The big day is finally upon us. If you’re like me, you probably thought it would never come, that as a global society we would never actually reach this point. But after days--nay weeks--of torturous build-up, that golden moment is finally upon us: We can finally see an end to the absurd coverage of the royal wedding of “Wills and Kate.”
True, royal wedding media hyperventilation will blanket the day and probably spill into the weekend. (Maybe the Sunday talk shows will bring Donald Trump bragging that his weddings were much bigger and more impressive than the royal nuptials.) But if it’s not the end, it is hopefully the beginning of the end--and certainly more than the end of the beginning.
Would someone please explain to me why this wedding is getting historic event-level news coverage? Please? Hot Air’s Allahpundit nails it, calling it the “biggest media event in the history of history”:
There's no avoiding it, my friends. It's a media black hole from which no light, mass, or dignity can escape. As I write this, Fox News has preempted “Hannity” for a royal wedding special co-hosted by Shep Smith, who’s somehow managed to hold down the vomit despite his famous queasiness over inane pseudo-news like car chases and Birtherism and Paris Hilton gossip. Even Shep’s been assimilated. What hope do the rest of us have?
He goes on to note that 8,000 reporters have spearheaded a sort of reverse British invasion, laying siege to London. The wedding, Allahpundit relays, is expected to bring the United Kingdom 50 million pounds in added tourist revenue ... which won’t quite make up for the $10 billion in lost revenue. [See the month's best political cartoons.]
And for what? There is little in the modern world as anachronistic and weirdly useless as “royalty.” (And it’s an anachronism that costs British taxpayers between 40 million and 180 million pounds per year.) Our fame-obsessed culture, where being famous for being famous, is bad enough. But the enduring fascination with royalty is like a distilled version of that depressing trend. Prince William is in essence famous simply for being born. I rolled my eyes at the media hyperventilation surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, but at least Jackson earned his fame. It’s all enough to make one yearn for Dennis the peasant philosopher.
Perhaps the most dismaying part of this came from Nielsen a couple of days ago with the news that the American press has devoted a larger share of its news coverage to the royal wedding than have the British and Australian press combined (at least as of the start of April).
Nothing against the happy couple, by the way. I’m sure they’re delightful people and they no doubt deserve all best wishes. May they have a long, happy marriage ... out of the public eye.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (7)
Stuart Huffman of AR 2:42PM April 29, 2011
Bill Hedges of MO 12:49PM April 29, 2011
Stuart Huffman of AR 12:11PM April 29, 2011