Short Paper- Intro to Research Paper

Focusing on Pop Culture in the public sphere for the past couple of months, specifically on celebrities, my search paper is going to focus on celebrity marriages.  This year the world has been enthralled with two major celebrity weddings- Prince William and Kate Middleton’s as well as Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries’s wedding.  The media had a very major role in each of these weddings and it is apparent that our culture in general is extremely fascinated with celebrities in general but we also tend to make a huge deal about their weddings and marriages.  I want my focusing question to blend the topics of our fascination with celebrities with our fascination on marriage- what does making such a big deal about celebrity weddings say about our society and celebrities but maybe more importantly what does it say about our society’s views on marriage as a whole?

I think that our fascination with celebrities boils down to our curiosity about a certain lifestyle that seems to be out of reach for the everyday person.  Knowing that there are these people out there who live these lives in fame can seem very exotic and out of reach, so naturally we want to know more.

Celebrities aside, I think that our culture generally views marriages important and as an ideal, for multiple possible reasons.  There is definitely the “happily-ever-after” component that people are interested in that goes along with finding one’s “soul mate.”  People seem to put a lot of energy into both of these ideas, hence their infatuation with marriage.  In combination, I think that celebrity weddings are particularly hyped up because people are so interested in celebrities and their lives that seeing how their marriage works out is just another factor that attracts fans.  There is also a lot of negative talk whenever celebrities get married about whether they are really in love, doing it for the money, will they get divorced, etc., that also sparks an interest in people because they want to see how things will play out.

As for research, I would like to find more information on the psychology behind weddings and marriage in our culture.  I think it is and important to understand our society’s general feelings and ideas towards marriage and then be able to apply that to celebrity’s.  I would also like to be directed towards information on celebrities and their relationships with the media.  Between the two, I think it is going to be interesting to learn more about our big infatuation with celebrities and why we make such a big deal about their weddings.

Speed Dating x10

Finding your soul mate may have just gotten a lot easier, even easier than your typical dating sites such as eHarmony, Match.com, etc.  The New York Times article “Cellphone Apps Give ‘Speed Dating’ a New Meaning” explains a new type of dating service that is available right from the palm of your hand.  Cellphone apps have now begun to connect people with smartphone location technology, a simple user profile, and a few exchanged messages between two interested people.

“They say the services allow them to skip the more elaborate mating rituals of standard online dating, which seems to move glacially in an era of text messaging and social networking.”  This, to me, is the most striking part of the article.  Because we are in an age where we are able to communicate instantly person-to-person people are finding online dating sites too slow for their liking.  There seems to be this huge rush among singles who are overly ready to mingle and I think that this article accurately represents this great rush and how technology is only putting it into a fast forward drive.

Kim's 72 Day Marriage

Kim Kardashian’s 72-day marriage has been all over the pop culture realm of the public sphere ever since rumors of her divorce to Kris Humphries got around.  As I sort through the multitude of articles and videos online one particular article and video interview with Kim’s mom, Kris Jenner, on the Today Show caught my attention.

The supposed-to-be “wedding of the year,” worth ten million dollars, came abruptly to a halt because it was apparently “not the fairytale she had hoped for.”  I was unable to find statements from Kim herself, however in this interview with Jenner, she explains how Kim feels “really sorry.”  Besides the short length of the actual marriage, this apology shocked me.  If you think about it, why is Kim apologizing- for making a huge deal out of her wedding and then getting divorced so soon?  She definitely has a lot of fans but regardless I don’t see the reason that she is apologizing for getting divorced.  According to the Forest Institute of Professional Phycology, the divorce rate in America for second marriages is 60% so it should not be that much of a surprise that someone so heavily involved in the media is one of this 60% seeing as a lot of celebrity marriages don’t ever seem to work out.

Jenner also commented that Kim didn’t want to let anyone down, and in response to this she commented multiple times that Kim is going to donate a generous amount of money to charity.  This to me seems to be a reoccurring theme with celebrities.  They seem to think that by writing a huge check to a good cause will free them from media drama.

From hearing and reading what Jenner said in this interview as well as looking at a few other sources I am interested to see what Kim herself will say to the public about her divorce and how people will react.