On February 16th, in a rare public appearance at the New York Public Library, great German director Werner Herzog announced that "The Anna Nicole Smith show is a monumental failure of civilization." It was eight days after the death of a woman who was famous for becoming famous, and the media frenzy was at fever pitch.
What does it mean when major cable news networks are providing non-stop live coverage of the unfortunate death of a woman better known for her bust size than anything else? In today's media-saturated culture where a perfectly unremarkable person can become an insta-star via YouTube, Anna Nicole's life (and death) represents the ugly mutation of the American Dream. She embodied self-invention, with her various forays into anatomical manipulation and publicity-drawing relationships. She also embodied the sad limitations of our culture's mindless pursuit of fame and fortune.
Trying to put a finger on the American Dream seems to be top of mind for a lot of people these days. We're waxing nostalgic about the days when hard work and perseverence meant something (Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness") while simultaneously despairing over the hollowness of material wealth (MTV's "My Super Sweet 16"). The great Cadillac tagline tells us, "Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit." The pursuit of what? Like the MasterCard Priceless campaign, it's a fill-in-the-blank proposition that makes us stop and think about what it's all for. Hopefully, it's something more than a Cadillac sedan or a snarky obituary on Gawker.
