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Child Item

No getting away from it

markesmith

Right, so I was down in Galway this weekend, visiting friends. A good time had by all. Anyway, I woke up today, a bit hungover, and hung around for a few hours.

My friend likes her tellybox, and she reads a lot of the tabloid papers. So she got the News of the World, and settled down with the paper and turned on the TV. I sat down, reading the Observer (lay off now, quality paper).

ITV basically showed about 3 hours non-stop of this Dancing on Ice crap. There were about 8 shows on different channels where people are voted out in some tacky reality TV thing.

I had a glance at the NOTW. Jade Goody, Jade Goody, Jade Goody. Absolute tabloid trash reporting, slightly racist, very sexist, extremely cynical, and dumbed down so that a two-year-old dog would get the point.

Back to the tellybox. Over on RTE1, a cadre of song-and-dance performers trot out the lamest lightweight bullsh*t, to an asinine backing track, all while wearing basketball gear and/or cheerleader costumes.

So to my point. Is this what it's come to? People who regularly consume this soulless, vapid trash need to cop on to themselves. The TV and tabloid press. Gerry Ryan and Adrian Kennedy. Max Clifford and Jade bloody Goody. Kerry Katona and the latest star with an eating disorder. Amy Winehouse's left nostril and Pete Doherty's forearm tracks.

Karl Marx said that 'religion is the opium of the people'. After my Sunday afternoon catching up on what "the great unwashed" do in their leisure time, I'd say that Marx's line needs to be updated.

Am I the only one who thinks that this celebrity-worship, reality TV, vote-me-please culture needs to be stamped out?

Opinions please. Always feels great to get a good rant out.

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DeCoR18

Have a look at the target market of this *EXPLETIVE DELETED*. Should give you your answer.

Thanks.

herya

That's why I don't watch TV.
I wonder did it go to the dogs when all the thinking people went online?

MIN2511

Jade Goody is dying-have some sympathy.....

Other than that tv is ****E!!!! I spend most of my time on the interweb these days

Quazzie

Don't worry OP. After a while Jade Goody will be gone from the redtops

Sangre

Quazzie2002 wrote: »

Don't worry OP. After a while Jade Goody will be gone from the redtops

aren't there obituaries in the redtops?

Insect Overlord

We are the Daily Mail generation.

You should really have had a glass of water and walked home. It would have cleared your head, got you some exercise and saved you the afternoon of craptacular media-bombardment.

Donny5

MIN2511 wrote: »

Jade Goody is dying-have some sympathy.....

Other than that tv is ****E!!!! I spend most of my time on the interweb these days

I, for one, am not taking this story lightly. In fact, I think it's as serious as cancer.

markesmith

Jade Goody is untouchable now though, isn't she? I don't think you can knock her anymore. I'd say Jordan and Kerry Katona are looking on and taking notes. Expect the two of them to get hit with something terminal in the next six months. I can only hope!

I guess the general gist of what you're all saying is, don't watch TV. But it's a real shame that honest decent hardworking people come home in the evening and have to sit and watch this sh1te. It's demeaning to watch, and must be demeaning to perform.

And stuff like Jade Goody's cancer battle is the modern-day equivalent to PT Barnum's Circus of Freaks. Bloody hell, where's the culture people?

Mhmm...weetabix

MIN2511 wrote: »

Jade Goody is dying-have some sympathy.....

Other than that tv is ****E!!!! I spend most of my time on the interweb these days

It's harsh and I feel sorry for her kids BUT plenty of people are dying in the world and it's not been rammed down our throats everyday. What has she ever contributed to anyone?

Local-womanizer

MIN2511 wrote: »

Jade Goody is dying-have some sympathy.....

Other than that tv is ****E!!!! I spend most of my time on the interweb these days

We are all dying.

I enjoy reading them tabloids for a good laugh,but thats is about it.

Sunday TV is shocking.With all this Talent shows going for so long you would think they would have found some talent by now!

More talent at the back of my scrotum.

Pride Fighter

markesmith wrote: »

Right, so I was down in Galway this weekend, visiting friends. A good time had by all. Anyway, I woke up today, a bit hungover, and hung around for a few hours.

My friend likes her tellybox, and she reads a lot of the tabloid papers. So she got the News of the World, and settled down with the paper and turned on the TV. I sat down, reading the Observer (lay off now, quality paper).

