Killing a Celebrity
"The moral nihilism of celebrity culture is played out on reality television shows, most of which encourage a dark voyeurism into other people's humiliation, pain, weakness, and betrayal" Chris Hedges in "Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and Triumph of Spectacle" The tragic death of pop icon Whitney Houston this past weekend was heartbreaking, but not surprising. Her struggles with drugs, alcohol, and recklessness has been well documented and popularized over the past decade. Her life and death are tributes to America's celebrity culture, where lives become valued for their entertainment over and against their intrinsic value. "Being Bobby Brown" aired on the Bravo Network from 2005 through 2007. The show was immensely popular and was a reality series looking at the life of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. Critics on NBC's today showed characterized the show as " disgusting and crude" . Although I never watched the sh