time, she decides to come shopping and they clear out the entire shopping center just for her. She was flanked with a couple of large body guards and there were photographers trying to see in the stores while the body guards stood outside. She walked in (and kept her sunglasses on, even though it was 8:30 at night-drives me nuts!). I asked if I could help her find anything, but obviously I wasn't excited enough that she was in my store, cause she stormed out with a "don't you know who I am??" awesome. :) She's pretty fun to watch screw up her life. Last I heard she decided she was a lesbian. I give that about a month, tops. My real hero is my mother. It sounds cliche, but she really exemplifies the doctrine of the divine roles in the family. I've really been blessed to have such a wonderful example of eternal marriage in my life since day 1.
Kristen - well said. We like these people because it is fun to see them go from 0 to riches and even funner to see them go from riches to 0. I like watching people like Gary Coleman who have done nothing real with their lives for 20 years and they still get into tons of trouble.
One person who I really admire is Bronco (the lost today withstanding). He is a great example of respect, temperance and honor.
Spencer Pratt (Along with all the people on The Hills) is someone I could watch for hours... I hate this kid so bad that I can't miss an episode. An ultimate hero is hard for me, there's not just one that stands out, JFK is most definitely one, and the classic George Washington.
Linsday Lohan was actually the first one that come to my mind well. But I think that within the Lohan, Britney Spears issues lately, we can see a theme. It seems as if these anti-icons are so starved for this attention that they find themselves having to do more and more ridiculous things just to get notice. The more scandals they are in, they more press time they get, therefore making them popular, but for less-than-admirable reasons. Maybe these anti-icons realize that they have nothing spectacular about them that will get them noticed, so they have to go to different extremes.
Donald Trump comes to the forefront of my mind when I think of anti-icons. The guy is such a tool sometimes, and yet, you can't deny his business skills. I think Lindsay Lohan, along with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, all fit the category of anti-icon perfectly. They are on the covers of every magazine and we just love to hate them. Yet, there they are gracing the cover of People magazine because one of their pictures guarantees high magazine sales for that week. What exactly does that say about our society?
The Flavor of Luv guy. He's ridiculously entertaining. I think he is lame and cheap and all, but I have to admit I was drawn to watch him. My true heroes are the people who volunteer in Africa to help starving people and AIDS patients
I'd have to say that lately one of my heroes would have to be Bronco Mendenhall. Up until recently we were getting a huge amount of national hype and because of that there were many article written about the cougars. Each time there were these amazing quotes by Bronco about how football is not the most important thing to him or his football team and about how much he loves doing firesides. Even after our disappointing loss, he was humble enough to take the blame for the whole team even though I'm sure it wasn't his fault.
As far as anti-icons, I really hate them all, and I don't think that I can say that I love to hate any of them. It sometimes depresses me to see or hear about things they do.
This is a hard question for me because I don't really follow the lives of spoiled rich idiots like Paris Hilton And Britney Spears, but I sure do love to see them make fools of themselves. Yet I wonder why we as a society pay so much attention to these people. Why can't we care about more important things in life?
It's sad that for true societal true heros we have to look into history. All of the founding fathers of the U.S.A. are heros and I specifically admire: Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and John Adams.
As far as anti-heroes go I'd put Donald Trump at the top of my list. He does nothing but self-serving promotion. He an obnoxious egomaniac with a terrible hair cut.
My favorite anti-heros are all of the kids on The Hills. That show can entertain me for hours (as long as there are new episodes...) It's fascinating to watch the different events in their lives take place and see how messed up their lives are.
I have a few real heroes at this point in my life. One is my mom, one is my dad, one is my Philosophy professor, and one is my boyfriend. They are all great people who make me want to be better and have helped me more fully realize my potential.
Ok I think my favorite anti-icon is Posh Spice a.k.a. Victoria Beckham. I think she is way too skinny right now, but in her spice girl days she was amazing and she is still a fashion icon even after having kids. I'm not sure who my ultimate hero is, that's kind of a hard question, but I love Jackson Browne.
I think that the person that I love to hate has got to be Heidi from the Hills. I think she is so stupid. Her boyfriend Spencer is pretty funny though. On one episode I saw she faked like she was pregnant. Now she is endorsing John McCain for president. I love watching The Hills, but I really do get sick of her. One of my heroes has got to be Lance Armstrong. Everything that he went through, his cancer, then winning 7 straight Tour de France's. His book is inspiring.