ITV basically showed about 3 hours non-stop of this Dancing on Ice crap. There were about 8 shows on different channels where people are voted out in some tacky reality TV thing.

I had a glance at the NOTW. Jade Goody, Jade Goody, Jade Goody. Absolute tabloid trash reporting, slightly racist, very sexist, extremely cynical, and dumbed down so that a two-year-old dog would get the point.

Back to the tellybox. Over on RTE1, a cadre of song-and-dance performers trot out the lamest lightweight bullsh*t, to an asinine backing track, all while wearing basketball gear and/or cheerleader costumes.

So to my point. Is this what it's come to? People who regularly consume this soulless, vapid trash need to cop on to themselves. The TV and tabloid press. Gerry Ryan and Adrian Kennedy. Max Clifford and Jade bloody Goody. Kerry Katona and the latest star with an eating disorder. Amy Winehouse's left nostril and Pete Doherty's forearm tracks.

Karl Marx said that 'religion is the opium of the people'. After my Sunday afternoon catching up on what "the great unwashed" do in their leisure time, I'd say that Marx's line needs to be updated.

Am I the only one who thinks that this celebrity-worship, reality TV, vote-me-please culture needs to be stamped out?

Opinions please. Always feels great to get a good rant out.

Wow, I could not have put it better myself. You are a genius.

Mhmm...weetabix

Donny5 wrote: »

I, for one, am not taking this story lightly. In fact, I think it's as serious as cancer.

Bad fecker! I managed to not make a simular joke...enjoy the abuse!

Queen-Mise

Mhmm...weetabix wrote: »

Bad fecker! I managed to not make a simular joke...enjoy the abuse!

What are ye all going to do when JG eventually dies. Who are ye going to pick on them. I love the fact once something at all mainstream comes up it immediately turns into JG bashing. Same as any political thread turns into FF bashing. Do i see a trend here.

On the OP's point: my sister-in-law when she got married & went on honeymoon, arranged for her mother & new mother in law to record all her soaps for ten days (Eastenders, Corrie, Emmerdale & Fair City) and then proceeded to watch them in order when she returned. There is something profoundly wrong with that imo.
The other thing that annoys me is when people (usually girls) start talking in details about celebs lives down to the D list. again very strange, people i have never even heard of, they would know the minutae details of their lives.

Local-womanizer

queen-mise wrote: »

On the OP's point: my sister-in-law when she got married & went on honeymoon, arranged for her mother & new mother in law to record all her soaps for ten days (Eastenders, Corrie, Emmerdale & Fair City) and then proceeded to watch them in order when she returned. There is something profoundly wrong with that imo.
s.

You right,she could just watch the omnibuses:pac:

Dennis the Stone

There's no mystery to it: the general public are as thick as sh*t.

Look at the bestselling books, music and films. Look at religion. Look at how much Gerry Ryan earns. Jesus f*cking wept.

[Deleted User]

Ah yeah, its all a pile of ****e...but telly can be quite informative too, if you can ignore all the sh*t..it is just anither medium..This is what society has developed into after the 15 years of the celtic tiger..The masses are conditioned by all these magazines and the tabloids..simple as that..people are quite easily manipulated en mass it turns out..
I'll just throw this out there while im at it..another aspect of this is a generation or two of (15 to 35 maybe) males, who cant think in terms of anything other than football..Pretty much manipulated by the same tabloids, and sky sports news and the like..I find myself trying to point out that its only a game from time to time and just getting a look of incomprehension..I did actually get a slap from a disgruntled barcalona fan at one stage as well...Ive toned it down about it since..

RKDus

I agree with you, but you can always just stop watching TV. It's surprisingly easy.

Mhmm...weetabix

Deleted User wrote: »

Ah yeah, its all a pile of ****e...but telly can be quite informative too, if you can ignore all the sh*t..it is just anither medium..This is what society has developed into after the 15 years of the celtic tiger..The masses are conditioned by all these magazines and the tabloids..simple as that..people are quite easily manipulated en mass it turns out..
I'll just throw this out there while im at it..another aspect of this is a generation or two of (15 to 35 maybe) males, who cant think in terms of anything other than football..Pretty much manipulated by the same tabloids, and sky sports news and the like..I find myself trying to point out that its only a game from time to time and just getting a look of incomprehension..I did actually get a slap from a disgruntled barcalona fan at one stage as well...Ive toned it down about it since..

