Public Image Unlimited

Lots of great stuff coming up in reaction to the previous post, two of which are elsewhere. It got a link from Songs About Buildings And Food, a blog so good that it makes me wish I liked The Hills so I could better understand what he's talking about. (And I mean that sincerely!) Laguna Beach and all its offshoots are a pretty perfect example of what I'm talking about--MTV has built a whole programming bloc out of televising reenactments of the gossip-worthy moments in a particular real-world social group, and people love it. That's no accident. As stupid as MTV's programming can look to adults, it's generally ahead of the curve on these things.

Also, for those of your that are uncomfortable applying this theory to "lightweights" like Miley and Britney, Alex Rawls sees a connection between my model and Bob Dylan's construction of character. I think that's true, but only insofar as Dylan is a singularly iconic character. There's a difference between the obsessive information completism of fandom and the social capital of gossip, which relies on widely shared knowledge.

Labels: bob dylan, hannah montana, narrative, notes, the hills

posted by Mike B. @ 7:06 PM