Pop Distraction

In the LA Times, Patrick Goldstein takes an excellent look at the frivolity of American pop culture in the context of his post-September 11th predictions that we were entering a period of new "moral gravity." He laments that even a national disaster could not "quench our thirst for the madcap antics of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Star Jones Reynolds, Jessica Simpson and all the other bobble heads bouncing around our celebrity universe." Goldstein writes:

The faces are different today, but the exclamation points are the same. FHM has a scantily clad Janet Jackson on its cover, boasting "I've never worn so little!" US Weekly has a photo of a frumpy Jessica Simpson, with the tagline: "Dumped! Jessica's First Post-Nick Romance Backfires." And In Touch questions: "Angelina Looks Pregnant Again: Will Another Child Solve Her Problems With Brad?"

In addtition to our collective fascination with this media circus, Goldstein's article also touches on a larger issue, that of a cultural "fragmentation...which has so many hundreds of niche channels and radio formats that we rarely get to share a common reaction to a cultural event."