Paris Hilton Comes To Town Amid Fighting

March 28, 2008

Why is Paris Hilton famous other than for her famous sex videos and jail time? Has she ever so much as uttered an intelligent phrase to support... like, global climate change? She has done nothing worth noting apart from drinking and driving and starring in a reality show that makes fun of "the simple life" of rural people.

Worried how the party closure case against the government will turn out? Sleepless over how $90 billion could be wiped off the Istanbul Stock Exchange? The unresolved social security overhaul is on the minds of millions. Turkey's agenda is intense these days. One might even call it “hot”.

Ah, by the way, rejoice, Paris Hilton, the world's most famous person for doing basically nothing, is in town to distract us from all concerns…

But why is Paris Hilton so famous, other than for her famous “leaked” sex videos? Did she find a cure for cancer or contribute to solving poverty? Is she going to help Turkey solve its current crisis? Has she at least ever hinted at anything intelligent about, for example, global climate change?

No, she has not. Paris Hilton is famous simply for being famous. She has not done anything apart from creating various scandals. The situation requires attention.

“The reasons why Paris Hilton is so famous is a case study. And it should be analyzed separately from the reasons people are so interested in these characters,” said lecturer and famous actor, Mehmet Ali Alabora, “This is basically related to the current consumption concepts. Yesterday it was one person, today it is Paris Hilton and tomorrow there will be someone else.”

There is not much difference between 1998 program of Microsoft and the one updated in 2008 other than slight visual changes. The new product is there to satisfy the urge for consumption and to distract attention. [The Hilton fame] is not distinct from serial production, argued Alabora.

Hilton arrived in Istanbul Atatürk Airport Wednesday evening to take part in the jury of a beauty contest on a private television channel amid fights between journalists and people who came to see Hilton in the flesh. A cameraman hit an arriving passenger's head with his camera. Other people were injured. Hilton sat in her car and took photos of people jockeying to see her or take her photograph.

Theater less important than Paris

Actress Selin Ýþcan's complaints drew attention to how real theater productions and productive artists are not appreciated while an army of journalists welcomes strange celebrities. “Today, many artists gathered in front of Taksim Theatre Stage that will soon be demolished. Not many people care about it. But the media is preoccupied with Hilton,” she said.

Game shows with names such as "Pop Star" abound in Turkey and young people aspire to be fashion models as much as others want to become doctors or lawyers. The pay is certainly better. “There are ‘heroes' created by the tabloid media and marketed to people. All this is about consumption,” Ýþcan argued.

I am displayed therefore I am

“In the age of media the importance is not on how something is, but how much it is displayed,” said sociologist Pýnar Selek. Even if the people do not care it, somehow it is pushed to be a significant part of their agenda, said Selek. “Here Hilton herself is not key. It might have been someone's wife. The matter is having been showed and talked about. The parameters of importance have been misrepresented,” she argued.

Selek believes the source of this distortion is on the media and the people are undergoing a kind of a trauma. They meet partners on TV shows, get married, fight and divorce as parts of these shows. “It is a time when even feelings are colonized,” said Selek.

However, Alabora opposes the temptation to blame all on the media. “It is a matter for all of us. We should not blame it all on something or someone else. Celebrities are created beyond their wills and commercialized.” He said people are also responsible for promoting the fame issue and celebrities themselves for playing the game. All parts are, he believes, responsible for this condition. “This is not something new, either. It was the same in the past. We have all created Paris Hilton, all of us together.” Box box box

Sign Contract, Will Interview

Paris Hilton made journalists sign contracts assuring that they would not ask any questions about her personal life before she would agree to an interview with them. If journalists attending the group interview yesterday broke their deal and asked any personal questions, they agreed that they would be removed from the conference hall.

Hilton came to Istanbul with a private list of needs that included what she wanted to eat for breakfast and dinner as well as vodka. She also ordered a black jeep with black tinted windows and a VIP party, according to a Hürriyet daily report.