It’s a question that I’ve thought about on more than one occasion. Why are people so enamored by “the spectacle?” Whether it is a five-car pile up on the freeway or a drunk girl making a fool of herself on television, there is something that draws us (myself included) to a train wreck. Some people — most networks, to be sure — are banking on the fact that we’ll eat up whatever pop culture throws up.
Perhaps that is why the Balloon Boy incident out of Colorado seems a little less than shocking. For those that may have devoted more time this weekend to the festivities than reading blogs on CNN, let me fill you in. A six-year-old boy from northern Colorado was reported to be missing, apparently having flown off in his meteorologist father’s weather balloon. However, when the balloon landed outside of Colorado Springs, the boy was not in it. He had been in the attic, hiding from authorities, and supposedly, his parents. When asked later by his father on “Larry King Live” why he did not respond to his repeated calls the little boy replied, “You guys said we did this for the show.”
It was later discovered that this family had been involved in a long-time love affair with the media. After appearing on ABC’s “Wife Swap,” contributing to CNN iReports, and being a former weatherman on local television, the hoax appears to have been an elaborate set up to achieve unprecedented media attention.
Sadly, it doesn’t seem particularly out of the ordinary for a family to exploit their children for stardom (hello Jon and Kate and the Octo-Mom). But there is still something unnerving about a six-year-old boy being taught that lying to authorities to be on TV is the new way to be the center of “the show.” In a world where it is more acceptable to be broke than it is to be unknown, where Facebook statuses and Twitter updates keep us all intertwined with the most intimate details of each other’s lives, anonymity has become the new sin and we seem to worship the god of celebrity.
And for what? To be known for a few moments, remembered for a day, a week, perhaps a year, if you’re lucky. These truisms are known, but even those of us who don’t fake physical harm still participate in the same show. Most of us try to find our niche in the world, trying to play the part that will get us the most prestige, popularity or power.
Perhaps Shakespeare had it right: “All the world’s a stage, the men and women merely players.” And now, we have plenty of outlets for such a production to take place. Maybe the Balloon Boy got it right. If it’s all just a show, perhaps the worst thing to be is just a member of the ensemble, or worst yet, just in the audience.
But hey, who am I to judge? Maybe the only thing keeping most of us from a similar hoax for fame is lack of resources and an aversion to heights. Thank God for small favors.
—Allena Berry is a sophomore in Peabody College. She can be reached at allena.g.berry@vanderbilt.edu.
