You might not think this story is really about education, the will of man, and the corrupting force of celebrity culture. But I will peevishly insist that it is. Ex-Olympic figure skating hopeful Tonya Harding, widely believed to have arranged the 1994 knee-bashing of her rival Nancy Kerrigan, is now a professional boxer.
And she's looking for an opponent in her scheduled Jan. 19 fight in the Philadelphia area: man or woman, 125 lbs. or less. In a previous match, Tonya defeated Paula Jones. Supposedly she's a tough cookie. I don't doubt it. She's got a lot to be angry about.
This is all so ineffably sad. That Ms. Harding should have so few other options would tug at my heart, if I didn't believe she were ultimately responsible for her own plight.
At the same time, Tonya's sorry saga highlights the seamy underside of our media-fueled, celebrity culture - now open to all, thanks to reality TV. The main thing is to be noticed, no matter how degrading or banal the requirements. Media scribes and TV "entertainment beat reporters" insidiously play along, with ultimately witless commentary (pro or con) on the latest reality TV shows and episodes. Will this show get high ratings? What's it missing? Who will get voted off the island or out of the group house tonight, or fired by The Donald? Who will eat more ants and lick more greasy spark plugs than the rest? Who will most convincingly abase themself before a stranger with some implausible story? (Winner to be determined by instant online poll -- this is what "community" means now).
We join in the chatter over the water cooler, and then shrug and chuckle over stories like Harding's.
What next Tonya, after your current freak-show run ends? Female mud-wrestling in dives near airports? Hope you're working on a Plan B. The longer you're addicted to the spotlight, the narrower it's going to get. And the more wretched your life will become.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at December 14, 2004 01:40 PM
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What I find amazing, scary even, is that cable news now reports on the events of so-called Reality TV as if it WERE NEWS!
I've seen both MSNBC and CNBC do this repeatly for The Donald.
We make virtual realit into reality and then report it as if it were news. Something is askew and our glutenous lifestyles.
Posted by: Hovercraft at December 14, 2004 01:47 PMJuvenal wrote something about the Circus Maximus that seems fitting:
"Long ago the people shed their anxieties, ever since we do not sell our votes to anyone. For the people—who once conferred imperium, symbols of office, legions, everything—now hold themselves in check and anxiously desire only two things, the grain dole and chariot races in the Circus"
Posted by: Cerberus at December 14, 2004 02:55 PMKathleen worked out in a boxing gym for years - and quite frankly, she could take Tonya out so fast you would be left wondering what just happened.
Matt, you have hundreds of fans on the Motley Fool - I have been getting pinged all evening out of there! Talking about celebrity!