"The world" is happy, I'm grumpy

[thistlechaser]

It really annoys me that America is so obsessed with "the royal baby". This is a silly question, but: Have they all forgotten history? The whole revolution we had so that we wouldn't have royalty? I bet most of these people would gleefully put themselves back under royal rule.

The evening news, a 30 minute show. Ten full minutes was spent on the baby. Next story? Plane crash on a NY runway. Got 30 seconds of airtime.

Sigh.

I feel the same way about celebrity babies (and relationships). Why do people care? Do they consider these people better than them, thus they want to know everything about them? I suspect/worry that's the case. Talk about bad judgement... How about wanting to know more about scientists? Why fawn over someone who can throw a football far, instead of over the guy who is working on a cure for cancer?

I know these aren't original questions or unique grumpiness, it's just this whole darned baby thing that set it off. They had a healthy baby? Great! But so did hundreds of other people today.

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

The baby is one of many many perfect little babies born tonight-- born at same time as itself. The world is full tonight of people adjusting to the idea that they are now parents. Worth thinking on that, I suppose.

[joisbishmyoga.livejournal.com]

Ah, The Lives Of The Rich And Famous Irrelevant.

I think America's obsession with the English royals is about an Anglo culture seeking mythic roots, as it were. America doesn't really have the same weight or depth of history that pretty much every other culture does. Our sociomagical focii -- if that's the term I want to use, I'm no anthropologist -- are almost entirely post-1900. We have a handful of culture heroes from before then -- Pocahontas, Squanto, the Pilgrims and Founding Fathers, Abe Lincoln, Billy the Kid who a lot of people don't know more than the name of -- but for the most part we didn't get any mythic figures of our own until superhero comic books. The widespread interest in Anglo royals seems to me to be largely about the semi-divine aspect of monarchs: the pharaoh Ra incarnate, the Japanese emperor of the lineage of Ameterasu, the kings and emperors of Europe crowned by the Pope as his temporal counterpart, etc. etc. etc. American society doesn't have a spiritual, magical, mythical focus nor a connection to the land, and we probably won't for several more centuries.

As for the interest in celebrities... that's a monkey brain thing. We want a connection with the monkeys who have high social status, they make the rules and that will give us better status of our own. Except that society's divorced extremely visible high status from actual effects on our lives, and our monkey brains haven't caught up.

If nothing else, thinking about it in these terms helps me feel less like reaching into the tvs and biting the pundits.

*personal* history touchstone

[bastets-place.livejournal.com]

My family comes from England, only a few generations back (think WWII-era) as well as a lot earlier than that. I grew up with stories of war and pilots and romance in England.

Move forward a bit, and you see a young Ellen lying on a burnt yellow colored shag carpet rug-hooking something in brown and orange, watching a royal wedding. I don't remember much more than how pretty she was, and how pretty her dress was, how young she looked, and how horrible I thought it was that all these "not her family" were watching her wedding, how much I would have HATED that many people watching me.

Move forward a little bit more, and you see an older, exhausted, new-mom Ellen in a rocking chair with a baby that refuses to sleep unless held, and then only for an hour or so at a time, watching the news because watching almost any late-night fiction involves things that trigger a great fear. At that same time, a certain ex-princess dies in a car accident, leaving behind a lot of rumors and a pair of sons.

Now, the eldest of those two boys got married, and I looked at possibly two pictures of the happy couple, giggled at the hats worn by some of the guests, and wished them well. I know those boys better than I know many of my own cousins.

I have a fascination with fashion. I don't wear it (jeans and t-shirt ahoy!) but I love to look at pictures of people who set trends in much the same way I like to watch television specials about aboriginal tribes- a fascinating look at a different culture, I simultaneously envy some of the fun-looking stuff and am thankful to not have to suffer from some of the not-fun looking stuff. So I have seen A LOT of pictures of this particular young woman. Her shoes, her coats, the dresses that she wears can be interesting and (nicely enough) she seems to be a human and actually wears clothing I might wear, should I actually ever want to wear something other than jeans and a t-shirt.

Now, that young woman and the young man that she married have had a baby. My Fiancee and I want to have a baby. My daughter is almost old enough, herself, to start down that path. So, yes, I find it very interesting. As a very proud American, I cried hearing about the baby, and I hope very much that he grows up to be as well adjusted and happy as possible.

You see, this isn't some far-distant, unknown and unknowable family having a baby into an impossible situation that triggers a lot of envy and hate. To me, this is a continuation of a story that includes *me* in a lot of ways.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

Count me in as another with zero interest in celebrity babies, and very little in celebrities at all -- with a lot of exceptions for important historical figures but they're dead and don't care either.

Love, C.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Have they all forgotten history? The whole revolution we had so that we wouldn't have royalty?

Devil's advocate hat on, but who has forgotten history?

The Revolution wasn't so that we wouldn't have royalty. It was because of taxes, and not having representation in Parliament as the British Constitution laid out. King George III was just a convenient propaganda whipping boy at the time, because it's easier to focus hatred on one man than it a nebulous, multi-person body like 'Parliament'.

You see the same thing nowadays, with people blaming the President for the country's financial woes when it's actually Congress who sets taxes and fiscal policy. The President's only role is to suggest a budget and then to carry out the will of Congress.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Ugh I know...the morning news (and especially Today) has been REALLY bad about it too...especially because this was when it was BABY WATCH time so there wasn't even anything to report! Updates are fine/normal but the level they took it to just confuses me. I don't mind if people care but yeesh!

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if I could take the pressure of Celebrity Science. Doing presentations in front of audiences who actually have an interest in what I'm working on is stressing enough. ;)

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

I remained blissfully unaware of the royal baby thing until someone pointed me to The Onion's coverage: http://www.theonion.com/section/royal-baby/

:D