Culture of Celebrity and Cheaters

Not being a psychologist, I am shooting a bit in the dark here but the media and our culture of celebrity baffles me sometimes. It used to be that someone was famous because they had accomplished something which stood them apart from the masses or had some talent or ability which made them distinct. Today, the popular media has reversed the logic. If you are famous (or infamous), you are portrayed as having special distinction and talent. Completely unaccomplished people who wouldn't make decent dinner conversation are followed by the press and there is an insatiable market for that information.
Well known examples (some are like the proverbial fish in a barrel):
1) Paris Hilton - a girl born wealthy with no apparent talent or brains whatsoever except to immediately strike a pose when a camera is in the same zip code. Interestingly enough, it is always the same pose. She is famous for: being an idiot, not wearing underwear, dropping her clothes at a moments notice in public, and making unflattering sex videos with sleazy guys. Which of those qualities deserves admiration? If it were not for her inheritance, she couldn't get a job at a convenience store. I have vowed to change the channel whenever her image appears. It just makes me feel less slimy.
2) Anna Nicole Smith - It is sad when anyone dies but 24-hour news coverage? She is famous for: posing naked (a common denominator in this group), working as a stripper, bilking an old man out of a lot of money, being an idiot (another common thread), appearing semi-conscious in public venues, and not deciding who of the many men with whom she has had sex is the father of her latest child. Which of those qualities deserve anyone's attention?

My daughter laughs at me whenever I bring it up now but the cult of celebrity is cash-based. The motion picture industry discovered this secret many years ago in the horror film genre. Slasher films do not require a star and make lots of money. Beginning with The Real World and Survivor, television networks discovered the same. Therefore, the explosion of reality shows. Instead of paying $100,000 an episode for a star to do a sitcom, you get a bunch of unknowns who will do anything for fame and a buck and make up some ridiculous contest. Every network does it, even Comedy Central and the Food Network. I personally flip the channels occasionally and almost every channel has some show to which I say "who cares?" In the case of the MTV shows, I see people I wouldn't even want to speak with and don't care a lick if they are upset by each other. You can make the argument that television is becoming more about real people and less about fictional characters but the real people I seem to see are really not very entertaining or interesting. I suppose it is too much to ask to have a Hallmark Hall of Fame or a decent variety show. Those types of shows have quality and that costs money. To paraphrase the leader in Demolition Man speaking of how Taco Bell was the only surviving restaurant, "All shows are reality, except the 17 versions of Law & Order and CSI"

Along the same line, when did cheating become admirable? Does the end truly justify the means? How can anyone in their right mind admire Barry Bonds with all of the performance enhancing substances he uses and the way he lies about it? Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi, the list goes on and on. I used to love to watch the Tour De Drugs every summer knowing they were chemical-dependent but the doping there was at least even-handed because almost ALL were using them. At least it was a fairly level playing field. I know, ye of much faith will say your personal favorite never did. Even back in the US Postal days, that team had a reputation. The Discovery Channel team lost riders, T-Mobile lost riders, and on and on. The new preventive program that the Slipstream team has in place is suspect because their coach is a former US Postal rider. Anyone who knows anything about cycling knew, after watching Floyd Landis crack like an eggshell then come back the next day and smoke the field, that something was way fishy about it. Not coincidently, that was the day his test popped positive in both samples. When the New York Yankees won a playoff game with the Baltimore Orioles they should not have won because a young fan interfered with a catch, the boy was treated like a hero by David Letterman, etc. When the University of Colorado beat Missouri on the "Fifth Down" play, they didn't forfeit the win, they claimed a national championship. Willingly accepting cheating is the beginning of a slippery slope. Will we next be celebrating the guy who has a traffic accident with a player intentionally to keep him from attending the game? With that logic, Tonya Harding will be making a comeback and female figure skaters will be wearing hockey uniforms with knee and shin guards.

Apparently, it is too much to ask for the media to exalt people who actually accomplish worthwhile endeavors without cheating and those who actually have talent for anything other than looking good and having bad morals.