You shouldn't really throw things out there as a negative in society just because YOU don't get it. Toned what down since you got a slap from a Barcelona fan?

giggsy664

Local-womanizer wrote: »

We are all dying.

I enjoy reading them tabloids for a good laugh,but thats is about it.

Sunday TV is shocking.With all this Talent shows going for so long you would think they would have found some talent by now!

More talent at the back of my scrotum.

That's what she said. Ooooohhhhh!!!!!

*Hides*

[Deleted User]

Mhmm...weetabix wrote: »

You shouldn't really throw things out there as a negative in society just because YOU don't get it. Toned what down since you got a slap from a Barcelona fan?

No, no, I do get it..but it is only a game after all..
toned down telling disgruntled football fans that it is, in fact, only a game..

Mrmoe

markesmith wrote: »

Jade Goody is untouchable now though, isn't she? I don't think you can knock her anymore. I'd say Jordan and Kerry Katona are looking on and taking notes. Expect the two of them to get hit with something terminal in the next six months. I can only hope!

Bus terminal dropped from outer space should do the job nicely:)

brianthebard

An File wrote: »

We are the Daily Mail generation.

You should really have had a glass of water and walked home. It would have cleared your head, got you some exercise and saved you the afternoon of craptacular media-bombardment.

Daily mail's been around for about a hundred years now, how old are you?

Mhmm...weetabix

Deleted User wrote: »

No, no, I do get it..but it is only a game after all..
toned down telling disgruntled football fans that it is, in fact, only a game..

:rolleyes:

And apart from getting slapped what do you achieve by pointing this out? So what interests do you have and lets see if we can link it to Z list celebrity worshiping?

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

Stargal

I don't know which gets to me more in threads like this: the snobbery or the whole anti-woman thing. Because that's exactly what it is - people making snide comments about how some woman they know gets a kick out of something that's clearly quite shít, whether it's Coronation Street, Heat magazine, how Angelina and Brad looked at the Golden Globes or what they think about Jade Goody. Why not just change your posts to "I hate stuff that working class people like?" or "Gosh, aren't women stupid?".

People use these things as escapism. In the same way that we can read the New York Times for information or watch a documentary about Iran to understand what's going on in the world, we all do things to switch off. Some people go on the internet (*waves*), some do sport, and a huge chunk of people read magazines or watch television, a lot of which are aimed at a mass-market. Just because they aren't insightful or intellectual in any way doesn't make them bad. In fact, that's the point of them. It's brain-candy.

Hell, look at how many people post here in AH rather than in Humanities or Politics. Why do you do that? I'll bet all the money in my pockets that it's because you want to switch off for a while, have a bit of banter or chat about something that's in the news. What's the difference if someone does this by buying the News of the World?

I fiercely object to the idea that 1) people who do these things are somehow less intelligent or less worthy than people who choose to do other things with their time and 2) that there is anyone who is completely defined by their decisions to watch these crap programmes or read these shít magazines.

People are more than just the things that they do, no matter how tempting it is to go all High Fidelity about it and judge people for having crap taste. Yeah, I mod the Celeb forum, so I'm biased. Meh.

queen-mise wrote: »

On the OP's point: my sister-in-law when she got married & went on honeymoon, arranged for her mother & new mother in law to record all her soaps for ten days (Eastenders, Corrie, Emmerdale & Fair City) and then proceeded to watch them in order when she returned. There is something profoundly wrong with that imo.

Look at this post. Now swap the names of all the soaps that she mentioned for Mad Men or Battlestar Galactica or something else that's been critically acclaimed. She's implying her sister-in-law is an idiot; it it had been some of the shows that I've mentioned, she would have got kudos for her devotion to such a great show.

Tago Mago wrote: »

Look at the bestselling books, music and films. Look at religion. Look at how much Gerry Ryan earns. Jesus f*cking wept.

