2008 Woodie Awards
Celebrities are not automotically experts on life
Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: Opinion
This week, Ruthie from "The Real World" came to Slippery Rock to talk to students about alcoholism, as well as other things. The program attracted a good crowd, beside the fact that most students who attended probably decided to go just because it was somebody from "The Real World."
And that's exactly why the lecture is suspect.
It's a growing phenomenon in today's society. Reality stars, and celebrities in general, apparently are now experts at everything. Put Ruthie or anybody else from "The Real World" up on a platform to talk about alcoholism, and everybody listens. Put a doctor or any other health expert at the podium, and expect the students to be apathetic.
Advice dealing with any subject should be taken with a grain of salt, especially from somebody who really has no scholarly expertise on the subject.
Being a celebrity, or even a D-list reality star celebrity, doesn't make you an expert on anything else except maybe being an actor, or being on a reality show. The key word here is "expert." Having an opinion and having an informed opinion are two very different things. Reality show celebrities can express an opinion on many things, like sports, music, etc. But would their advice in something like football compare with people like John Madden or Troy Aikman, people who know just about anything and everything there is to know about football? No way.
Ian, whose parents were from the Pittsburgh area, was one of the last remaining on last season's "Survivor." All of a sudden, he became the media darling of Pittsburgh. He was being interviewed for anything and everything, from football picks to restaurants and all that lies in between. And why? Since he was on a reality show, he became the go-to person for everything. Give us a break, it's ridiculous.
We at The Rocket feel that bringing reality TV participants to come and discuss serious issues is less than acceptable. Entertainment is one thing. Expertise is quite another.
And that's exactly why the lecture is suspect.
It's a growing phenomenon in today's society. Reality stars, and celebrities in general, apparently are now experts at everything. Put Ruthie or anybody else from "The Real World" up on a platform to talk about alcoholism, and everybody listens. Put a doctor or any other health expert at the podium, and expect the students to be apathetic.
Advice dealing with any subject should be taken with a grain of salt, especially from somebody who really has no scholarly expertise on the subject.
Being a celebrity, or even a D-list reality star celebrity, doesn't make you an expert on anything else except maybe being an actor, or being on a reality show. The key word here is "expert." Having an opinion and having an informed opinion are two very different things. Reality show celebrities can express an opinion on many things, like sports, music, etc. But would their advice in something like football compare with people like John Madden or Troy Aikman, people who know just about anything and everything there is to know about football? No way.
Ian, whose parents were from the Pittsburgh area, was one of the last remaining on last season's "Survivor." All of a sudden, he became the media darling of Pittsburgh. He was being interviewed for anything and everything, from football picks to restaurants and all that lies in between. And why? Since he was on a reality show, he became the go-to person for everything. Give us a break, it's ridiculous.
We at The Rocket feel that bringing reality TV participants to come and discuss serious issues is less than acceptable. Entertainment is one thing. Expertise is quite another.
