learning to be real.

this appears to be making the PS rounds: training for those who aspire to reality television stardom.

>>Every week thousands of people audition for Reality TV shows, the competition is fierce and the odds of making it past the first round of submissions are very slim. BUT if you are lucky enough to be noticed and fortunate enough to be called in, will you be able handle the pressure of this once in a lifetime opportunity?<<

i was just reading something recently about how conception of celebrity in the united states has historically been hard to reconcile with itself. there's a performative aspect to celebrity, of course, and a strong myth of open access--the actress discovered at the drug store soda fountain, etc. but when that sort of stuff happens, this writer was pointing out, often the myth overlies a strong sense that those who become famous do so because of a certain birthright, an inherent quality. makes the proposition of reality television--of manipulated actuality as spectacle, of "undeserved" fame or folks being famous-for-being-famous--seem sticky in a new way. or at least it did for me.