Modern American Literature journal #2: Is it Better to Know the Truth?
Post before January 6
Johnny Bear exposes a painful truth about the Hawkins sisters, one that Alex Hartnett believes would have been better left unsaid. But is the town any better for this?
Johnny Bear, by virtue of his savant ability to "record" conversations, can be compared to our media today, specifically the paparazzi and media stalkers who will do anything for a story to sell to TV, a website, or some magazine. But do we really need to know every sordid detail of every misstep and mistake that the rich, famous, and powerful take? Wouldn't it be better if our leaders---like our politicians, church leaders, and community leaders---were exempt from scrutiny and examination from the press? Or shouldn't we know so that these leaders can be held to higher standards of behavior, or at least standards that their position requires? These questions are more complex than you think, and they explain why the narrator of "Johnny Bear" isn't so sure if he's done the right thing as soon as he plunks down a quarter to get Johnny Bear started.
Answer one of these prompts (minimum of 250 words):
1. Research and write about how the media/paparazzi destroyed the career of someone famous who did not deserve it
2. Research and write about how the media/paparazzi uncovered important information about one of our leaders that was responsible for his or her downfall. Tell us whether you agree or disagree with what happened and the media's methods.
3. Research and write about some recently uncovered scandals that are almost too "creepy" to write about, and really serve no purpose for the common good.
4. Write about a TV show or web site that is in the "infotainment" business that goes "over the top" at times.
5. Research and write about how the media uncovered a "scandal" that bettered our society.
posted by JTF @ 11:22 PM
45 comments
45 Comments:
The media only cares about two rights listed in the Bill of Rights, right to freedom of the press and right to freedom of speech. They give little to no regard in terms of innocent until proven guilty. The press that Bill Cosby is currently receiving is slowly killing his career and is making his influence meaningless. I think he does not deserve this bad press in at its current degree. Recently, several woman have come out accusing Cosby of drugging and rapping them with even more joining the bandwagon. A good chunk of these accusations are from at least 2004 and extend to 1965. Most rape charges cannot be filed due to statutes of limitations; however, he can still be sued for assault charges. Cosby is receiving negative press like he was being charged for rape when he has not even been formally charged. This situation has caused Cosby to brake ties with colleges such as Temple University. Students attending these colleges have looked up to Cosby as a role model. Now, the students currently attending these colleges would look at Cosby in scorn because of the accusations. Throughout his career, Cosby has also worked to prevent teenage drug use. All that he has worked for in this cause has lost all of its meaning. It would be hard to show the effects of rape in a civil suit. Based on the amount of time that has elapsed and the credibility of the accuser, Cosby's entire wealth could be wasted on these civil suits causing even more bad press for him. Cosby really does not deserve all of this bad press, at this point in time anyway. Thinking about it, it seems almost impossible that a rapist could attack for 39 years with accusers after any of the rapes would not face any charges or any punishment whatsoever. For them to all pile up ten years after the rapist stops attacking is a bit strange. There are two possibilities for this. The first possibility is that the victims were paid off and were quiet until one victim came out publicly. The second possibility is that Cosby is an easy target in civil court and the “victims” are after money. Also, isn't it a bit odd that all of the supposed victims have some sort of connection to fame and fortune. This situation is just a disaster and Cosby's days of fame and fortune are no more.
One infotainment TV show is House of Cards. In this show a Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him. Set in present-day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina's 5th congressional district and House majority whip who, after being passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, initiates an elaborate plan to get him into a position of power. His wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), assists him in this endeavor. The series is primarily about ruthless pragmatism, manipulation, power, and doing bad things for the greater good. This show shows how our governmental system is corrupt. It informs the American people that many things and positions in government are either bought, bribed or sought using what some would call illegal behaviors. It also illustrates the differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. It helps people understand how the different parties are different and how they are the same. By showing this, it gives people the idea that while they get along, there is a lot of corruption. Another thing this show addresses is how the media and news use many illegal ways to get information. They don’t care if it is true or false, if it comes from a person in power, then they write about it. Finally, this show tells us that sometimes, people of high power in our government use illegal methods to either remain in power or take someone else out.
This past year in 2014, There have been some pretty juicy scandals unveiled to the public. The most recent one would have to be the posting of nude photos of pretty much every A-list celebrity. Not only did this not serve any purpose to the general public or society it general, if just too away every ounce of privacy those people had. The second biggest of scandal of 2014, Jay-Z and Solange Knowles (Beyonces sister) got into a heated fight in a elevator and apparently fist were thrown. The paparazzi and tabloids have taken this issue and exposed it to the point no body knows what is real or what is fake. Lastly, but certainly not least. Recently in the news/tabloids Bill Cosby has been accused of sexually assaulting and physically assaulting numerous women. Dozens of women have come forward staying that in the 1960's and 1970's Cosby assaulted them. Many have filed lawsuits and Cosby has obviously come forward saying known of it is true. None of these scandals are in anyway shape or form helpful to society. Why do I wanna see naked pictures of Jennifer Lawrence? Uh I don't. All this violence in the media is so uncalled for. This is the reason why there is so much uproar and protest against rape, and promoting feminism. When is enough,enough? There are rarely positive stories promoted by tabloids and the papparazzi.
According to the grand jury investigation of Officer Darren Wilson, (a former police officer for the city of Ferguson) officer Wilson was just doing his job on August 9, 2014. Some media and paparazzi seem to disagree with this decision. When an African American man named Michael Brown was fatally shot by officer Wilson, the media immediately made this an issue of race. Wilson was instantly painted a murderer by the media and his life was changed forever. He could no longer go out in public because he was receiving death threats from people all over the country. The media came out with several different stories about what happened that day. Some said Wilson was defending himself, that Brown charged towards him. Others said that Wilson just saw Brown in the streets and killed him. The stories changed every week as new witnesses came forward. The overall trend in the stories was that Brown was an innocent black man who was shot down by a white officer, or that Brown attacked Wilson and Wilson was just defending himself. Assuming the grand jury made a fair and just decision, the media has destroyed Darren Wilson’s life. He will most likely never be a police officer again and will most likely not ever feel safe living in St. Louis. Had the media stayed out of the whole situation and did not assume things, Darren Wilson would be living a completely different life right now. The media released his home address and his families names. This man was proven innocent by the grand jury, yet because of the media, his life will never be the same.
