Elizabeth Hasselbeck - After appearing on "Survivor: The Australian Outback" in 2001, Elizabeth became a popular co-host and enthusiast on The View during its 2002 season. Following Lisa Ling's departure in 2003, Elizabeth was asked by Barabara Walters herself to become one of the official hosts of the show and serve as the conservative, right wing nut at the table. Despite her many uninformed discussions and controversial opinions during "Hot Topics," you gotta give this woman credit for not only marrying a former professional football player, but becoming such a widely recognized villain on television even causing Rosie to quit early! 
Lauren Conrad - I'm sure everyone can agree that MTV's "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills" are a bunch of boloney (Or however you spell it. Think "Oscar Meyers"). Although considered real-life situations in the early stages of promotion and advertising for Laguna, everyone eventually figured out those high school kids were being followed by camera men. Is that what happens in reality to you on a daily basis? Anyways, "Laguna Beach" followed with "The Hills," which documented the notorious LC leaving Laguna for the Hollywood Hills to attend fashion school in L.A. and work at Teen Vogue. Basically, she has her own fashion line now, cosmetic line, and brand that has carried her name for several years. You may despise her, but Conrad is fairly noticed by teens and adults around the country.
Adrianne Curry - After appearing on the 1st season of "America's Next Top Model," she pursued a modeling career and eventually broke away from Tyra's antics to appear on VH1's "The Surreal Life." On that show, she showed America her true craziness and even met her future-husband Christopher Knight AKA Peter Brady. Her and Chris got their own spinoff show on VH1 titled "My Fair Brady," which ultimately bombed in the ratings and no one watched. But hey, she managed to marry someone with $$ and a little bit of fame. Good for her!There are many other examples I could go on about, including pretty much every American Idol winner (minus Taylor Hicks), but that would take forever. The fact of the matter is reality television every now and then has the ability to produce a celebrity of some degree. These characters portrayed in the media sometimes carry enough charisma and energy to represent for all the struggling, wannabe actors/singers/models/talent praying to make it big like Elizabeth.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteYour post is hilarious and you definitely expose the agendas of Reality TV. Reality casters are trying to capitalizes off people, including exploiting them; the more extreme the better. The more drinking and crazy partying is on MTV, the higher the ratings. What ever is going to make the most money I guess.....
The media has a way of swaying society's public opinion. Shows are telling society that they must fit into the mold or stereotype, which isn't right. There needs to be more diversity in the media, and less falseness.
Since the boom of reality TV more and more celebs keep popping out of nowhere for little to no good reason. People go from being a 'nobody' to a 'somebody' over night. Matt you example of Elizabeth Hasselback is great because she literally went from being a regular young lady who went on Survivor, then married an professional football player, to now being an idol and public figure on the VIEW. Her feisty attitude is so funny to watch, I think she is extremely intelligent and deserves her spotlight. Her advocacy for political issues is admirable and I'd love to be in her shoes one day.