We were watching the Paris Hilton episode of "South Park" the other night, in which the Paris character repeatedly coughs up semen and causes her dog to shoot itself. (She also dresses Butters in a bear costume, but never mind.) I remember it being funny and righteous at the time-2004-or at least not all that different from other things going on in the media. The episode is entitled "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset," and that about summed up the national mood.
Watching it today, though, it looked... well, it looked kind of mean.
I know, I know: why in the world should we have any sympathy for Paris Hilton? After all, she seemed to come through it fine, and is still just being Paris. Thing is, though, at the time all of this hit, she was a 22-year-old girl going out and getting drunk and doing drugs and sleeping around-which, unless you are lame, is exactly what you were doing when you were 22. The problem with Paris wasn't Paris, it was the amount of attention the media paid to Paris. (Assuming you think Paris Hilton is a less worthy subject of attention than a Hollywood starlet, which seems questionable to me, but again, never mind.) And whether or not she encouraged the attention, the simple fact is that if you had a problem with the media, the target of your complaints should be the media.
But that's not what we did. As in the "South Park" episode, the person we complained about was Paris. Now, I wouldn't particularly want to be friends with Paris, and I am certainly a little peeved that she became this weird monkey's paw of fame who, by simple friendship, could ruin the lives of singers and actors who might have otherwise made it out OK. But, again, neither her behavior nor her existence were particularly abnormal: licentious youth and trust-fund kids have had a robust presence in American society for some time. So why did we all feel OK saying just these incredibly awful, mean things about her? The whole discourse around Paris took on a real Christians-in-the-Colosseum feel. But shit, who cares?
Well, we did. The thing about Paris Hilton is that she embodied a lot of the important social issues of the 00s, like the glorification of affluence, celebrity culture as entertainment and the direction of feminism. Talking about her was a way of talking about these things without having to feel like we were having a real, serious discussion-something that, in America, we avoid at all costs. Pop culture is great for having these proxy wars because it provides a stable, common object of analysis, something we all know about that can serve as a jumping-off point for debates about shared values.
The problem is that when it's a real person, these debates have implications for other real people. The message sent by scarlet-lettering a real person's real actions as an affront to our collective values was that engaging in behaviors which the more liberal amongst us would describe as "having fun" was something you should (still!) be ashamed of. Sure, go ahead and do it-after all, the consumer economy relies on young people "going crazy" in this way-but for God's sake, be quiet about it.
The message of the "South Park" episode was that girls shouldn't use sluttiness (though note the word "whore" in the episode's title) as a way of getting ahead. But that's not what Paris did. She got ahead just by being born. As part of a general trend of glorifying marriage-based paths to success-see also "My Super Sweet 16" and most of the "Real Housewives"-Paris served as a legitimate focal point of debate.
But that's not really what people had a problem with. It was the things Paris did to have fun, like sleeping around and getting wasted. Certainly these are not always good activities, but they're not inherently bad either. I thought we had all agreed on that!
Ultimately, I'm not asking for anyone to have sympathy for Paris Hilton. It's more that I'm reminding myself, I suppose, to keep this in mind the next time a moral panic hits. Think of the children! Elaborate condemnation of the stupid and privileged feels good, I know. But there's always collateral damage. There are lots of awful people in the world, and while I endorse the entertainment value of following their lives, maybe let's save the public flagellation for people who are actively causing other people harm. Lord knows there's no shortage of them.
Mike Barthel has written about pop music for a bunch of places, mostly Idolator and Flagpole, and is currently doing so for the Portland Mercury and Color magazine. He continues to have a Tumblr and be a grad student in Seattle.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are two dudes with chips on their shoulders who spew bitter vitriol because they can hide behind a cartoon.
Approaching the show with that in mind, you can laugh sometimes.
(said the semi-anonymous internet blog commenter)
YES, THIS. They are "Relax! Can't you take a joke?" personified in two embittered husks of human beings.