One “scandal” that has been recently uncovered by the media and has benefited society is the issue of the church and the sex abuse allegations. In 2002, the Boston Globe became the first media source to uncover several shocking stories of priests abusing children within the church. This caused a spark to ignite worldwide as more than 500 victims came forward, told their stories and filed charges. This led to the resignation of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law who had been assigning abusers to different parishes at his own discretion. Reports showed that 130 people claimed to have been sexually abused by Father John Geoghan of Boston. By 2004, more than 450 priests and bishops had resigned. For years the Church had covered up these allegations and locked away files hoping to keep their reputation intact. They knew exactly what was going on in parishes all over and, yet, did absolutely nothing to stop it. But since these appalling revelations have come about, the Church has grown stronger. The Catholic Church worldwide began enacting new laws and guidelines to deal with past cases and prevent others from happening in the future. In addition, stricter guidelines were put into place to make sure potential abusers did not enter the priesthood in the first place. Recently Robert Oliver, the new Vatican prosecutor for sex abuse scandals, has come forward for the first time and praised the media for their prevalent role in exposing these awful stories. At first, the Church wanted to blame the media for what they did but they realized that without the media, they would not have been able to honestly and truthfully handle the situation. This scandal showed that the church is far from perfect and everyone makes mistakes. Though it may be hard for some people to understand, everyone needs forgiveness and one person’s mistake does not define a universal community of people. Overall, all this uncovering of past and present cases helped the Church “confront the truth” instead of hide from it. Though their image was tarnished and people were hurt in the process, more people were saved as abusers were brought to justice and victims were brought to safety.
The media and paparazzi has torn down many famous people’s lives who did not deserve it but I believe Michael Jackson’s case was the worst. Michael Jackson was a brilliant entertainer and overall cared about the people. He always wanted to do what was right and when he did, the media would still twist his words or actions to make him look bad. For example, he stated, “The press is so hard on me here [Britain]…” Basically, he went to Britain, visited fans and paid to fly out Mickie and Minnie Mouse from Euro-Disney to come with him and surprise children in hospitals with bags of presents. The moment he leaves the media comes out with an article that states, “Wacko Jacko left the hospital and he ignored all the children.” This relates closely to emotional abuse. The media is just people willing to say anything to make money not knowing that their words can slowly tear people apart. Jackson not only talked to interviewers constantly about the paparazzi and false stories, but also wrote songs. Two of the songs he wrote about the media were called “Tabloid Junkie” and “Leave Me Alone”. I tend to believe that these songs were cries for help. He had no one to turn to but his fans and needed to somehow find some relief. Overall, Michael Jackson contributed too much to this world since such a young age to be made fun of constantly about his looks or actions. He was very famous and placed in the spotlight of media. Michael Jackson remained very famous throughout the ridicule but as a human, was emotionally degraded. He died very young due to drug overdose and the media could be a part of his addictions.
The media uncovers many scandals which do not have a positive impact on society, however, the Ray Rice domestic abuse incident had a positive influence on not only the NFL but on society in general. Although this incident occurred in February of 2014, the media played a major role in bring about change as it was a top story in the news for many months beginning in the late Summer and continuing through the Fall of 2014. Ray Rice hit his then-fiancé Janay Palmer in the elevator of a hotel in Atlantic City, rendered her unconscious and dragged her out of the elevator. The act was captured on the building surveillance cameras. Ray Rice was arrested for his actions and initially the NFL only suspended him for 2 games, however, due to the intense media coverage and particularly the tabloid TV show TMZ, who broadcasted the video of the punch in the elevator, the NFL ended up suspending Ray Rice indefinitely although he later appealed that suspension. In addition, the NFL implemented a new policy which will result in stricter penalties should any of its players be involved in a domestic violence incident in the future. This scandal brought the issue of domestic violence in our society to the forefront and increased the public’s awareness of the effect these actions have on the individuals involved and their families.
If TMZ had not decided to air the video footage the true magnitude of the attack would not have reached the public in the way it did and the reaction to the incident would have been far less widespread and severe. Although the media and TMZ were showing the video to boost their ratings, it actually ended up benefitting society by visually demonstrating the chilling reality of how horrific domestic violence can be. When people saw the viciousness of Ray Rice striking his fiancé the public’s outcry was so intense that the NFL had no choice but to completely revamp their domestic violence policy. In the end society became more sensitive to the plight of women in abusive relationships.
Richard Nanula was appointed chief financial officer of the Walt Disney Co. (DIS); he was the youngest CFO in Fortune 500 history; he was CEO of Starwood Hotels (HOT); he was one of the first black Fortune 500 chiefs; later became CFO of drug giant Amgen (AMGN) and served on the board of Boeing (BA). Such a successful person who people all look up to was destroyed by one piece of uncovered scandal. A Los Angeles Times story charges that Nanula, posing as a porn star called "Mr. Rich," videotaped himself having sex with adult film actresses. This scandal led Nanula, 53, to resign in July from private equity firm Colony Capital and the Miramax film company, where he was chairman.
For a person like Richard Nanula, people should care how much fortune he has brought us but not his personal life. This scandal does not serve any purpose for common good and it is creepy to write about a personal privacy. For Richard Nanula, he does not deserve this kind of life. He could have brought more fortune to the world and made a story of a hero in business. It is immoral that the media write about any story that can make a sell on TV, newspaper, or magazine. And the public should not pay attention on personal life of celebrities so that we can protect them from being exposed.
Paula Deen was a woman who almost every American knew of because of her fantastic cook books, her cooking television shows, and her many commercials on television. Many people saw her as a kind and happy lady who loved to cook and entertain. She supplied millions of Americans with delicious meals and happy family dinners. However, with the influence of the media, her whole image was switched 180 degrees because of a racial slur that she used very early in her career. Deen made derogatory remarks regarding African Americans in the presence of a female employee whose nieces are bi-racial with an African-American father. She used the remarks in the context of telling a story to her husband of a black male who burst into a bank and put a gun to her head. The media jumped all over the case and blew it way out of proportion. It was all over the news and cost Deen much sponsorship and millions of dollars. In the time between the filing of the suit and the suit being dismissed, Deen had cookery programs, publishing deals and endorsement contracts cancelled by Food Network, Smithfield Foods, Walmart, Target, QVC, Caesars Entertainment, Home Depot, diabetes drug company Novo Nordisk, J.C. Penney, Sears, Kmart, and her then-publisher Ballantine Books. Because of the influence from the media, it made Deen’s actions seem much worse than they really were. Although racial slurs are never acceptable, many people believe that she was treated very unfairly. The biggest reason why people believe she was treated unfairly was because she used the slur very early in her career and no one said anything about it until many years later when she was more popular and had more money. Deen was used as an example to show what can happen if you make a mistake and the media takes over and it is upsetting that the media will go out of its way to punish someone.
