A Fauxlebrity is someone who is a “fake celebrity” A person with no talent who is often thrust into the limelight usually because of reality TV, being the offspring of a celebrity, or being associated with someone talented. But let us not forget the biggest fauxlebrities of them all, the heir of someone else’s fortune. Now I don’t have to list the names of these no-talent charlatans, I’m sure many names come to mind from Yoko Ono to Paris Hilton to the kids of rock stars in reality TV shows.
Reality TV is the biggest reason for the overflow of fauxlebrities or “reality TV celebrities” and the death of entertainment in American pop culture. Several female simpletons fighting over a narcissistic guy with the help of edited, staged drama is somehow called “reality”. Show me a single mom working, trying to support her kids in today’s tough times, NOW THAT’S REALITY! Another great idea for a reality show would be to get a fauxlebrity behind the wheel of a Toyota and see if they can come to a stop, without crashing their car or trying to pull out of a parking space without destroying property. American pop culture and reality TV’s impact has distorted our sense of reality!
Pop culture has changed dramatically throughout the decades as expected. But for some reason, I think it’s taking a turn for the worse. Take “TV Dads” for instance, back in the 50’s it was “Father Knows Best” and Ward Cleaver, the family had good wholesome values. In the 60’s the counter-culture started to emerge in society through music and cinema but our TV dads were still untainted. Even in the 70’s with the country divided on the Vietnam War, we all still agreed that Mike Brady was a good role model and made the almost perfect dad. Isn’t it ironic that no one knew that the actor who played Mike Brady, Robert Reed was gay in real life? In the 80’s, the country was ready for an African American TV dad. Dr. Huckstable took the part of prime time’s father figure. In the 1990’s things started to go downhill for pop culture. The phrase, “who’s your daddy?” came about and no one knew who their daddy was, so we made one up, Homer Simpson. Now in the new millennium, drug-induced rock stars and racist bounty hunters are the TV dads of America, and along with them came the onslaught of fauxlebrities. Show these entertainment executives and advertisers that you do not support fauxlebrities or”fake celebrities” by choosing your entertainment wisely and not watching E! Network.
Join me again next week and keep sending in your emails and comments, until then…
Take care and be safe-
Danny Keaton