Tappress - Reality TV Stars: What Will They Do For Fame?

January 11, 2010

Reality TV Stars: What Will They Do For Fame?

By: Erin O’Brien

Tappress
 

How far are people willing to go to make money or further their careers?  What are they willing to give up and who are they willing to use?

The days when you had to be on American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Next Top Model, or Last Comic Standing in order to get ahead in your chosen profession are long gone.  Now, it seems that shows like The Real World, Survivor, and The Amazing Race can be parleyed into a ridiculously prosperous career. 

There seems to be some confusion and maybe a little bit of suspicion amongst the general public as to whether this is purely a coincidence or if it was the master plan all along.  We often hear about struggling actors or singers who appear on reality TV shows, only to later go back to their true careers with a more widely known name. 

It’s a growing trend that living in a house with six other people that you just met, drinking all day long, and generally looking like a complete idiot equals a start to career in entertainment.  Some of the most famous examples are Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, who was a longtime participant in the Real World and its sister shows and now enjoys a career as a professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment and Elizabeth Hasselback, a former Survivor contestant who is now one of the co-hosts of the view. 

Whether this is because of genuine public interest in these individuals, or are the television networks just trying too hard to be a part of this new craze in programming?  According toVH1 executive vice president Michael Hirschorn, the reason these people are so popular is that they are a part of shows that have “the liveliest genre on the set right now. It has engaged hot-button cultural issues—class, sex, race—that respectable television... rarely touches.”  The interest in these kinds of stars increases the amount of media attention that they receive, especially from the tabloids, catapulting normal people into overnight sensations. 

Though this process is wildly viewed as a way to extend the fifteen minutes of fame, reality show participants that are not out of control in this pursuit seem to be the most easily forgotten.  Paul 'Bubble' Ferguson is not a name that most people would remember, but he was a part of the second crop of Big Brother contestants hoping to gain fame as well as win some money.  Sadly, “Bubbles” was never overcome with the desire to run around naked, pick random fights with his roommates, or get arrested for disorderly conduct, and people just got bored of him.  After he failed to catch the interest of the viewers, he has been reduced hosting an unpopular online show.

Many viewers have expressed a feeling of being lied to about the authenticity of the shows as, most just seem like they might even be scripted.  There has been a considerable amount of controversy over the “reality” behind such shows as Laguna Beach, The Hills, and The Real World, as it just seems a little bit too convenient that the participants of these shows manage to create some kind of drama on a weekly basis without fail. 

However, when the networks make it too obvious that the show’s drama is all predetermined, even the most forgiving and easily fooled fans will begin to take notice.  The Real World: Hollywood, the most recent target of this criticism, had many fans questioning how there could be any legitimacy to a show that had a cast made up entirely of entertainment business hopefuls that were not acting all that well.  They seemed to be trying way too hard to be cool and create excitement at the same time. 

Wannabe reality stars are following a trend of taking their desperation to an all time low now with the involvement of their children.  How the parents can justify this is unimaginable.  Obviously the network executives have no problem exploiting them, because they will be making money off of the ratings. 

The media has even taken note of this.  Shows like Jon and Kate Plus Eight are in the spotlight more than ever due to the parents desire to stay in the public eye despite a very ugly divorce.  The biggest question raised seems to be, do they see how this is affecting the kids?

Tappress - 2012: The Movie, the Theories, and the Hype

November 15, 2010

2012: The Movie, the Theories, and the Hype 

By: Erin O’Brien

Tappress

The release of the movie 2012 last year brought back one of the seemingly continuous questions of, is the world ending then? The fear of the world ending has been around for centuries, and this movie seems to be trying to capitalize on that fear. 

There has been a lot of supposed evidence, but not all of it is as reliable as we think.  The main support for this Armageddon date comes from the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar.  Many believe that the Mayans were predicting this date, which marks the end of their Great Cycle, to be the coming of Armageddon. 

However, there are others, especially historians and archaeologists, how strongly doubt that this is the case.  “We [the archaeological community] have no record or knowledge that [the Maya] would think the world would come to an end in 2012” stated Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Other theories include the idea that our next geometric reversal, when the, orientation of Earth's magnetic field changes so that the positions of magnetic north and magnetic south are reversed, will be in 2012.  We are apparently overdue for one, as our last reversal was 780,000 years ago. 