The media often invades celebrities personal lives and I hated by most people. The media does not always get the credit they sometimes deserve. The Ray Rice scandal was one of the biggest scandal of the year. No one really knew what happen until TMZ a celebrity news website released the video of Ray Rice dragging his wife out of the elevator until then no one knew what happened. The media attacked this scandal and Ray Rice. Ray Rice was suspended from the NFL but has since been reinstated. By the media releasing the video it has opened people’s eyes to domestic violence. Celebrities are taking a stand by being involved in No More commercials most starring current and former NFL stars. I think that the media deserves tons of credit for getting awareness out to the public to tell them that it is serious and it needs to stop. Our society is more aware and more knowledgeable about domestic violence thanks to the media. The Ray Rice scandal shows us that professional athletes are not perfect at all and they often make mistakes. America needs the media. Without the media we would be lost with what is going on in the world. We look to the media when we are having problems and when we are having success. Media teaches us life lessons and now they are teaching us to stand up to domestic violence and to speak up and stop making excuses for why people do what they do.
Ever since 2007, a show called TMZ has been on air that has intended to be an entertainment and gossip news television show. TMZ is a show that is in the infotainment business that has often times gone over the top. Although some of gossip can be beneficial to the celebrities and viewers, more often then not the gossip can be harmful. One major example is a tweet that Sarah Palin sent out to her followers. Sarah Palin tweeted a picture of her six-year-old son using a dog as a “stepping stone.” Palin tweets, “Determined to wash dishes with an oblivious mama not acknowledging his signs for ‘up?’. found me and a lazy dog blocking his way. He made his stepping stone.” Sarah Palin’s thought was that the pictures of her son was inspirational; however, when TMZ showed this tweet to their viewers many of them did not. Viewers looked at this picture as animal cruelty. While some of her followers defended her, others criticized her and tweeted back hateful words. TMZ showed this tweet as a negative view looking to start conversation. Another example of this show sometimes going over the top would be the numerous amounts of celebrity nudes they show and talk about on the air. TMZ looks to get involved in many celebrities personal lives and privacy. A great deal of people like to know the inside scoop on celebrities lives. TMZ is a show that leaks this information to the public to give the viewers what they want to see not caring if they go over the top. They look to gain viewers as well as ruin celebrity images.
Usually scandals are made about celebrities that bring up allegations and different thoughts about them that are probably not good. Some however can bring out a good side to the situation even though it is a very serious scandal. The Adrian Peterson scandal occurred after the Ray Rice incident, and Peterson was accused of beating his child with a branch but Peterson stated he only wanted to discipline his child and regrets the injury the child received. Only weeks after the Ray Rice scandal erupted, this scandal came up and more allegations against the NFL’s commissioner Roger Goodell for not acting during the Rice Scandal. Many people have not wanted him to step down because of his non-actions. Now, all of these scandals from the NFL keep surfacing causing more and more people to think differently about how they view the players, coaches, and moderators. Even though, all of these scandals have made many people think twice about the NFL, but the NFL is now sponsoring and trying to help stop domestic and child abuse with a commercial shown during every game. The commercial shows celebrities just looking into the camera and saying things like it wasn’t my fault or I’ll speak up next time; all starting with no more. So the celebrities and NFL stars from around the league say, “no more it wasn’t my fault” or “no more I’ll speak up next time”. This commercial is supposed to make people be aware of domestic abuse and violence to help stop it by coming together to say no more excuses; we need to do something about it now. These scandals may have ruined these athletes’ careers but the good that is coming out about the awareness and knowledge of domestic abuse is overwhelming.
In February of 2013, Melissa King resigned her title as Miss Delaware Teen USA. The media asked King about allegations that she took part in an online sex tape that went viral. She denied that it was her portrayed in the video. Her face is never seen but apparently you do hear the woman answering questions that lead one to believe that it is her. For example, she indicates that her birthday is in March and she participated in Miss Teen pageants. So is this a case of the media wrongly accusing an innocent person or are they just doing their job? Despite her denying that she was involved, it’s hard to believe that Melissa resigned her crown if she is innocent. In this case I think that the media had a right to question Melissa since her title requires being a role model. Many teens and children look up to pageant participants and especially the winners. With the title of Miss Delaware Teen USA comes a responsibility to act in an appropriate manner. This type of scandal not only affects the person causing it but brings shame to the family and also the state of Delaware. It is hard to believe in this day and age that someone would risk their reputation and their future careers. The media can easily find things by just searching the internet. Once the public picks up or finds the story it can get blown up so quickly. If the media didn’t discover this story, Melissa may have thought that she could have gotten away with it and finished her title as Miss Teen Delaware USA.
The media uncovered many scandals that bettered our society. One that stuck out to me was when the media uncovered Michael Vick and dog fighting. This stood out to me because of my love for animals, especially dogs. The reason this was such a scandal was because dog fighting is outlawed in every state and by the federal government. This scandal bettered our society by drawing attention to animal cruelty and how wrong it is. An animal is abused every 10 seconds in our country, and it is a shame that it took a celebrity to make this such a huge deal.
This scandal bettered our society because it is a proven fact that the media affects the way we act and think. The more the media looks down on something or looks positively upon something, the more we are influenced. The fact that Michael Vick was dog fighting was a huge deal. It was all over the news, the paper, the internet. The media had nothing but bad things to say about Michael Vick’s behavior and this caused society to realize animal cruelty is a serious offense and punishment that no one would want to deal with in his or her own life. This scandal allowed America to realize that this is a federal offense and not only will it cause pain in animals’ lives, but also the person instigating the cruelty. After seeing how much Michael Vick went through from being caught with dog fighting, no person in society would be proud to announce they were participating in animal cruelty.
In today’s world people feel the need to know every single detail that lies within every story. The obsession society has to know every aspect of a celebrity and their life has caused the media to go to extreme lengths in order to deliver the story that the people want. The media has been known to often times take their actions too far in order to land the story; however, in some situations the result of the media’s action can result in someone getting hurt. Therefore saying, “curiosity killed the cat” applies when discussing the effects of paparazzi or the media on a person or their life. In the case of the death of Princess Diana of Wales, not only curiosity but greed killed the cat- the cat begin the story. Princess Diana died due to the injuries inflicted on her from a car accident. The car accident occurred in Paris on Sunday August 31, 1997. A spokesman for the Prefecture of police said, “The car was being chased by photographers on motorcycles, which could have caused the accident”. Since the Princess’s divorce from Prince Charles, the media had been chasing after Diana trying to get a picture or a new story on the princess. French radio stations reported that a spokesman for the British royal family in London expressed anger and said the accident was predictable because photographers relentlessly pursued the Princess wherever she went. Due to the aggressive actions of the paparazzi the chauffeur of Princess Diana’s car, Henri Paul, was forced to drive faster. The tragic death of Princess Diana of Wales tells of the unnecessary obsession to get the photo or story. The picture isn't worth a person’s life. The story of the Princess of Wales should show the media that certain boundaries should be set when dealing with the story of someone’s life.
