Part of me wants to vomit for writing an article on Justin Bieber, but I also find it equally nauseating to pass up an opportunity to highlight the absurd state of American pop culture.
Bieber, after a tour in Europe, is to take a paternity test to verify that he is not the father of Mariah Yeater’s baby. Yeater’s legal team is happy about Bieber’s willingness to take the test, but what is supposed to come of this? I’m going to jump the gun and point out that Bieber is probably not the father of this child, no surprise there.
The point of this is clearly publicity, although there doesn’t seem to be much of a payout from publicity unless you get your own reality TV show, legal settlement, or the like. Who’s to gain from such bogus claims that Bieber impregnated this woman? Obviously, pop culture media has profit to gain from readership.
Whether or not any stories printed in the tabloids have merit becomes irrelevant when there are famous faces attached to them. Certain individuals want to buy magazines about famous people, but why? That seems to be a more difficult question to answer.
What I know for certain is that there are complaints everywhere about the substance of the news, magazines, and other media, print or otherwise. Of course, people place the blame on the “media” as a whole, but perhaps there is not enough blame placed on readership. If you are more inclined to read about Bieber’s baby mama than the Greek debt crisis, you could be part of the substance problem.
Of course, where there is a demand, that demand will be met. What is more pressing than the issue of substance in media (sensationalism isn’t exactly new) is the lack of awareness about the issue. We can bandy about biased reporting, but when it comes down to it, people simply aren’t willing to change their demands, or they don’t care enough to change, or they simply don’t understand the impact of their demand.
In turn, the problem is perpetuated through a series of articles concerning sensational rumors and half-truths in order to garner the attention of the masses. It works, and nothing is gained but profit for some pretty substance-less news sources.
The rumors are perpetuated whether they are true or not. Journalists aren’t lying, they’re “bullshitting.” The lauded philosopher Harry Frankfurt describes the phenomenon as having no concern for the truth, but instead has a motive other than perpetuating an untruth, which is exactly what pop culture media is fond of printing and what the public loves to hear.
It appears we have a bullshit problem. Bieber, in this case, seems to be a proponent of the truth, so cheers to you, Bieber!
As for the media, for Yeater, and for the general public, there seems to be too much allowance of bullshitting, which is the real culprit in the fight for substance in media.
Michael Dearman is a sophomore majoring in English, political science, and philosophy (he would also like to add that he hates bullshit). He can be reached for comment at [email protected]