But the first few seasons of South Park are still really good. I don't know what happened to them.
I still think South Park has a lot of high points! The Facebook episode was pretty great, as was the Margaritaville one.
I dunno. They seem like a coupla guys who got awfully well-to-do while laughing their asses off the whole way. Sounds fine to me.
This is a complete load of crap. Matt and Trey do not hide behind their cartoon. They give interviews all the time about their shows, and they stand by their work 100%. Their pictures are all over the internet. They make no attempt to hide themselves from the public eye.
The only difference between Matt and Trey, and you, is that you care what people think of you. Matt and Trey don't. They don't care if people like you call them cowards, when in fact they are 2 of the bravest people in Hollywood. They don't care if people think badly of them, or if people disagree with their viewpoints, because one of the cornerstones of South Park is that everyone has a different viewpoint and we are all entitled to our opinions.
These facts about them should be most obvious based on their insistence of showing Muhammad in their episodes, despite DEATH THREATS. And despite having Muhammad censored in FOUR of their episodes by the network after delivery and before air, I guarantee you it will not be the last time they try to show him, because that's what South Park does. It goes places no one wants to go, and shows the world that NOTHING is sacred, and anything can be made fun of.
And before you say, "Well why don't they parody themselves then?!", they absolutely do. The simple minded "toilet humor" cartoon Terrance and Phillip are very often recurring on the show, and are meant to be a parody of Matt and Trey themselves.
So seriously, don't talk when you know nothing.
I remember when Paris went to jail, and everyone was just trashing her all over the place, it really bothered me because I felt, literally and sincerely, that the entire media was bullying a retarded kid.
It was more her visible eagerness to be in the public eye that did Paris Hilton in.
Yes, that.
That always struck me as an excuse - there are lots of people who are eager to be in the public eye, and few of them got referred to as "whores" with quite such frequency.
Yeah, I don't know. I just think there are a lot of people who never referred to her as a whore and were simply annoyed by her. Just like there are a lot of people who are annoyed by Barbra Streisand but don't actually think she can turn into a mecha-dinosaur.
My husband refers to a sizeable and growing segment of the population as "famous for being well-known," and Paris was, at one time, the poster child for that useless and annoying group. She didn't even have any decent media works to justify the fame and media attention.
(You can't count the sex tape, the 'songs' or the Z-movies, can you?)
It was the 'scent.'
Well, there was the sex tape thing I guess. It was generally assumed that she'd distributed it herself, is that right?
Also, a lot of people who want fame--they want fame for their work, like maybe they play music or write books and they would like for people to read their books or listen to their music or whatever. It's not just this naked need to be looked at (though there are all kinds of permutations of these things, I know.) The latter kind of attention-seeking grates because you're not getting anything in return for your attention so it's tedious, like indulging a spoiled toddler.
And there's tons of well-loved public figures who seem to manage quite a lot of getting wasted and sleeping around without its harming their "images", it seems. So long as they're not lying to anyone or cheating on a spouse, I don't think anyone cares (?)
@barnhouse: Yeah, she was like an A-list reality-show contestant.
Question for discussion: are we rougher on female famewhores than male famewhores? If so, why?
@Mike: Almost certainly, because we're still a really sexist society.
But I'm trying to think of male famewhores and having trouble coming up with any besides the Situation. So maybe we're actually better about allowing women access to famewhoredom? Probably that's just because we want to look at their tits, though.
Various Bachelors, Flava Flav, Perez Hilton, etc.
Not excusing the "whore" thing, but wasn't she one of the first people to have a sex tape make its way to the Internet? I remember watching it slightly horrified while (cliché alert) Liz Phair's "Girlysound" demos played on iTunes.
(I remember that night very vividly for some reason. I had Pizzeria Uno for dinner!)
