Chris Brown’s Violence
Rihanna is Fine
I know this is celebrity news, but it is HUGE! Chris Brown has, for sure, beat up his girlfriend, Rihanna. All the other details about why and how probably won’t be cleared up until they issue a public statement; but even that will, most likely, be a twisted truth or a complete lie.
This is much more important than your normal celebrity scandal. Brown is only 19-years-old and Rihanna is just a year older. They are the two most angelic and successful role models and heartthrobs for America’s teens. Domestic violence happens everywhere, and it happens a lot. Now, it has been illustrated by America’s most venerated young celebrity couple.
What makes this news is mostly the prominence of the two star’s names and the conflict between the two. Timeliness is also a good factor in this story’s newsworthiness. This is not literally bizarre, but is was such a shock to have two kids with pristine reputations at the top of their careers fall so far.
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You provide a good sense of the broader social implications of this incident, so I will overlook my general prohibition on celebrity news. (Geez, that sounds stuffy, doesn't it!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good analysis of the news values involved. 10/10
"What makes this news..."
ReplyDelete2 reasons: 1 you mentioned.
1. Two people with everything in the world (money, fame, power) and "fall so "far" as you put it. People don't find closure in this because Americans assume money + fame = happiness.
2. The fact that two celebrities (which celebrities are always seen as "better" than everyone else), are still susceptible to common problems such as domestic violence. This act makes them human and destroys the notion that they're better than us. At the same time, they show that a lot of people are actually "better" than them, for not participating in abusing their spouse. "I may not be as rich as Chris, but at least I don't hit my wife."
Because of this domestic abuse case it destroyed people's hope that celebrities have a glamourous, happy lifestyle, which is what everyone's strives for. With that ideal gone, what hope do people have? That is the social implication of the situation.