In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.
(Andy Warhol, 1968)
There is no denying that the Kardashians have made a mockery of Warhol’s well-known aphorism by extending their 15 minutes of vacuous fame for many years, and counting.
But from the time Anna Nicole Smith did so over a decade ago, I have always felt that it speaks volumes about the dumbing down of American culture that people can attain such enduring fame and stupendous fortune by doing nothing more than turning their self-indulgent daily lives into a soap opera for reality-TV. Now everyone is emulating Anna Nicole by turning their Facebook page and Twitter account into this brand of reality-TV.
Apropos of this, I submit that only pathological narcissists with pea for brains would compromise what little dignity they have by, among other things, airing their dirty laundry on TV. And those who do it on social networks for free must therefore be dumber than dumb.
All of which compels one to wonder why the granddaughters of Nelson Mandela, easily the most revered and dignified politician in the world today, would want to sully his good name by having the Mandelas try to keep up with the Kardashians.
Like every family, there’s a bit of drama here and there, but we’re very respectful of our name and we’re very respectful of our grandparent’s legacy and we’re very mindful of that. In anything that we try to do, we always try to maintain the integrity of the family.
(Huffington Post, February 9, 2013)
This was granddaughter Swati trying in vain to rationalize why Being Mandela will be to Keeping Up with the Kardashians what filet mignon is to hot dogs. Never mind that watching how filet mignon is made is probably every bit as retching as watching how hot dogs are made.
Which is why I can think of no socially redeeming value in the Mandelas airing their dirty laundry on TV the way the Kardashians do. And God forbid they cast Mandela as a feature player in their faux story lines to boost ratings. Because:
He’s treated more as a tourist attraction these days (like the Statue of Liberty or, perhaps more to the point, a Carnival freak worthy of being shot by Charles Eisenmann) than as an elder statesman.
(“Zuma Snubs Obama (Michelle that is), The iPINIONS Journal, June 24, 2011)
No doubt you are aware of politicians and celebrities making pilgrimages to Mandela’s home for a photo op with him, which invariably looks like a snapshot from a South African version of Weekend At Bernie’s.
It’s bad enough that South Africans are aping this pathetically contrived and frivolous feature of American culture. But watching the Mandelas become to South Africa what the Kardashians are to America is just too disheartening for words.
To be fair though, I suppose if anybody is entitled to exploit Mandela for political or financial gain, it is his granddaughter.
But, in this spirit, surely a reality-TV show featuring Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie would provide more of the train-wreck spectacle that makes such shows must-see TV.
Especially given that just yesterday this notorious rabble-rouser was expressing “surprise and shock” that she is facing murder charges … again. This stems from allegations that she ordered her bodyguards, who were allegedly also serving as her private gigolos, to kill two young boys 24 years ago whom she suspected of spying on her liberation movement.
Clearly the wacky and salacious Anna Nicole Smith had nothing on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
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Zuma snubs Obama…
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