The sex tape is really the thing. And the self-distributed part is why "girls shouldn't use sluttiness (though note the word "whore" in the episode's title) as a way of getting ahead. But that's not what Paris did." rings really false to me. Both Paris & Nikki were in the Society or whatever pages of W since they were about 12 years old. But that apparently wasn't enough for Paris.
And we can blame society all we want, 'cause Lord knows Nikki's bids at relevance by starting a clothing line and trying to design a hotel or something certainly didn't get her the level of notoriety that Paris' sex tape got her. But again: sex tape. Crotch flashing. Being photographed getting fingerbanged by her boyfriend in public. (I can't unsee that photo.) Those are things that we can definitely blame Paris for.
Did we really have a problem with her sleeping around and getting wasted? I thought we just found her kind of generally obnoxious.
Yeah, the bit that bothered me about her (and provided the best moments in the South Park episode) was the way she glorified and encouraged stupidity through her public persona. Everything Lady Gaga does today with weirdness, Paris Hilton already did with idiocy.
Yep. When I think about my distaste for her, what immediately springs to mind are commercials (I never caught the show itself, alas) for The Simple Life, where she seemed to wield her almost belligerent ignorance like a weapon.
The problem with Paris wasn't Paris, it was the amount of attention the media paid to Paris.
Yes, pity poor Paris for all the attention she received. If only the media had honored her pleas to be left alone, maybe she would have had more time to focus on her TV shows. And movie career. And music career. And making and releasing "shocking" sex tapes. Stupid media, lavishing attention on someone who clearly wanted no part of the limelight.
BTW, Butters in a bear costume = Awesome!
Kim K. has a better waist-to-hip ratio.
Srsly, I could motorbutt them cheeks all day, nahmean?
Guess I'm lame, but anyway. Does anyone remember when someone hacked Paris' T-Mobile sidekick? At first I thought Nicole Ritchie had been killed with a hatchet.
If we can't hate Paris Hilton then who's left?
You could write a reasoned defense of Marie Antoinette too (or a terrible movie even!)-- but that wouldn't change anything about the fact that she represented something that the regular folks in France could no longer abide.
South Park is funny because it usually gets a pretty accurate read on the underlying feelings the majority of people have about various issues, without regard for whether those feelings are justified or not.
Paris Hilton was a totem of the get-rich at all costs and live a life of leisure phenomena that was all-pervasive at the time. People without riches or leisurely lives were justifiably fed up with it.
Marie Antionette was one of the two rulers of France. She and her husband were directly responsible for the conditions of life in the country over which they ruled. Paris Hilton has some money made from a (pretty good!) hotel chain. It would be nice if went after people that were actually problematic rather than totems, no?
"or a terrible movie even!"
laughter = 3 minutes and counting
I'm not sure historically how accurate a take on Marie Antoinette that is. Mostly she was just a woman born into wealth who was married to the man who presided at the precise time that the dam broke. And I'm not advocating for beheading Paris Hilton.
But yeah, it'd be nice to blame the right people. Like the ones who allow inherited wealth to flow down generationally. It's hard to figure out just who deserves the blame for that so, instead, fingers point at the most obvious beneficiaries.
Still, your point is a fair one.
Barthel: Paris has inherited little to none of the Hilton Hotels money, she only inherited the Hilton name and fame. Her grandfather, who owned the hotels, gave the money to charities. Paris is a scrilla zilla because of her modeling, perfumes, acting, sex tape.
Even though it's Paris' prerogative to do what she wants to do as long as she isn't hurting anyone (which is not exactly negligible IMO considering her DUI and how she glamorized being a willfully ignorant dumbass), and it's not cool for people to shame ladies who enjoy "the motion of the ocean," that South Park episode just looks more dated than mean.
You know, aside from that whole letting her dog die from lack of care, we totally owe her an apology.
I bet the Michael Jackson episode looks pretty damn mean now too.