The celebrities of the TLC reality TV show, Jon and Kate Plus 8, were greatly affected by the media. It was the paparazzi who discovered that Jon, the father in the show, was having affairs with younger women. When the paparazzi got a photo of Jon in the car with a much younger girl, rumors began to spread which later resulted in confirmation of the affairs. This tore apart the marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin, while also affecting their eight children. Media continued to tear down the family, as they continued to have their lives filmed for their show, which revealed their life at home and how unstable the media had made both of the parents. At first, this show seemed like an easy way to make money to the young parents who had two sets of multiples, twins and sextuplets. What seemed to be a family oriented show, later turned into a drama that destroyed the family. This shows that media does not always benefit the people being followed. Although media was how the affairs were discovered, it also was what made the inner family troubles much more public, preventing any hope of privacy for the family at such a rough time. Jon and Kate went on to get a divorce later in the show, and Kate continued the show afterwards, changing its title to Kate Plus 8. This constant need for fame was all a result of being way too involved in the media. Although media can be beneficial and serve as a good source of entertainment, it also can destroy relationships, families, and friendships to those who are targeted.
Sometimes the media un-covers a story that can actually help our society. Although it may be hurtful to those involved, its shows to average Americans, that even celebrities can make mistakes. The abusive elevator fight between Ray Rice, player for the Baltimore Ravens team, and wife let Americans into a serious case of domestic violence. Ray rice and, fiancé at the time, Janay Palmer were at a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey in late march of last year. They were in the elevator when a fight broke out between the two. There was violence on both sides and toward the end; Janay is knocked out completely by Ray. Cameras inside of the elevator capture the entire fight and are leaked out all over the internet. After the Baltimore Raven’s coach and the NFL find out about the violence Janay Palmer received Ray, he was immediately punished. At first it was a two game suspension but progressed to the final loss of his job as a player for the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL is trying to speak out against domestic violence now and is becoming better known. Even though the media destroyed ray rice’s career as a football player, it did show America that domestic violence is a huge problem in America. We place celebrities on a high pedestal and when they make mistakes, it is show publically and we truly see them as people just like us.
The paparazzi ruined Britney Spears. She started as a nice girl and once she learned the power of paparazzi, she became corrupt. This was realized when she started to get glamorized for her partying and drunkenness. Then she realized that it was easy to get people to like her as long as she did stupid things. Then she continued to do stupid things like get publicly intoxicated. Eventually she got very bad and her days of hard partying became a lifestyle. As it continued it was almost impossible for her to stop. She eventually had to go to rehab, which she failed countless times. As time progressed, she became extremely sporadic. She would get out of rehab and be glamorized by the paparazzi and do the same things that got her put in rehab like drugs and alcohol. Eventually, the paparazzi had her so crazy for attention that she decided to shave her head. This was the turning point for many people. Once they saw here shave her head, people realized that she had serious problems. They did not want their children to look up to her and instead found her to be crazy. People stopped listening to her music and she eventually died off as a prominent pop star. Many people would say that she deserved to die off as a pop star, but I do not. It was due to the pressures that the paparazzi bring to people who need attention that was her downfall. As she did what she may not have known to be right or wrong, the paparazzi glamorized it to the point where the things she knew were wrong were becoming right. Eventually, there was no difference between the two and the paparazzi were the cause.
The paparazzi ruined Britney Spears. She started as a nice girl and once she learned the power of paparazzi, she became corrupt. This was realized when she started to get glamorized for her partying and drunkenness. Then she realized that it was easy to get people to like her as long as she did stupid things. Then she continued to do stupid things like get publicly intoxicated. Eventually she got very bad and her days of hard partying became a lifestyle. As it continued it was almost impossible for her to stop. She eventually had to go to rehab, which she failed countless times. As time progressed, she became extremely sporadic. She would get out of rehab and be glamorized by the paparazzi and do the same things that got her put in rehab like drugs and alcohol. Eventually, the paparazzi had her so crazy for attention that she decided to shave her head. This was the turning point for many people. Once they saw here shave her head, people realized that she had serious problems. They did not want their children to look up to her and instead found her to be crazy. People stopped listening to her music and she eventually died off as a prominent pop star. Many people would say that she deserved to die off as a pop star, but I do not. It was due to the pressures that the paparazzi bring to people who need attention that was her downfall. As she did what she may not have known to be right or wrong, the paparazzi glamorized it to the point where the things she knew were wrong were becoming right. Eventually, there was no difference between the two and the paparazzi were the cause.
One scandal that has been leaked was General Petraeus’ affair with his biographer. General David Howell Petraeus is a retired American military officer and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. General Petraeus had chosen Paula Broadwell to write his biography and had been working with Broadwell for years on his story. On November 9, 2012, it was reported that she had been involved in an extramarital affair with Petraeus that triggered his resignation as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The affair was discovered by the FBI when they were investigating possible cyber stalking of one of General Petraeus’ friends. The FBI discovered emails that were sexual in nature that they attributed to Petraeus and Broadwell. According to an Associated Press report, rather than sending emails to each other's inbox which would have left a more obvious email trail, messages were left in a draft folder which, were then read when the other person logged into the same account. Initial reports said that the FBI had believed someone else to be accessing Petraeus’ personal Gmail account and began monitoring it, uncovering the affair in the process. After Petraeus’ resignation, the story was leaked to the press. Once the information was released, it became the topic on every news channel and the headline of every newspaper. There was information released that questioned whether sensitive information may have been exchanged between the two. If General Petraeus was leaking sensitive information to Paula Broadwell he should have been forced to resign and face possible criminal charges, but I’m not sure that continually discussing the affair in the news was necessary. Although the government had the right to search his email to make sure he was not leaking confidential information, it was not information that the needed to be released to the public.
