I feel compelled to state, for the record, that The Hills has brought many beautiful and poetic and truthful moments to the screen, and for that, I will always love it. Its banality is what makes it so poignant and its surrealism is what makes it so entertaining. I don't feel at all defensive about my enjoyment of The Hills, but I do feel sad for people who watch the show but don't pay enough attention to appreciate those fleeting, wonderful moments of genuine emotion.
The City is far less interesting to me, because everyone is too calculating and self-aware to allow any of those genuine moments to peek through.
@ZakiKligmanic: Last night, I decided it was finally time to cave in to the peer pressure of the pop culture machine and finally watch an episode of this show.
... Finally, someone from The Hills had something intelligent to say.
Totally forgot to watch both last night, but I'm pretty sure I can still safely agree with this assessment. I feel a lot less embarrassed watching Whitney (and ugh, even Olivia) actually work for a living than I do watching a cast of Chiclet-teethed silicone receptacles make tens of thousands of dollars suntanning like it's their job, stopping only to make awful decisions with awful men. Not that I particularly thought LC was any shining beacon of wisdom and entertainment, but her departure seems like the perfect catalyst to finally stopping me from subjecting myself to the goop that is The Hills.
Wow, now I need to become a famous celebrity chef, so I can write a memoir revealing how my first venture into haute cuisine involved roasting and eating my baby brother.
I love Gawker specifically for the snark I can't get anywhere else, and while I definitely got a few laughs from the timeline of crazy (can't WAIT for the Suri Cruise memoir), I still think it's a bit much to place blame on Mackenzie Phillips by positioning her as a famewhore.
Obviously this has made her "relevant" again, and will make her a lot of money, but this woman was a victim of rape by her father at the age of 19. She was also (uncomfortably, she admits) in a long-term incestuous relationship that was founded on drug use. I simply cannot place blame on her. She's too messed up to be seen as anything other than a victim.
I will, however, place blame on her publisher and on Oprah, who sure picked up this story quickly. There are a lot of way to cope, but publishing a book? I can only hope this was an emotional release for her in some way.
@chickachicka: Think of it this way- everyone knows that Mackenzie Phillips has had a long, horrific battle with drugs. Everyone knows that her dad was her partner in her addiction, and in many ways facilitated it. WHY do we need to know this? We don't. She does not need to write a book about this to heal or stay sober. When Rehab programs talk about "rigorous honesty" , they are not talking about shit like this.
@chickachicka: i'm a bit torn with all of this.
part of me thinks she is just a crazy junkie who needs to sell books/garner attention (hell, her own sister had to get her own spread in US Weekly over this story this week....makes you wonder what kind of support she has ever gotten from her family)
but the other half of me just cannot believe someone would make all this up. i think she finally went to rehab (after last year's embarrassing arrest) and is finally admitting why she has been so fucked up.
but seriously, is this cathartic? i don't think so. i think it's a small piece of a very sad puzzle. this poor woman will never be healthy and normal - because of her own actions and because of the actions of BOTH of her parents. it's tragic as all hell.
This Phillips person has the distinct look of some I have known who have been abducted by aliens for Satanic Sexual Abuse. The resemblance is uncanny. Like Downs Syndrome almost.
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
@LA0811: I am here.
09/30/09
The City is far less interesting to me, because everyone is too calculating and self-aware to allow any of those genuine moments to peek through.
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
...
Finally, someone from The Hills had something intelligent to say.
Hmm.
09/30/09
(That's three "finally"s. I think there may be one more.)
09/30/09
09/29/09
09/28/09
09/28/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
Obviously this has made her "relevant" again, and will make her a lot of money, but this woman was a victim of rape by her father at the age of 19. She was also (uncomfortably, she admits) in a long-term incestuous relationship that was founded on drug use. I simply cannot place blame on her. She's too messed up to be seen as anything other than a victim.
I will, however, place blame on her publisher and on Oprah, who sure picked up this story quickly. There are a lot of way to cope, but publishing a book? I can only hope this was an emotional release for her in some way.
09/23/09
09/24/09
part of me thinks she is just a crazy junkie who needs to sell books/garner attention (hell, her own sister had to get her own spread in US Weekly over this story this week....makes you wonder what kind of support she has ever gotten from her family)
but the other half of me just cannot believe someone would make all this up. i think she finally went to rehab (after last year's embarrassing arrest) and is finally admitting why she has been so fucked up.
but seriously, is this cathartic? i don't think so. i think it's a small piece of a very sad puzzle. this poor woman will never be healthy and normal - because of her own actions and because of the actions of BOTH of her parents. it's tragic as all hell.
09/23/09
09/23/09