I hear ya on the Gerry Ryan thing. There's some stuff that not even an intelligent reading of Marx can explain. Maybe if popular culture is meant to subdue us and stop us from rising up and starting a revolution then Gerry Ryan is the gunpowder, the agent provocateur that always brings us right to the brink before we get subdued again. I know I always feel like hitting someone or overthrowing something whenever I hear his smug little voice.

markesmith

Stargal wrote: »

I don't know which gets to me more in threads like this: the snobbery or the whole anti-woman thing. Because that's exactly what it is - people making snide comments about how some woman they know gets a kick out of something that's clearly quite shít, whether it's Coronation Street, Heat magazine, how Angelina and Brad looked at the Golden Globes or what they think about Jade Goody. Why not just change your posts to "I hate stuff that working class people like?" or "Gosh, aren't women stupid?".

If the bilge I witnessed on TV and in the NOTW yesterday is limited to the working class and women (as you seem to have stated), then I worry for them. It's a pretty sad state of affairs. Some people seem to know more about Ken Barlow than they do about themselves.

Stargal wrote: »

People use these things as escapism.

Fair enough, we all want to escape. But pictures of a bald Jade Goody? Lowest-common-denominator, Americanised crap pop? J*sus, you'd have thought the Age of Reason would have better product than this.

Stargal wrote: »

It's brain-candy.

If someone wants to read about how a 55-year-old woman from Huddersfield had her heart broken by a Nigerian waiter while on holiday, good luck to her. Seems more like brain-freeze to me.

Stargal wrote: »

What's the difference if someone does this by buying the News of the World?

After Hours on boards.ie is great, you get a wide variety of opinions, some brilliant humour, interesting topics, etc. The News of the World is a hate-filled paper, not sure if you've read it lately but it's terrible. A bizarre mixture of celebrities, tell-tales, xenophobia and sport. People who use it as their main source of news will think there are 'paedos' everywhere, and that Celtic would be a top 4 side in the Premiership.

Stargal wrote: »

I fiercely object to the idea that 1) people who do these things are somehow less intelligent or less worthy than people who choose to do other things with their time and 2) that there is anyone who is completely defined by their decisions to watch these crap programmes or read these shít magazines.

1) They might not be less worthy. They are definitely less intelligent. Surely all that cr*p knocks the corners off of your intellect?
2) No-one's completely defined by anything. Hitler was a vegetarian, and loved his dog Blondie. But, you know, you can partially define people based on this.

I agree with you definitely on the Gerry Ryan thing. I like your opinions above, mine just differ with yours. I don't think it's a plot to dull our senses through "bread and games" or whatever, but I think people need to make individual decisions about the stupid stuff they're reading and watching.

I was over in London a few years back, out for a few beers. Anyhoo, walking home from the pub, I saw a load of paparazzi outside a bar. I asked one of the photographers, a woman who seemed to dread what she was doing, who was in there. "Callum Best", she replied. I was a bit jarred, so I said, "Who cares?" She replied, "In this country, a huge amount of idiots care deeply."

Sometimes stupidity transcends mere gender and social class.

[Deleted User]

I quite like dancing on ice, I've always liked icedancing in general and besides they gain real iceskating skills and work hard to perform like that

[Deleted User]

Tago Mago wrote: »

There's no mystery to it: the general public are as thick as sh*t.

Look at the bestselling books, music and films. Look at religion. Look at how much Gerry Ryan earns. Jesus f*cking wept.

You know, I've always avoided this ****. Doesn't come into my life whatsoever. But for every person like me theres about 5 who love it.

banshee_bones

I dont watch any of the soaps eg. Coronation St, Emmerdale, Home & Away, Hollyoaks, Eastenders, Fair City, etc.

I dont read Heat,Now,Look etc or any of the celeb /gossip magazines.

I loathe all reality tv shows of any kind, Big Brother or dancing on ice.

Sorry, I have one exception, "So you think you can dance" not bad my canadian friends got me into it over there.

I choose to read from the following: The Indo, The Times, or The Guardian.

Yes i agreed that red top kinda rubbish and mentality should be stamped out.... as far as im concerned for the people who read it ... "rubbish in-is rubbish-out"

oh and i dont listen to Gerry Ryan....!

oh and sorry, has anyone else noticed that every second book nowadays has the title of "The Number One New York Times Bestseller"..... ???

Diabhal Beag

I hate that all the papers are sucking up to Jade. They called her ugly and stupid before and now they are crying crocodile tears for her. I never liked her and I'm hardly going to start now.

I do think that she is smarter then she looks. She is trying to make as much money for her kids as possible before the inevitable.