Adam Taylor
“Miss Hilton, you must be worth a trillion bucks,” The Penfifteen Club sang in a recent dedication to the heiress. But these days, Paris is looking more like a Hollywood hooker-and a cheap one at that.
The iconic blonde and her plastic pals have, in recent weeks, managed to utterly dominate newsstands with their drunken antics.
Though they don’t actually do anything, the girls’ stars seem to be shining brighter than ever.
Lindsay Lohan is in and out of rehab.
Paris stars in sex tapes and wrecks $250,000 cars.
Britney Spears shaves her head.
And lest we not forget, they all seem to share a certain fondness for flashing their vaginas around Los Angeles.
Their behavior inspires sensation-people like to talk about these girls.
Be it filler conversation, or something to help consumers feel better about their own problems, the commotion captivates us week after week.
For those of us who can resist the allure of Lindsay’s crotch shot on the cover of Us Weekly, the cycle is frustrating; more and more, young starlets are misbehaving, and we reward them with the attention they crave.
The degree to which these vixens act out in public determines tabloid sales, television ratings, blog hits and ultimately how famous-or infamous-they become.
There is no doubt these menaces have a repertoire of cheap tricks at their disposal, and the American public ought to be more wary of them.
As consumers, we indirectly sponsor the trickery. Every time someone picks up a copy of the National Enquirer, they reassure young Hollywood that publicity stunts and debauchery, rather than talent, will win them fame.
Britney, for instance, still has a huge following of gay men and 12-year-old girls, despite having not recorded a single track since 2004.
Paris cameos in low budget, straight-to-video movies and records obnoxious bubblegum pop.
And all Lindsay has to show for the past couple years is her biggest box office flop yet, “Herbie Fully Loaded.”
Why then, do we glorify the lives of these celebrities to such an extent?
How did stumbling, belligerent drunks and drug addicts come to be our most celebrated public figures?
What does this say about our society?
Our intelligence?
Paris Hilton sets trends, no doubt-Teacup Chihuahuas, Louis Vuitton purses, Swarovsky crystals and post-rhinoplasty bandages to name a few.
But it seems like all this extravagance and glamour has masked the fact that she lacks the capacity to even formulate complete, coherent sentences.
It’s undeniable that these girls’ impact on society has been tremendous. The media has turned into a circus, prepubescent anorexia has come into commonality, and future generations are learning that class is no longer a virtue.
Regrettably, however, we only have ourselves to blame.
()