The media and paparazzi can ruin any celebrities career. The celebrity could be a singer, actress, or athlete. Tim Tebow was a former quarterback in the NFL who’s career was ruined by the media. Tebow was a Heismann trophy winner and a first round draft pick in the 2010 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos. Tebow was very open about his faith in God and praised him before and after every game as well as every touchdown he threw. Tebow gained mass media attention his rookie year in Denver by wining multiple games on miracle comebacks. The media made him more than he was. However, he had flawed mechanics and was unable to maintain his status as an above average quarterback in the NFL. The media made Tebow seem like a hall of fame quarterback with phrases such as “Tebow Time” and the famous “Tebowing”. Because of the media attention, other NFL teams did not want him on their team because of the surplus of media attention. Ultimately this ruined his career because he was unable to maintain a spot on the team because of the media storms. Tebow played for the Denver Broncos for two seasons and then was traded to the New York Jets and played there for one season. After that he was signed by the New England Patriots where he only made the practice squad and was cut on August 31, 2013. Yes, the media did ruin Tim Tebow’s football career. However, he now works as an announcer for college football games. This goes to show sometimes the spotlight is not always positive and can ruin a career in a short time. However, media can also be positive because they shed a light on Tebow and showed his major flaws of being a quarterback.
The media is all over Kim Kardashian. Not matter what she does, everyone knows about it.
Recently, Kim K did a photo shoot for a magazine called Paper Magazine. The pictures were beautiful and received many good reviews. However, many of the comments back were negative. they said how photoshopped they were and how fake she looked, basically like a Barbie doll. I believe the media blew this photo shoot way out of proportion. Kim was just doing her job and the magazine editors were the ones that photoshopped the picture. Everyone in society need to stop relying on criticizing famous people in the world. I don't understand why it is so important to people that Kim's picture is photoshopped because if they were in her shoes, they would probably do the same thing. Sure the pictures were obviously edited, she is always in the spotlight and having people watch her every more, so I don't blame her if she wants to look good on magazine covers.
Princess Diana is a perfect example of someone whose career was not only destroyed by paparazzi, but also her life. Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi al-Fayed, were killed in a car crash in a Paris underpass in 1997 after photographers forced their driver to speed. After the investigation and trial of the crash, the chauffer was blamed since he lost control of the car while drunk. Although he was to blame according to the legal system, the paparazzi were still equally to blame. They swarmed the car in hopes of pictures which left the driver feeling pressured to drive faster in order to get away. The crash destroyed Diana’s career as the Princess of Wales and also the life that she lived with her family, especially her children. She didn’t deserve what happened to her even though she made mistakes in her life. Princess Diana was killed due to the lack of respect from the paparazzi as well as the stupid decision that the chauffer made to drive drunk. Her death could have been prevented completely if the paparazzi were not so forceful while trying to get pictures. The photographers wanted pictures to go along with their story enough that they became a prominent cause of the crash that night. Princess Diana is still recognized today as one of the most adored members of the royal family. She will always be remembered and her story will always be one that’s told, even years from now. Princess Diana lost her life and career trying to escape the paparazzi to live a life as normal as possible for a princess.
Although the paparazzi usually releases images or stories that don't have to large of an effect on our society, there are some that can bring much attention to our eyes of situations that occur in our world today. One example of these are the accusations of Adrian Peterson beating his four year old son in discipline. He was charged with felony injury to a child for striking his child with a tree branch, although he claims that he did not intend to harm the child. However it was discovered when authorities went through his recent text messages with the child's mother that he disciplined the child for swearing in front of his sibling. He also stated to the child's mother that he told the boy to "Be still n take ya whooping he would have save the scar. He all right." This was a criminal act in which criminal charges were never filed. This brings awareness to child abuse in our world today and how people who are seen as higher parts of our society have an easier time avoiding trouble. The awareness this brings on child abuse and the extent at which it is investigated will benefit our society in which people will have the fear of knowledge. Knowing the unwanted exposure from this event will keep people away from doing it themselves. People could see this terrible crime and see the pain it caused in the child physically and mentally and it helps them to understand that this is something wrong.
There is no doubt in my mind that being famous has its benefits but what many people don't think about is its major drawbacks. One of them being publicity. It is almost impossible for celebrities to get any type of privacy. On August 30, 1997, Britain awoke to devastating news, news that affected not only Britain but the whole world. Diana, Princess of Wales, was pronounced dead. Diana had gotten into a fatal car accident. Not only did Diana die in this fatal car accident but so did her boyfriend at the time, Dodi Fayed, and chauffeur, Henri Paul. Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, luckily but barely survived the crash. The reason behind the catastrophic crash was because the paparazzi were following Diana. The driver reacted by speeding and trying to get away from the crazed paparazzi but it ended horribly with death. These paparazzi wanted so desperately pictures of the princess but was it worth basically killing people for it? Immediately after the crash, or even within seconds, the paparazzi was physically and verbally attacked, not just for taking pictures, but for not offering their assistance to aid the victims. Can you believe that even after the horrible tragedy they still only cared about the pictures they were getting. They have no remorse, no sympathy, they only care about publicizing anything they can get their hands on. This is one of the many faults in our society. Paparazzi destroyed not only Princess Diana's career but also terminated her life.
In this day in age, there are many shows on politics and some are just to inform us and others are there to make us laugh. They give us the information that we need or need to hear, but some take to a whole new level. One show that takes it to a whole new level is the Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. I feel that they take important subjects in the world and in politics and say what they think will make people laugh. You think it’s funny at first but then you take a second glance and you just sit there dumbfounded by what they just said. Recently there has been some controversy with things the Weekend Update has been saying. An example of one was the criticism that they received for making jokes about slavery. The “jokes” came about when the host was talking about how Lupita Nyong’o was named People Magazines most beautiful person, and how she said that she would have been the most sought after woman in the times of slavery. Saturday Night Lives writer Leslie Jones was mainly he one to blame for this controversy. The media today take things out of hand and out of context just to make a good story. Now in this case I feel as though both parties are at fault. The writer of Saturday Night Live is at fault because he should know what is right and wrong to say on a show that almost the whole country watches, but I know that they want to make it a good show and push the boundaries but sometimes it’s good to lay off. The criticizers are wrong because they are fighting something that an individual themselves said to the media so it’s not like you can take it back once it’s out in the social media. Like this example of “pushing the envelope” the media do it so often that it just becomes natural for us to react to it. So the media of today n sense changes the way we think and how we look at things and people. Today’s media can either make or break anyone or anything in entertainment, and we should learn from that.
A famous person whose career was destroyed by the media/ paparazzi was David Hasselhoff. This Baywatch star had a video sent to the media by his daughter, which scarred his career forever. This video showed Hasselhoff’s alcoholism problems arguing with his daughter on the internet while trying to drunkenly eat a wendy’s burger. The result of this video was that Hasselhoff lost custody rights to his daughters temporarily and lost all respect. In 2006, British Airways refused his access to the flight due to the drunkeness. Hasselhoff did not deserve to be exposed through a video on the internet especially showing that he had been suffering with alcoholism. It was also not right of his daughter to send the video and expose him on the media like that. He didn’t have a chance to stop his daughter from submitting this video because he was so drunk. Hasselhoff would probably agree that he didn’t want the public to find out about his problems with alcohol especially through an embarrassing video. From the video people now viewed him as weak and not in control of his life. Hasselhoff’s career had been destroyed just because of this one incident that people will never let and always hold against him till he embarrasses himself again. The media doesn’t let go of the mistakes famous people make, they like to expose them so the public becomes aware of the celebrities career ruining moments. David Hasselhoff is not the only celebrity that the media has caught for exposure to their suffering of alcoholic problems.