It's been said by many, but I also love to hate the Hills people. I admit that I do watch the show...maybe it's because it makes me feel better that I am doing more with my life right now than shopping and partying...okay, they do have jobs, but we all know that part of the reason they got them is because of the show. Two of my real heroes are my parents. They are pretty much the most amazing people I know...they've done so much for me and my siblings and I couldn't ask for better parents. With all this hero talk, I've kind of decided that the best kind of heroes are those people you view as heroes that you also know or have personal experiences with.
The closest thing I have to an anti-icon is the entire Yankee organization. But since A-Rod is in the most tabloids, I'll go with him. Now there's a guy I would beat up if given the opportunity. Oh, my real hero is my wife. Lame, but true.
I wish I could love to hate the Hills, but I hate it too much to bear it. Annoying, fake, unrealistic. I think Paris Hilton is the most interesting. On certain days she is pretty hot (unique look no?) and can be charismatic. At least she starred in an actual movie (House of Wax) and a few shameless reality shows that were actually intended to make fun of her disconnect. Also, she is famous despite no talent, she coins funny phrases, and was arrested. (I loved that jail stint) Fave hero? I said MLK Jr. in class. Definitely him and Lincoln - Lincoln was hated by almost all white Americans and had failed at everything his whole life. Then he won and rallied his party and in the most crucial hour, helped reunite our country. A testament to his honor he sealed his legend in martyr's blood.
An anti-icon that hasn't been mentioned is Britney Spear's LITTLE SISTER JAMIE SPEARS... now she is an ANTI-ANTI-ANTI icon. She is popular not only because of her sister, but because she got prego at 16! I don't love her, nor do I hate her... But she is popular/famous/rich because of her anti-talents and anti-morals.
i also love kim kardashian. i love nicole and paris as well because i am just fascinated by them- how they manage to stay in the spotlight when they don't do anything productive at all! well, if you count paris' 3882348 perfumes maybe...
i also love everyone on the hills and i'm not afraid to admit it.
my real hero is abraham lincoln. i was lucky enough to live just down the road from the lincoln memorial in DC this summer, and i visited it quite a few times. every time i went i was just amazed. his words were so powerful and he did such amazing things for our country.
My real Hero is Nelson Mandela- I would fill up the internet memory quota if I had to tell you why!! My Anti- icon would have to be any man who goes onto the Bachelor- I mean he acts like a chauvinistic pig and has has license to cheat on multiple women - who all know what is going on and are OK with it! But I just LOVE to HATE the bachelor men- it is addictive to see how this one guy handles so many girls!
I've always been absolutely annoyed by Paris Hilton. She is a woman of hollow wood.
A hero for me is Martin Luther King. What he did took guts.
New York, from I love New York season one and two. I can't stand this woman, she is everything that is wrong with reality TV stars today. I would have to say that one of my heros would have to be.. I honestly cant think of anyone. There is no one in pop culture that is anything that i would want to be like.
My "famous hero" would have to be Michael Phelps, but my anti-icon-hero... man that's hard to say. I'm not a huge TV watching guy (other than sports), but there are a few characters that make me laugh my head off because of their popularity, but that I really don't see why they're "hot stuff" in reality...
1. The girls from "The Hills" I think are great examples of "anti-icons"
2. I think that in a small way, Dr. Ray from "Dr. 90210" is loved by all his watchers, but he really does erk me.
3. And of course....Britney Spears
I think that it is so fun to hate paris hilton... even though I know how ridiculous she is and that she has done nothing to be successful, I can't stop watching her! the simple life was about the funniest show I've ever seen, and all they did was act like complete losers who can't successfully do tasks that any other human on earth could do. I hate to believe that the reason I love to watch her could really be that it is fun to watch other people screw up their lives. It's the opposite of how I aim to be in other aspects of my life. But why else would we love to hate these people? Maybe that is exactly the reason why: we don't get to hate people that we actually know...? I go throughout my day trying to as Christ-like as I can (I said trying, not being, just to clarify) and at the end of the day maybe it just feels good to guiltlessly laugh at someone's failures. If we actually knew these anti-icons as friends or family, we would have very different responses to their actions, but since they are complete strangers, we can guiltlessly point and laugh. Is this a total justification for something that is not right or are our anti-icon interests totally harmless?
My ultimate hero would be Nelson Mandela. This man is just amazing. Anti-icon? I think I'd have to say Paris Hilton. I don't hate these guys and girls. I just like watching what their shows and finding out what they are up to. I won't go out of my way to find out but if it's right in my face, I wouldn't getting to know what they are up to. Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, etc..., I can stand, but the cast of the Hills and Lindsay Lohan just drive me nuts. I guess it depends on who it is.