"...as inherited wealth is the probably the most destructive force in the history of humanity, that actually means that she is the least evil member of her generation of her family." - Anil Dash on Paris Hilton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0KYij-31jg
I actually felt bad for Paris for the sex tape thing. Her megadouche ex had coerced a 19-yo into doing that, then sold the tape when she got famous. Much worse as a human being than she is?
And I thought the South Park depiction was poor in that it participated in "slut-shaming" and because, it just wasn't Paris. It was a really poor impersonation considering how spot-on they can occasionally be.
All of which being said, I hate everything else about Paris. I remember Tina Fey talking about the time Paris was on SNL and said something like, "I've never met anyone more proud of their own ignorance." I kinda regard Fey as trustworthy, so ... Everything else about Paris, especially her fame-whoring, makes me angry.
While we can easily focus our wrath on more deserving and obvious villains, I think it's justifiable for society to turn on someone who was given so much and continually chose to squander it. To me, that's nearly just as villainous.
In her defense, I don't think being rich is really good for anyone.
Tina Fey also revealed that, when hosting SNL, Paris was insistent that they do a sketch making fun of Jessica Simpson for being fat. And the Lindsay Lohan firecrotch shit? That was all Paris. So, you know, I'm not saying we shouldn't be nice to her. But she's kind of a bitch herself, so...
Somewhat telling:
One hour after publication, this has 28 comments.
Several hours after publication, the post discussing the movie about the willful destruction and collapse of the global economy has no comments.
i was excited by the title, but alas there weren't any tits or ass.
I think not very telling; it was just a brief paragraph about a trailer for a movie none (or very few) of us has yet seen, so there is little to say about it as of yet. The P. Hilton story by contrast is already over.
The discussions on politics and economics here are both lively and civil, I have found.
Sorry dude, I totally owe you a piece on, I dunno, global warming?
I was thinking the same thing but you dont see me wading into the fray.
@Mike: Touchy, aren't we.
It was more an observation than a judgment.
As I recall it wasn't the sleeping around or the drinking or even the conspicuous consumption and lack of responsibility people minded in 2004. It was the offensive and seemingly 100% genuine cuntiness she displayed towards what appeared to be nice and hard-working Real Americans on The Simple Life that turned her from just another in a line of shorthand-for-slut parental cautionary tales (remember the Madonna jokes of the 80's?) to a viscerally hated Marie Antoinette figure.
Exactly.
Paris Hilton was the Abbie Hoffman of the '00s.
http://peterfeld.tumblr.com/post/109068884/paris-hilton-stars-are-blind-heres-a-piece
Exchanging links between Tumblr and here, I will point you towards Dave Moore's piece on the album Paris made:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/pop_playground/sugar-shock-005-what-has-she-done.htm
South Park kind of reminds me of a certain website, actually.
Either you mean one website or another website. Is it the larger or the smaller one?
Its just another way of attracting attention and being in the public eye.
There are several ways of doing it - she has taken a more negative approach i guess;)
http://www.qualityresearch.org.uk/services/ourservices.html
I'm so late to this party so no one will likely read this, but here's the problem with Paris Hilton related ire:
Paris Hilton makes people angry. The idea of her makes us angry. Not because she was/is a 'slut' per se (though it certainly didn't help her case AT ALL) but more because she was wealthy, famous, and deliberately stupid, and proud of it. Also there was a frequently alluded to possibility (at the time, and maybe still? I stopped paying attention a looooong time ago) that she was actually not completely retarded, and her idiocy was part of her 'brand.' (I feel this is the worst part of everything.)
So anyways, it's upsetting. Not in an entirely jealous way (but definitely there are shades of jealousy, because the idea is "She's rich and stupid...if I were that rich I wouldn't be so stupid!"). I think that the main issue with Paris was that she was all these things, and became somewhat of a role model for young women. The SP episode touched on that a lot I think, though maybe I'm thinking of the one with Britney. ANYHOOS, the point is, (as Uncle Ben would say to Peter Parker,) 'with great wealth and fame and genes comes responsibility' and instead of even considering that, Paris just acted like a complete ass and never once considered that her stupidity was a negative and not a positive. And while a lot of people went "Oh fuck, already" a lot of other people went "Wow, what a cool girl." And there's a bit of the rub because won't someone PLEASE think of the children?