Bill Cosby, a legendary comedian best known for his work on the sitcom “The Cosby Show”, has been prominently featured in the news as of late. Not for his comeback tour or his potential new show – for something far more sinister. It seems that a new woman is revealing herself every day with allegations that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her. The women allege that Cosby would use the “date rape” drug (putting a pill in a drink to make the woman lose consciousness shortly after consuming said beverage) and rape them. Needless to say, Cosby’s life will never be the same. If his reputation hasn’t been ruined, it has certainly been tarnished. Cosby has canceled all remaining dates on his current tour, his upcoming TV show was canceled by its network, and Cosby has been forced out of his position on the board of directors at Temple University, his alma mater. While it is never an uplifting story to see somebody be dragged through the mud, especially someone as identifiable as Cosby, I believe this story has ultimately worked out for the greater good. Any attention at all that can be used to raise awareness against the date rape drug is an asset for the common good and with the media attention Cosby has garnered over the scandal, awareness has certainly been raised.
Paparazzi are always known for invading the space of well known celebrities. Paparazzi will do anything to get a photo of any popular celebrity. They will do what it takes to get a picture. But have they pushed the limit? Have paparazzi invaded too much space of many celebrities around the world? One example is Alec Baldwin. He describes his life like this: He has a scheduled event that he has to attend, so he goes to it. He has his fiancee by his side and they go home. Once they get back home they have another event going on but this one was not planned. Alec Baldwin says, “They come jumping out of the bushes to remind me about it. And that creates a problem, I think. It's a very stressful thing. For me, it's ruining the lives of my wife-to-be—and what if I had a kid?” Another example is Lorde. Lorde claims that she has a paparazzi stalking her, the same one that stalked Rihanna. Lorde says that this man is refusing her privacy. It has gotten to the point when Lorde says she is scared of him. She states that this should not be an accepted standard for young women or even anyone in the music industry. Lorde understands that paparazzi belongs to the career of a singer in the music industry, but she does not understand why she should act self-satisfied towards paparazzi. Why do paparazzi find the need to invade other peoples privacy? Is it not the moral thing to do?
Jay Perry Red said...
One situation in which the media uncovered important information about one of our leaders that caused their downfall was the scandal of Richard Nixon. The Watergate scandal is when President Richard Nixon sent spy’s into the democratic nation committee headquarters to discover secrets from the democrats. Nixon wanted to know any secrets that he could use against the democrats looking through hundreds of files in dozens of offices. President Nixon was so paranoid he even went to the extreme of checking democratic candidate’s phycologist files to see what they were talking about in therapy. He wanted to make sure he had every advantage possible in order to win his next election. President Nixon was looking for any advantage he could have over the democrats. Nixon thought his plan was fool proof until the media started to get involved. The Washington post began to investigate after the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the DNC headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The media was able to take down President Nixon by exploiting what he did. The Washington post made extra investigations and published everything the found to the public. Once the public was able to know what President Nixon had done they wanted him impeached. This lead to President Nixon’s impeachment I would agree with the media’s methods in this scenario. I agree because the media was trying to help the public become aware of what was happening in our government. The people of America deserve to know what is going on inside our own government.
TMZ is an “infotainment” that goes over the type ,because it's a show that literally is just people talking about other people's lives. TMZ also used to see what “dumb” answers celebrities can give to random questions by the TMZ camera people. TMZ goes so far that they feel as though they need to write all the interesting (non-important) facts on the board so that everyone including the viewers at home can see. The show also is topped with commentators that are considered to be experts on stalking celebrities. Many celebrities on the show are celebrities are already out of the lime light because they don't have any new movies, shows, or music, and TMZ finds away to try to bring them back in the lime light in a more negative way. TMZ also brings up past altercations to make the show more interesting. For example the Ray Rice incident that was wrong was released by TMZ months later making the couple and family relive the past incident. TMZ also has little segments on their show where they make fun of different by using a form of the “who wore it better game” by changing it to “who messed this up the most” and “who's smarter than the other”. This show also has its own tour bus that rides around L.A. , California going around to different celebrities houses, apartments, and celebrity hangouts. This bus sponsored by the show causes celebrities to be on the look out at all times, causing them not to get the privacy they want, or live a normal life sometimes.
One celebrity who was greatly affected by paparazzi in the past year was Ray Rice. Ray Rice used to be a Baltimore Ravens’ football player before his big scandal. Rice was arrested for domestic violence towards his fiancé in an elevator in Atlantic City. The elevator’s security camera captured the football player knocking out his fiancé. A worker at the casino, where the event took place, gave the elevator’s security video to TMZ. TMZ then made only part of the video public, showing Rice drag his unconscious fiancé out of the casino elevator. Rice was first suspended for just two games by the NFL after he apologized for the incident. A few months later TMZ released the whole video showing Rice punch his fiancé and then drag her out of the elevator. After the release of the video, the Baltimore Ravens released Rice from their team. After seeing the entire video, the NFL decided to suspend Ray Rice. Rice appealed the NFL’s decision and was later reinstated into the league. Rice is now able to sign with any NFL team willing to draft him after the 2014-2015 season. Because of the casino worker that had access to the security tapes gave TMZ the video of Rice knocking out his fiancé, Rice lost his job with the Ravens and was suspended by the NFL. Ray Rice did do a bad thing and derived his punishment, but if TMZ never released the video to the media, he could’ve been playing football in the 2014-2015 season.
TMZ is both a television show and a website. It is a can’t miss experience with all of its publicity. TMZ always wants to report on the latest celebrity gossip and be the first to do so. Sometimes their information is correct, but others it is too outrageous for words. It is not considered a credible source compared to those like the newspaper. People still seem to turn to the show and to the website to find information on their favorite celebrities. TMZ is like the Johnny Bear of today’s society. It is actually only one of many. They hire reporters and paparazzi to go out and get the “dirt” on celebrities. Sometimes they release a new scandal that is not reported anywhere else yet. Sometimes they touch up on scandals that have already been released. All in all, the idea of TMZ is to profit from people’s misfortune. People love drama, they love to read about bad things happening to other people that makes their lives seem better. This gives TMZ the popularity they are looking for. Their television program airs late at night so I’m sure people that are bored at home, flipping through channels with nothing to watch, find this show interesting and leave it on. This also helps the viewer rate of their show. TMZ is ruthless. They will say whatever about anyone just to make money, they do not hold back and most of their articles are very opinionated. Though their information is not always correct and they do not try to spare anyone’s feelings, people still feed off of their information in order to feel updated and “in the loop.”