Like most of you, I am obsessed with watching "The Hills." These people have done nothing remotely heroic, yet we are obsessed with everything they do. The worst of these is Spencer. He is so lazy, and kinda a jerk. Yet we all love to watch him, week after week. As for who my hero is, I honestly cannot think of anyone. Like our reading said, heroes are dead. We know too much about peoples lives due to tabloids, and we learn that no one is perfect, or heroic like we want to believe.
I dont love but i respect Paris Hilton, I have seen her at events at night and she puts on such a show everynight she goes out! It takes a lot of work and luck and money to become so famous, and they do become famous for some reason. So all those people who make fun of her then I pose this question to you! Why arent you famous?
I don't know if you can say I love to hate her, but Paris Hilton to me is one of the most ridiculous human beings. She's famous for being rich from her grandpa's money and going clubbing. I don't get the fascination with her, she's not even very good looking. She probably looks dumber than she is and that's saying a lot.
A real hero to me is someone who overcome adversity to succeed and getting out of jail early doesn't qualify.
oh this is quite a question. although this has been said many times already, probably the cast of the hills is my anti-hero. especially spencer and heidi. i grew up with lauren conrad, so i still see her as a friend though she has morphed into another reality celeb snob. my hero is probably my mom, she is the greatest.
This new phenomenon of being famous because your famous is hilirious. The funniest part is people being angry at them for having no talent or any good human qualities. people just want to hate them because they can't help that they are famous for no reason.
Don't get me wrong, they deserve our scorn. They flaut their talentless lives and bask in the glory of being famous because your famous.
I would have to say all of the people on the shows like The Hills, Laguna Beach and all of those terrible scripted shows which people THINK are real are the perfect example of anti-icons. I love to hate all of those people. I think it really is sad that our society doens't have real heroes anymore. Our focus has shifted from heroes who stand for something and who rise from rags to riches by their own hard work and rich ideas. Today's heroes unfortunately don't have talents and just rely on their dad's pocketbook to produce a show on MTV about their lame life. Can you tell I'm sick of these reality shows?
I'd be the first to admit my morbid fascination with some anti-icons, but most of the ones around today are sub-par. Or maybe I just don't harbor that much fascination for the anti-icon class. I think people like Johnny Depp, Stephen Colbert and (much as I dislike him) Bono, are all true pop icons of their own right. And true icons will always be more interesting than the fake ones.
My real hero is the original George W. George Washington, that is. I loved him when I was a kid, but learning more about him through David McCullough's "1776" made me admire him even more.
The anti-icon that I love (and don't hate) is Stephen Colbert! He makes fun of people for a living, and I love him for it.
- Michael Williams
I think i'd have to agree with Kristin and Eurrka, my real heroes are my parents. I think real people who aren't surrounded by publicity actually do a better job of publishing their true selves. As far as reality heroes, I'd have to say Bam Margera and Chris Pontius from Jackass, Viva la Bam, CKY and Wildboyz. These shows are better and more entertaining than scripted reality in my book and have probably been the only shows that have got me to try and mimick some of the stunts performed. They're talented and genuinely funny (not in a non-intentional way) which is more than i can say about the vast majority of reality stars out there.
I think I should admit that I have allways loved what Martha Stewart could do. She can make anything into somthing that is classy and beautiful. Maybe it has nothing to do with her at all, it's just the content of her magazine that attracted me. But she is the symbol of home decor, classy crafts, entertainment for guests and making anything look presentable to large amounts of people.
I have been watching this campaign, and I just can't get enough of hating Sara Palin.
She actually manages to sound dumber than our current president, and that's a feat. She keeps stating things about her record, but if you start looking them up, her record shows corruption through not thinking things through very well. She's hilarious.
Kristen, that's the sweetest thing ever! Yeah, that Lindsay Lohan... that's awesome!
As for the people I love to hate... Good Charlotte... I was absolutely sickened when they came out with a new album, but have been overjoyed since i've heard it... because its terrible. New style= nice try, but you guys are still whiny... i love it!
As for real life heroes... sounds lame, but i have had so many church leaders be my heroes. from my 9th grade seminary teacher, to my mission president, or my current stake president, the Brother Heminways, President Tucker, and President Wilkeys and even my own father, will always be my favorites to love to love!
Post a Comment