^&*# ran out of time
Gov. Sanford and other current events have got me thinking. Why is our culture so obsessed with infidelity? Threw this out there on Twitter - are we social anthropologists or vulgarians (which I hurriedly typed as "bulgarians," a snort-worthy typo I narrowly missed submitting)? An actual self-described social anthropologist chimed in: We're vulgarians. This is of no interest to true social anthropologists.
I agree with the first sentence, disagree with the second. The term anthropology refers to the study of humans - natural history, cultures, relationships from inter-hut to inter-continental. Basically, it's many studies of how we became who we are now, and possibly a peek at where we're headed. So aren't most of us anthropologists? The scholarly ones study the Etruscans' arboriginal substrata and how the Mayans were ahead of their time with their tool-making know-how. Twenty-first century gawkers study Jon minus Kate.
What helped civilizations survive? What makes people love or hate each other? These things seem deeply related to me. We all want to understand each each other, whether the end goal is to share a few bushels of corn in peace or to completely obliterate a person or group that threatens us. How are we alike? How are we different? What kind of behavior/clothing/name will land us that promotion? How did the successes, failures, grievous mistakes and accidental fortunes of that civilization/individual contribute to their current state of existence - or lack thereof?
Blogs, Twitter, Facebook - they're about sharing who we are (down to what we're doing at any given second of the day) - and for every person who screams "WHO CARES?!" there are 50 who genuinely do (care). Your high school classmate's cousin is irritated that Sam's Club doesn't seem to have the usual selection of toothpaste this week. Your friend's ex-girlfriend is watching Pound Puppies on YouTube. Your mother just kicked your extended network's collective ass in Bejeweled Blitz.
Anyway, this is supposed to be about infidelity and why we care so much. Dan points out that it's because they're celebs - and I agree, but I think the cheating curve is something that we care about regardless of fame. Possibly because it's the mother of all dealbreakers - and when it isn't, for some, the teeming millions think that it really should be. It's all about respect (or lack thereof), commitment (or lack thereof) - and love? Or surplus thereof?
TBC. Really.
3 comments:
i think we care because they are celebrities, but at the same time they're just like us. plus, it can validate our own lives as in "well, if they can do it, so can i." which isn't at all truthful. we like to point out faults in others, hoping that if we make such a big deal about what someone else is doing other people won't see our own faults.
or something to that effect.
wv: phaties - numerous phat chicks. phat with a ph, as in pretty, hot and tempting.
we love cheating not because it's the ultimate dealbreaker, but because deep-down we all want to cheat. it's because of this drive to be "unfaithful" that we gawk at others who are caught red-handed because it makes us feel more saintly for not doing it... or for not getting caught.
however, the J&K+8 thing is totally different. part of the reason why people seem to be so emotionally invested in it all is because the entire premise of the show was that this magical couple is able to overcome the stresses of raising eight children by sticking together. if they can do it, then by golly i can raise my 2.5 kids AND maintain my marriage. but then it all came crashing down and everyone's hopes and dreams died with their pending divorce. it's like in "Dark Knight" when Batman tells Commissioner Gordon that they must lie to protect the legacy of Harvey Dent, lest the people of Gotham lose all hope. in the J&K+8 scenario, the truth about Harvey Two-face came out.
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