And Barthel is right to some degree...this wasn't Paris' fault. She was young and stupid as we all were. Fame came to her naturally, and she kept it going.
So we could be mad at Paris...she certainly had a hand at fame-propagation. But why wouldn't she? And what good would it do...anger at Paris only serves her cause. So we can't really be mad at Paris. First: what's the point. And second: she's doing what probably half of anyone in her position would do. Intelligent, grounded people aren't the majority on this planet. My estimate is that 8 times out of 10, someone different born into Paris' life would do the same. Cynicism, true. And yet, I'm pretty confident in that cynicism.
We could be mad at the media for helping her along, but they were only doing what was asked of them. Paris was news. People paid money to read about her; People loved reading about her - both those who enjoyed what she had to offer, and those who despised what she had to offer. It's so commonplace now, the notion that all publicity is good publicity, and there will always be those who love and those who hate, and combined is a greater force than not (See: Terrell Owens or Ochocinco)...nobody should care for a second about Lindsey Lohan, but at the same time, it's compelling in a pitiful kind of way. Those that admire her want her to rebound, and those that don't admire her wonder how she could screw up so badly. So the media, both junky AND journalist spends time writing about the Parises of the world. She's intriguing. And why not? It's hard to argue that she isn't intriguing where's 49 comments now in this thread. Can we get mad at business giving consumers exactly what they want? I think we're past giving CNN more credit than they're due (Anna Nicole Smith!)
So we could be mad at ourselves for caring...mad at eachother for buying the rags that celebrate her celebrity instead of condemning it. But is anyone willing to sour a relationship because their friend likes seeing pictures of socialites? I used to get all snobby about people who bought People and the like celebrity-magazines that serve no purpose but to stroke egos of the already famous. But then I just come off like a snobby asshole who can't just let people have their fun. Who am I to tell people what they should read?
So who do we get mad at? I mean...there's anger, but where can I direct it? Everyone? The government? Society? The kids these days? Or suck it up and stop caring. Let it just happen and hope for the best.
With Paris...for me there's just all sorts of anger that can be directed at no outlets. She represents many many terrible things, with no solutions. There's no villain. She is the villain but she's also the victim. So is everyone I think. End.
Here's the thing though, her parents started paying for her publicists at age 14, because she ACTIVELY wanted to get famous. So it's not like the media created this just because of her last name. The sex tape and reality show were more last-ditch efforts of a plan hatched in grade school (I assume).
This is true, but this still limits our capacity to be mad at anyone in particular. The media is not responsible...but they are. Paris isn't necessarily responsible...buuuut she is. And without the consuming public, there's no platform. But are we responsible really...and yet we're not, because there's so damn many of 'us' and not everyone is contributing to the problem, some more than others, and some who contribute in ironic fashion...it's a clusterfuck with no direct target for anger. Like most things in life, unfortunately.
Shit, so many Italics.
The reason we hate Paris Hilton is not, or, rather, should not be, her sexual promiscuity or alcohol and drug habits, which, yes, are surely her prerogative, or even her wholly unjustified fame, which, yes, is largely the celebrity-industrial complex's fault (not that celebrity media, like all business, isn't ultimately driven by demand).
The problem is that she represents the divorce of wealth from work. She has never had an honest job or created anything worthwhile on her own, and yet: a comfortable life that most people cannot dream of. Inherited wealth is corrupting, and she is corrupt. I know the lyric is ironic, but it's basically true as a moral injunction that "a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure."
I don't give a fuck about her. But, people are obsessed with her, or they were at one time, and they really should stop giving a fuck about her. I'll agree there.
But I'm not gonna be all "poor Paris Hilton". Her life is better than that of almost anyone in the world.
