The Cel-Web-Rity: America’s New Superstar
As if the never-ending attention to Britney Spears and her lethargic MTV Video Music Awards performance wasn’t enough for people trying to find a shred of news in the local newscast nowadays, along came Chris Crocker.
Crocker, as you are probably aware of by now, is the “star” of the “Leave Britney Alone” videos on YouTube. What was just a simply awful video of a young man screaming about how unfair people were being to Spears has become a worldwide phenomena. Amazingly, it has also turned Crocker into a celebrity. His MySpace videos have topped 35 million views, the Britney video has been spoofed on late night talk shows, he’s been a guest on those same shows, and he has signed a contract with 44 Blue Productions to star in a new reality series. What’s even more appalling is the reality show deal came just one week after the Britney videos were posted on line. I’d hate to be a waiter in Los Angeles who has been turned down in casting call after casting call only to see this guy get a deal just like THAT because he turned the camera on his self.
Now understand I’m not flabbergasted by Crocker’s fame because of his sexual orientation or just plain weirdness. You are what you are and that has actually helped Crocker tremendously. What’s really bothering me about this is two things: the rise of a “celebrity” who really isn’t a celebrity, and the fact that the media and general public are eating it up.
Let me tackle the second issue first. It wasn’t that long ago people voiced their displeasure over the news media’s coverage of Paris Hilton’s imprisonment or Lindsay Lohan’s continuous run-ins with the law. Recently, people are moaning over the wall-to-wall coverage of Spears’ custody battle for her kids with former husband Kevin Federline. But an interesting things remains under this alleged disgust: people love a train wreck. Even I have to admit when I’m bored and have a few minutes to kill I’ll check out TMZ.com or the New York Post’s Page Six (but only after I’ve exhausted my viewing of more important websites).
If you doubt people like train wrecks, then explain why reality TV is still around even though it really doesn’t reflect reality at all. Explain why the first few episodes of FOX’s “American Idol” pull in higher ratings than episodes featuring the final 12 contestants. Think of why you watch shows like “The Next Food Network Star” or “The Bachelor”. You don’t really care who wins, you just want to see who screws up the most. With this love for the freakish, whether it be a reality show meltdown or DOT cameras showing a collapsing interstate bridge, we just love seeing things going wrong. Enter Crocker, and America embraced him with open arms.
And this opens the door for my other point of contention. The accolades for Crocker have ranged from The Daily Reel proclaiming he is, “an insidious comic mastermind” to the Ocala Star-Banner’s Dave Schlenker comparing Crocker to the late Andy Kaufman. While there is an entertaining quirkiness to Crocker’s schtick, the man is hardly a comic genius. In fact, he claims the Britney video was his honest feelings toward Britney and not an act. There’s no fine line between comic genius and comical by accident. Kaufman, George Carlin, Lenny Bruce… they were comic geniuses. Crocker is comical because it appears he has a lot of issues in his life right now.
Yet Crocker is invited to awards shows, Hollywood parties with real celebrities, and TMZ paparazzi follow him around town looking for a photo op. Only in America… and only in cyberspace. If there’s one thing about Crocker’s newfound fame is it is only a testament to the power of the internet. One video, whether it be funny or sad or gory or enlightening, can find it’s way into millions of peoples’ every day lives and illicit a response. This is a guy, who is only 20 years-old, who for a couple of years has posted videos and photos of himself doing weird things and building a fan base. The Spears video launched him in star status, whether I like it or not. It’s amazing what popularity a slightly (check that, WAY) off-centered young man could garner with a simple video.
Imagine how popular someone could become with a good video online.
