Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Celebrity Gossip

Angie is frequently in the pages of popular magazines such a US Weekly or Life and Style. She is also often the topic of online gossip websites such as Perez Hilton. Every little thing Angie or Brad does is usually reported to the public. And the readers eat it up. People love to gossip about her. What is it about Angie that keeps us gossiping?

During the scandal with Brad, the story of them together was all over the media. And the public loved hearing all about the tiny details and alleged cheating. We were gossiping about people we did not even know. Gamson talks about gossiping and asserts that readers who enjoy gossiping usually ignore the authenticity of the stories they are hearing. The public did not seem to question the truth behind adultery rumors. The story was much too interesting to worry about if it was true. Gamson states that gossiping is about being in the moment. According to Gamson, "Gossip, moreover, bypasses questions of merit through its emphasis on the present." The audience is caught up in the story and hearing all the details to really question the sources it comes from. We throw careful inspection of facts out the window when it comes to celebrity gossip.

3 comments:

Maddy said...

Gossip is something that most of us take part in on a daily basis --even if we don't recognize it. We all wonder why a certain couple broke up or what happened on Spring Break. When we gossip, we seldom discuss our own problems. We generally discuss another person who is not present. Celebrities are the perfect opportunity to gossip without risks. The odds of Angelina Jolie confronting me about talking behind her back -- not so great. I think we do it because we can get away with it and we don't have to face any repercussions.

Caitlyn Kennedy said...

Gossip is definitely a huge reason that these events in Angelina's life keep us interested. She is a pretty mysterious person, and she and Brad's lifestyles are unique compared to the average couple. It's funny that we feel like we know this celebrity's couples life because there is sooo much media coverage of it, but we are definitely seeing it through the media's framing of their lives. We feel like we know so much though because it is so often discussed and analyzed in magazines.

Rebecca said...

I think people like to gossip about Angelina becuase her actions keep us guessing. She jet sets around the world helping the needy, she adopts a child almost every year with her significant other Brad but their not married. It is an intriguing life style... one that does not follow our societies normal path...so we like to talk about it.