Bill Clinton served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 through 2001. He was impeached in 1998 because he was convicted of two accounts by about two thirds of the house of representatives of perjury and obstruction of justice. But he later finished his second term because he was acquitted by the senate. His whole downfall at the end of his term started with the media got word of a women named Paula Jones in 1998 that said Bill Clinton had allegedly sexually harassed her. She took it to court and judge Susan webber Wright dismissed the case since Mrs. Jones had not suffered any damages. This case the caused a lot more people to come out and confess that Bill Clinton harassed them, had an affair, or raped them. For example in 1998 Kathleen Willey lied under oath that Clinton groped her in the White House, but it never really happened. Then there was Juanita Braoddrick that said Clinton had raped her but didn't fully remember the date and thought it happens in 1978. This too was also a lie. The case that really got him was the Monica lewinsky in this case apparently Ms. Lewisnky in 1995 came to the White House for an internship and began to have a serious affair won't the president in his first term. A recording was given as evidence in the Paula Jones case from Leinskys friend. Clinton did agree in an out of court settlement agreed to pay $850,000 for her lawyer fees but denied having relations with her. These case all led to other things that led to an impeachment. In this case people contacted the media and were coming out to try and convict Clinton and to also get money. I don't agree with what the media did because most of the cases were false but because the media hyped the situation they made Clinton look worse
Once a beloved child star, actress, and host of the sketch comedy show, The Amanda Show, Amanda Bynes recently went off the deep end after repeated incidents of brash and even sometimes vulgar statements on social media. The media, and the public of course ate it up. Soon after the statements were made, Bynes recieved tons of attention from the paparazzi and countless disheveled pictures of the child actor surfaced following an attemped arson at her home in California. As a result, she was admitted to a mental hospital on psychiatric hold until the court date. Soon after the trial, information was released that Bynes had been suffering from severe metal illnesses such as depression and bipolar disorder for quite some time. In my opinion, the media has no right to report and broadcast the life of someone suffering with a mental illness. Publically displaying every aspect of ones private life after the individual is already suffering from a severe case of bipolar disorder borders on immoral. Instead of poking fun and scrutinizing troubled celebrities such as Bynes, the media should focus more attention on advocating for help for the mentally ill and spreading awareness that mental disorders are a serious condition and nothing to be laughed at or broadcasting for the world to see.
In November of 2011, a case had opened about Jerry Sandusky, assistant coach for football at Penn State. He was accused of a chain of child abuses throughout his coaching career under Joe Paterno’s (head coach) watch. After all of these allegations were made, and under Paternos watch an awful situation was brought up. Should they let Paterno stay or should he be fired? He was fired. This started uproar in the community and all over the campus. There were riots being started and cars being flipped. Everybody loved this eighty-five year old coach who has been there for almost fifty years as a beloved coach and admirer. Soon after these decisions were made, investigators came to find out that Joe had been covering this scandal up for over 10 years. Jerry Sandusky was raping and molesting little boys and Paterno just turned a blind eye to what was going on. These actions sometimes even occurred in Paterno’s office. One of the worst things about this case is when the President, Vice President, and athletic director confronted Proterno about this issue; they agreed to keep this between them. They did not do anything about it and obviously it did not stop Sandusky from scaring little boys for the rest of their lives. At the end of this case, everybody was put where they needed to be except for Paterno who died later that year at the age of eighty-five. How can people be so evil? All the boys involved in this horrible situation will never forget what happened to them and will be scared for the rest of their lives.
There are many television shows that attempt to provide information for the better of society. However there is one show that goes above and beyond to have good ratings and that is TMZ. This TV show that mainly focuses on celebrity gossip. TMZ is a ruthless program designed to destroy the image of those who are celebrities. Whether it is sneaking on a celebrity's vacation to get pictures or mobbing them with photographs when they exit a restaurant, they invade the privacy of human beings. Most of the time, the news being described is pointless information rather than helpful. TMZ have ruined the careers and reputations of many artist, actors/actresses, athletes, and so on. This program makes a profit off of other peoples wrong doings. TMZ takes a celebrity and completely diminishes and dehumanize them in front of all to see.
5.
One of the hottest media topics of 2011 was the Jerry Sandusky trial. Sandusky was the assistant football coach at Penn State University, and a familiar face on campus. Reports broke out about alleged child abuse dating back to the 1970s through the 1990s. As more and more victims came forward, it became evident that there was a major problem in the Penn State coaching and athletic staff. Many of the leaders on campus knew or had heard about Sandusky’s crimes, but did not report them. The issue was not just the act of child abuse itself, but also the crime of passively letting a man molest dozens of children. Among these men were the President of Penn State Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curly, and head coach Joe Paterno. The media revealed the truth about what goes on behind the closed doors of Penn State coaching staff, and just how functional pedophiles can be in society. The case also brought about a new sense of awareness on the all-too-hidden forms of sexual abuse among children. The case gave the boys, who are now grown men, to finally get the justice they deserved and a voice to speak up against Sandusky. This is an example of how media can uncover things to better society. Now, no one else will be affected by the effects of child abuse from Sandusky. It may also inspire other victims to speak out and let others know what happened to them. Without the media, this story would not have had the impact it did.
Recently, the media has been all over Bill Cosby. Personally I do not believe that he has this many offenses, but I believe that he has some offenses. Once he was caught for one offense, I believe that many other women claimed that they were also assaulted by Bill Cosby. Ultimately, I believe that Bill Cosby does not deserve the negative press that he is getting. All of this is very easy to make up a story about and even if some stories are true about Bill Cosby, I believe that there is no way that all of these stories happened. So, in my opinion, Bill Cosby has been wronged by the media, and he didn't deserve the treatment he got.
A gossip website that is responsible for many of the rumors that go around about celebrities is called TMZ. This website claims to be the first in getting the big stories and the biggest gossip. They use lines like, "exclusive details" and "anonymous source" which intrigue readers into knowing whats going on. The "anonymous source" is used to hide who really gave in the information. Most of the information is not true even though they also claim that they check for accuracy. Big websites and gossip blogs are using the faults of celebrities for their own success. Many of these websites make the celebrities more famous by telling everyone their mistakes or every single detail that is going on in their life. The paparazzi that follow these celebrities stalk them so that people can find out what goes on in their entire life. They have no privacy in our society, especially with all of the social medias. It is so much easier to spread information and also false rumors. The websites like TMZ are basically making money off of other people and are making their lives public.