She's a vapid, horrible person who's used her many, many at-birth advantages for nothing but cultural rape. She has done virtually nothing good with her privlege and has almost certainly made the world, and particularly America, a worse place. Her impact is massive and negative.
No, we don't owe her an apology. What the writer of this post does owe is a break...a fucking break...to me. So gimme one.
Take a look at David Cross's assessment of "A Simple Life." I concur.
...and if Paris Hilton's not a "whore," then the word has lost all meaning.
Mike, how did you know that Paris was about to be in the news again? The serendipitous timing of this piece is amazing!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38892343
So NOW how do we feel about Paris?? And will she still be getting stoned, wired and finger-banged in black Escalades in her 40s? And in her 50s? How will we feel then?
Oh, so that episode of South Park wasn´t real then? I thought it was a special documentary night purely to reveal a little more about what Paris was up to??!??!?!
You completely missed the point of the South Park episode. Yes, Matt and Trey used Paris Hilton as the poster child for this point, but it could have just as easily been about another young female celebrity whore (they even mention other potential candidates Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Tara Reid at the start of the episode).
The point of the episode is that the role models that young women and little girls are IDOLIZING this behavior. I mean, even the author of this article thought that being a complete whore and doing as many drugs as you can get your hands on is normal behavior (until you consider that most people in this country have never done hard drugs). The point of the episode comes at the end, when Mr. Slave so eloquently puts it: "BEING A WHORE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A BAD THING, REMEMBER?!".
And I don't think I was a lame 22 year old. I had my fun, I'm not gonnna say I never did drugs, but the way Paris Hilton acted when she was 22...whether she is in the media spotlight or not, that is someone we would call a whore. Her behavior was a bit more over the top than what I think most would consider "normal" behavior, even for a college student.
testoneI have to disagree with almost everything you said Mike. First of all I take offense to your ridiculous assertion that if you weren't sleeping around, doing drugs and getting drunk you are "lame" or not liberal. ( I know that's how guys win arguments-if you disagree with me you're lame, gay, a wuss etc) but you SEEM intelligent enough to get past that kind of thinking. I do not think it makes me conservative that I have class, decency and know how to act-you must be from Los Angeles!
I hate to sound like a grandparent but it doesn't look good for generation X & Y if this is the general consensus. A lot of people may have gotten drunk OR tried drugs OR slept around but most people did not just spend their early twenties doing all of this constantly. Also Paris is still doing drugs and we're not talking about pot here, and she's nearly 30 umkay. Then there was the sex tape which is not about just sleeping around but pretty much all women have gotten crap for the sex tapes-which they should. There were a lot of people defending her when she went to jail (the first time) and let's not pretend that were she some ethnic person in the hood going to jail for the exact same things people wouldn't have looked at it differently. That's another reason why people hate her. She acts like a moron, gets arrested, does nothing for a living, contributes jack to society, looks down on others and somehow she's famous for it. Why? Because she's a rich, blond, girl. People hate her because there's a huge double standard for her. She's famous for things other people would be looked down on for and she obviously LOVES it because she keeps doing it. She knows the dumber she acts the more she is liked. Often when people don't like the media attacking them for a few bad things they might do they try to stay out of it-Paris tried to get more media attention so it couldn't have bothered her too much.
Top that with the dog, the stupid poses, believing she's hot, the need to constantly videotape herself, introducing intelligent words into our vocab like fire-crotch, her parents (and people like you) constantly defending her & making excuses for the crap she does, the horrid movies and reality show, etc and she's absolutely disgusting. I think Paris is a little slow but she's not a child- she knows what's she's doing. She knew what she was doing with the sex tape, she knows what's she's doing by acting stupid and she knows that nothing will really ever happen to her-because she's special of course!
Sorry but the South Park episode got it right (maybe the coughing up cum was a bit mean ;) but not too much of it was wrong IMO. In conclusion I don't owe Paris Hilton s**t!