However, this theory is also highly controversial because many astronomers say that the idea of geometric reversal happening by 2012 is impossible.  They say that it would take about 5,000 years to be completed. 

There are still others that are convinced that our ultimate demise will be the result of a supposed collision that Earth is supposed to have with another planet, known as either Planet X or Nibiru.   However, there is one major issue that prevents most people, both inside and outside the scientific community, from acknowledging this theory at all.  It seems that the person who first proposed this idea, Nancy Lieder, founder of the website ZetaTalk, claims that she has had contact with aliens.  She claims that they talk to her through an implant they put in her brain, and she is using this to warn us. 

If that kind of madness is all that we have to worry about with this threat of an apocalypse quickly encroaching upon us, then we may not have anything to fear at all.  This is especially true because a great deal of the evidence that supports the 2012 Armageddon date was not originally even linked to the year 2012.  Most of it was just estimated to possibly happen in that general time-frame, give or take anywhere from a few years to a few decades. 

The dates on the evidence were, for the most part, not changed until after the popularity of the link between the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar and the end of the world arose. 

Disproving this theory of a 2012 apocalypse date even further is the fact that countless archaeologists believe that the Mayans thought of the end of the long count calendar would be a time of celebration, not a time of panic and chaos. 

In hindsight, it is easy to see why people will believe these supposed “end of the world” proclamations, even though they are based on half-truths that are very loosely strung together.  People tend to buy into things like this believing that those that created these theories have researched it and know what they are talking about. 

William Miller, a Baptist preacher, predicted the Second Coming of Jesus to happen on March 21, 1843. A vast number of Christians accepted his supposed prophecy.  However, Jesus never showed on that date, so Miller decided to reschedule.  He predicted a new date of October 22, 1844 to be the true Second Coming of Christ.

Unfortunately for him and numerous of his Millerite followers who had given up all of their possessions and property as they prepared for the end of days, Jesus remained a no-show.  This is often referred to as the Great Disappointment.  Ellen White, who was a Millerite as well, developed her own Armageddon theory shortly after Miller’s failed prediction. 

Following the Great Disappointment, White declared that she had experienced a “vision” in which she saw when the end of the world would occur.  She made numerous predictions of the timing of the end of the world, but sadly, all of them failed. 

It is clear that the following of crazed theorists such as Miller and White is inspired by a bizarre combination of misplaced and misunderstood faith and the teachings of an incredibly charismatic leader. 

For whatever reason, people have chosen to go along with these and other end of the theories in the past, and they will no doubt do it again in the future when the opportunity presents itself. 

Tappress - Everybody on the Beach, There's a Killer at Sea

May 17, 2010

Everybody on the Beach, There's a Killer at Sea

By: Erin O’Brien

Tappress

 

On April 20, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, exploded and sank.  Eleven workers were reported missing, and later found dead and seventeen others were seriously injured.  An estimated 50,000 barrels or 2.1 million gallons of oil are leaked into the Gulf every day.  This has since become the largest oil spill in US history, making it a larger oil spill than the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 which leaked an estimated 11,000,000 into Alaska’s Bligh Reef. 

BP and Transocean Ltd., the offshore drilling contractors that BP hired, were running the well without a remote control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations, Brazil and Norway, as a last resort protection against underwater spills.  However, while that practice may be viewed by many as irresponsible, the use of a remote shut-off is not a requirement of U.S. regulators. 

Executives from BP and Transocean, as well as Halliburton, the company that built the rig’s well casing, have been called before Congress for a hearing in order to decide who is at fault for the spill.  Both have decided to place the blame on the other company, claiming to have no responsibility for this incident.  They have both also blamed Halliburton. 

The U.S. Government has named BP as the responsible party in the incident and officials have said the company will be held accountable for all cleanup costs resulting from the oil spill.  BP has accepted responsibility for the oil spill and the cleanup costs, but continues to insist that they are not at fault because the platform was operated by Transocean personnel.  BP expects that repairing the leak will take about two months and an estimated $60 billion. 

Due to ongoing disputes over the exact amount of oil that is being released, several scientists have been requesting the right to monitor the spill.  However, BP is refusing.  “The answer is no to that,” BP spokesman, Tom Mueller says, “We’re not going to take any extra efforts now to calculate flow there at this point. It’s not relevant to the response effort, and it might even detract from the response effort.”

