Pop Culture is not "Our" Culture, Steven. That is something else I think you are missing.
1) You don't read People Magazine, I'll bet. I don't either. I doubt whether there is a single contributor to this thread who reads it. So it does not define "Our" Culture. It is part of "The" Culture, as is The New York Review of Books, at the other extreme, but it is not "Ours." In short, America is made up of a lot of different sub-cultures, some larger, some smaller, all of which add up to "The" Culture.
You make much too much of the commercially oriented Pop Culture component, IMO.
2) I'll bet, also, that if you took a scientifically-designed poll of Americans all over the country, you would find a surprisingly large number of people who a) never heard of JFK Jr.; or b) had heard of him, but did not know of the accident; or c) (the largest category) had heard about it, but knew little of the specific details.
There are a lot of people in this country who either never watch television or read the papers, or who watch television -- but never the news. All the Kennedy hooplah you complain about (I presume -- because I did not watch any myself) was specifically designed to attract these habitual non-news viewers. And each of the channels was competing with all the others for their attention.
3) There is nothing peculiarly American about "celebrity-worship." The Brits have always been worse than the Americans in this respect; yet even though they still have a monarch, they do not seem to be any closer to reestablishing the privileges of the aristocracy.
4) It is very rare in America for an individual to be "worshipped" simply because of family connections. Hardly any one reads the "society pages." The Kennedys are an exception to this rule, for many reasons, one of them being that Kennedys have tended to be as attractive as movie stars (our "true" celebrities)-- and even more "doomed."
5) It might be better if people worshipped "achievement" rather than notoriety (as is the case today). But, here again, I think you might object to the standards used to determine achievement.
Should we celebrate those who have made themselves fabulously rich? (Outside of Bill Gates, what American billionaires are widely known to the American public? Ross Perot doesn't count, because Americans know him through his political campaigns.) Should we celebrate Nobel Prize winners? (What about those who deserve a Nobel, but never got one?) Should we celebrate best-selling authors? (What about those who write much better books?) And so on.
But since "celebrity worship" is an "achievement" of Pop Culture, then of course the "celebrities" will be people who are already constantly on view in Pop Culture -- actors, pop musicians, TV anchors, and the occasional politician (if he/she is photogenic).
Finally, I have to ask: if it bothers you so much, why do you watch/read about it? I don't, so it doesn't bother me. :-)
Joan
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