One of the biggest scandals that has occurred was with the King of Pop, that is, Michael Jackson. The biggest scandal with Michael was that he was being accused of having molested children. Even today, more than five years after the death of this great artist, there are people who are filing sexual abuse claims against him. This time it was by one who had previously testified for Michael in a previous case. This is not to mention the fact that this man had “given sworn testimony that Michael never did anything inappropriate to him." This man claims that he was the first person to stay at the Neverland Ranch.
This is simply one of the many cases that have been filed for sexual abuse by Michael Jackson. As a result of this even if his “goodwill” was not destroyed it was definitely tarnished. One could probably say that the people that are filing these claims may only be looking for more money and compensation when they may in fact not had anything done to them. There is also the ulterior motive that they may also be looking to being well known, they may want to leave a print in history so that their name may be remembered forever. Although, it may not exactly be in a good way.
This cases against Michael Jackson are not the only ones that we know of. There are also people whom have gotten the courage to go about, shoot and kill famous celebrities. One example of this was the death of John Lennon outside of his apartment on December 8, 1980. The man that shot and killed him was Mark David Chapman, we know this of the media, the Beatles were famous at the time so knowing exactly who killed one the members was definitely important.
One of the biggest scandals that has occurred was with the King of Pop, that is, Michael Jackson. The biggest scandal with Michael was that he was being accused of having molested children. Even today, more than five years after the death of this great artist, there are people who are filing sexual abuse claims against him. This time it was by one who had previously testified for Michael in a previous case. This is not to mention the fact that this man had “given sworn testimony that Michael never did anything inappropriate to him." This man claims that he was the first person to stay at the Neverland Ranch.
This is simply one of the many cases that have been filed for sexual abuse by Michael Jackson. As a result of this even if his “goodwill” was not destroyed it was definitely tarnished. One could probably say that the people that are filing these claims may only be looking for more money and compensation when they may in fact not had anything done to them. There is also the ulterior motive that they may also be looking to being well known, they may want to leave a print in history so that their name may be remembered forever. Although, it may not exactly be in a good way.
This cases against Michael Jackson are not the only ones that we know of. There are also people whom have gotten the courage to go about, shoot and kill famous celebrities. One example of this was the death of John Lennon outside of his apartment on December 8, 1980. The man that shot and killed him was Mark David Chapman, we know this of the media, the Beatles were famous at the time so knowing exactly who killed one the members was definitely important.
Although he prefers to be recognized as the "King of Pop," it seems that Michael Jackson will be remembered either as a misunderstood and unfairly maligned music legend or a child molester. Jackson's arrest on child molestation allegations involving a 12-year-old boy and the media spectacle surrounding his surrender made his life became a tragic and made his career falling fast. In 1993 when a 13-year-old boy accused him of molestation, no charges were ever filed, and Jackson ultimately reached a financial settlement with the alleged victim's family with millions of dollars only because he did not want a drawn-out legal battle. He had denied the allegations, calling them a "big lie." However, Jackson has never really been able to escape the 1993 scandal. His record sales on subsequent albums have dwindled. At that time, Jackson’s career had taken such a dark turn that made his legacy tainted.
Jackson told reporters that he had allowed visiting children to sleep in his bed at Neverland Ranch. “Why can't you share your bed?" Jackson said in the documentary, which aired in February on ABCNEWS' 20/20. "The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone." He insisted the practice was innocent and involved nothing of a sexual nature. "I give them hot milk, you know, we have cookies. It's very charming. It's very sweet. It's what the whole world should do." (ABC NEWS 2)
There is no doubt that the media today is more revealing than ever before. People today want to know about everything whether is effects them or not. Media has the power to affect America positively and negatively.
At 10 am on October 3rd 1995, O.J. Simpson was declared NOT guilty of murdering his ex wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and a waiter Ronald Lyle Goldman. America was fascinated with this trial because he was a star running back for the San Francisco 49ers. Millions of Americans watched the O.J. Simpson trials right on their TV’s. In the book Tuesday’s with Morrie, Mitch Album talks about the O.J. Simpson trials and expresses that everyone was obsessed with them.
Recently, a similar case relating to domestic violence occurred with another American football player. The Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice was caught on video beating his wife. For many months, many people were unsure of what really happened and he was expected to continue playing for the Ravens until September 8th 2014 when TMZ got their hands on a video of Rice punching his wife unconscious in an elevator and dragging her out of it. Until then, the Ravens claim to have never seen this video. After they did see it, he was cut from the team.
Both of these cases may have had America obsessed with lives of people who didn’t impact themselves in any way but thanks to the media, they were good in a way. Charlotte Alter claims “The O.J. Simpson case helped the country wake up and acknowledge that domestic violence is a problem (even after he was acquitted of murder), while the Ray Rice incident forces us to decide how much we are willing to tolerate it.”
Many people know Russell Brand as an English comedian, actor, radio host, and author. Russell is famously known for his clever and often erotic humor. He claims many of his catch phrases originated from his own personal struggles, including his quarrels with drugs and sex addiction. Russell Brand has earned a very successful career for himself, especially for being known as a troublemaker in his younger years. He has a net worth of about fifteen million. Russell is also an activist who advocates for political solutions, revolutions, and human consciousness. Recently, a reporter from 4 News interviewed the celebrity Russell Brand, and in this video Russell became aggressive, threatening, and condescending to the reporter who was simply doing his job. The reporter made a statement saying that a main problem as to why people in London are not able to afford housing is because the super rich are buying the property. Then, the reporter asked Russell Brand how much he pays rent for his place, which is a few million. But, Russell refused to answer this question. At this point, Russell looked like he was about to knock the reporter out. He declared, “you, as a member of the media, have an important duty to represent celebrities not befriend them” to the reporter. In my opinion, Russell was acting like a hypocrite. He is protesting against the rent being too high, but pays millions to rent his own place. A bit of a paradox. The reporter was just doing his job, I mean that’s how he pays his own rent! The reporter gets stories and has to confront them to celebrities, expecting answers. Russell Brand is part of the media, and he is getting way too offended. If he doesn’t like being questioned about his lifestyle, then he should relinquish to being a celeb. To me, it does not seem like Russell is trying to make much of a difference in this protest, and he is just doing it for show. I don’t think Russell is a bad person at all, but he shouldn’t be put on a pedestal when he is acting like a puppet. In other words, stop trying to say you strongly believe in one thing, and then do the opposite when carrying out your own life.
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