There is a vast oil slick that covers a surface area of at least 2,500 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico, and it will continue to expand until the leak is repaired.  Scientists have also discovered that there are immense underwater plumes of oil, which are not visible from the surface.

The Macondo Prospect oil field, the site of the oil rig explosion and leak, was believed to have held approximately 50 million barrels of oil before the oil spill in April., Director Rich Luettich of the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences said the oil could remain a problem for as much as a year, or even longer.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency on April 29 in the state after weather forecasts predicted the slick would reach the Louisiana coast.  Since then, the oil slicks have reached both the Louisiana marshlands and coasts. 

The oil spill continues to be a threat to the over 400 species, one of which is endangered, that live in the marshlands and small islands off the coast of Louisiana.  The cleanup process would end up lowering the oxygen levels in the Gulf, the impact of which is sure to be felt on levels even near the top of the food chain. 

The economy will also be taking a huge hit as a result of the spill.  The fishing industry will be set back an estimated $2.5 billion and tourism in the area is expected to loose about $3 billion.  These losses do not include the amount that it will take to clean up the oil which will be $760million, but is increasing by $10 million per day. 

This incident marks the third major health and environmental hazard caused by BP in the past five years.  In March 2005, BP’s Texas City Refinery experienced a fire and explosion that killed 15 workers and injured over 170 more.  Also, in August 2006, their Prudhoe Bay pipeline spilled an excess of 250,000 gallons of crude oil into Alaska's North Slope. 

Tappress - Jay vs. Conan – The Late Night Debacle

 

February 8, 2010

Jay vs. Conan – The Late Night Debacle

By: Erin O’Brien

Tappress

The continued downward spiral of NBC’s late night comedy lineup in recent months has led network executives to attempt to turn the clock back on The Tonight Show a full year.  They are reinstating Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show and firing Conan O’Brien desperately hoping that this will bring back ratings and make the affiliates happy. 

This whole mess started six years ago in 2004, when NBC’s lineup consisted of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O’Brien both of which were the highest rated late night comedy shows on the air.  At this point, when everything was going so amazingly well, NBC decided to make a shocking change to their late night lineup.  Starting in 2009, Leno would retire and O’Brien would replace him as the host of the widely coveted Tonight Show. 

Leno was fired as the host of the Tonight Show though he would later claim on the air as per NBC’s request that he was retiring starting in 2009.  At the time, fans were baffled as to why NBC would try to experiment with the lineup that keeps them #1 in late night comedy. 

What many did not know, was that Leno never actually wanted to retire then, nor did he plan on it.  NBC network executives made the decision to force Leno out of the position after finding out that O’Brien was receiving offers from other networks that he was considering taking once his contract with NBC went up. 

NBC even decided to ask Jay Leno to return to the network to host his own hour long comedy show at 10 PM, during prime time television.  They were no doubt strongly encouraged by the fact that even though viewers were aware of Leno’s pending departure, The Tonight Show continued to be the highest rated show in late night television up until the day he signed off as its host. 

At first, things went according to NBC’s plan and the transition was smooth.  O’Brien started out in June of 2009 with great ratings and all seemed to be well with the world of late night.  Leno’s new show, The Jay Leno Show, also debuted, in September 2009, with great ratings. 

However, both shows quickly took a turn for the worst.  Critics and fans alike bashed and abandoned the shows leaving them to flounder. The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien lost about half of its audience since the host change over.  Leno’s show did about the same, but was to be expected given its established prime time drama competition. 

NBC’s reaction was to try and reorder their late night roster. The Jay Leno Show would be moving back into The Tonight Show’s traditional 11:35 PM time slot  for a half hour and The Tonight Show would move to 12:05 PM. 

Leno agreed to make the move, but O’Brien vehemently refused.  He stated that The Tonight Show starting at 12:05 PM would not be The Tonight Show; it would be the “tomorrow show.” 

NBC decided to cancel both The Jay Leno Show and . The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.  Conan O’Brien was released from his contract and paid $45 million dollars.  He will be able to begin working with other networks as early as September of 2010. 

Leno, who also had asked to be released from his NBC contract, on which he had two years left, was denied.  When NBC offered him his old job as the host of The Tonight Show back, he gladly accepted, saying that the position was always his “dream job.” 

The only remaining question seems to be after all the changes NBC has made to their lineup are said and done, will the network be able to return to its former late night glory