Media: The Two-Headed Monster

Between YouTube, reality shows and the paparazzi, it seems that anyone can become an overnight celebrity. With global media “shrinking” the size of the world and opening more doors than once thought possible, is privacy a thing of the past?

While some willingly offer themselves up as a sacrifice to the reality TV gods (also known as producers), some are inadvertently thrust into the limelight due to public curiosity. It’s actually unnerving to think that because of some odd thing may have occurred in your life, complete strangers feel as if they have the RIGHT to know what’s going on.

However, the line is becoming increasingly blurred between innocent victim of media infringement and profiteer. Although it has only been 17 years since the premiere of the first reality TV show, MTV’s The Real World, people have gotten wise to the lucrative act of exposing the most intimate moments of life to the entire world (www.reality-tv-online.com). Some stop at nothing to get their 15 minutes, and accordingly, a large paycheck.

Along with every other topic that we, as the public, feel is necessary to cast judgment, we are also charged with determine the individuals’ intent. Was this just a scheme to sell the pictures at outrageous cost to the local rag? Was this a coincidence that this happened within a week of their new business opening? I suppose the general public has elected itself judge and jury in these matters.

Whatever the speculations, the investigative media serves a dual role. Initially the individual is exposed for whatever golden ticket they might possess; then the media proceeds to scavenge for any information that would insight the public’s adoration or hatred.

Of course the most recent example of this frenzy would be the woman dubbed “Octo-Mom.” It was amazing to me how quickly the public opinion shifted from amazement to outrage. When the first details were released about the rare birth of octuplets, there was a minimal amount of hype involved. After all, there are plenty of reality shows that covered this particular curiosity.

Attitudes certainly changed when further inspection of the mother’s situation uncovered some disturbing details. Attempting this kind of multiple birth is a difficult undertaking for any couple, let alone a single mother. When her lack of income and reliance on government assistance was revealed, it was opposed with the sort of passion that only those in extreme financial crisis could emit. Why should someone so blatantly irresponsible and so obviously taking advantage of the system be supported?

For me, the final nail in the coffin of Octo-Mom’s credibility was the attack by her own mother. Already overwhelmed with the burdens her daughter was laying on her shoulders, Angela Suleman related that she’d “never understand” her daughter’s decision in the matter ( www.news.aol.com). This may have been discounted as a bitter mother- daughter relationship, but when Nadya’s father asserted that his daughter is “absolutely irresponsible” and questioned her mental health, the cat was out of the bag (www.news.aol.com).