Fortunately there are still places in the world where television is a household luxury and not a necessity. In these places you will find crowds of people crowded outside the patio of a restaurant or on a variety of chairs outside a corner store glued (as is most of the world) to the idiot box. But, as mentioned, fortunately no one feels the need to keep up with any of the Joneses by having a set in their own home. On returning to the West this is reversed. Bigger, better, more intrusive screens are the norm and with more places that provide the means to watch.
It should be mentioned that television does have its purpose, to whit, keeping the actors, designers, directors, and the multitude of support personnel in work. The objection, raised by many more than this tiny voice, is with the advertising. Try to find a quorum to disagree, the dare is on.
What is most alarming is the change of acceptance of advertising. Not long ago any 'star' or 'celebrity' would have vehemently denounced becoming a part of the ad maker machine. Well at least they kept that part hidden, having seen George Clooney in a whiskey ad in South Korea put paid to that. But now, the gloves have been removed.
Drew Barrymore, Gwen Stephani, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, among the more notable, have all not only succumbed to the lure but are continually on the idiot box. What can be the possible motivation behind this? They are supposed to be huge stars. Their recognition value is very high. They must be, therefore extremely rich. So if they do not need to boost their popularity quotient and they do not need the money why on earth do they do something now that not too long ago was seen to be demeaning to anyone in their position? A possible conclusion that can be drawn may be that they feel the need to be noticed even outside their locus of fame, to be adored on a far more continual basis than is apparent in being an 'A list star'.
Just how much attention can they need before they just go home and let an actor that might actually need the job do it?
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