Thursday, February 27, 2014

Figure Skating, "Pedorazzi" and More




  • Has anyone been following the recent "Pedorazzi" story? Basically, last month Dax Shepard and Kristin Bell announced that they would boycott all publications that print papparazzi photos of children. (Read the original announcement here.) Given the increasing interest in celebrity offsping (which seems to have taken off hardcore around 2005/2006 with the births of Suri Cruise and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt) which has lead to instances of children being surrounded and shouted at by paparazzi looking for a money shot, not to mention the fact that these kids entire childhoods are being documented and published as entertainment for us, I fully support this policy. Though I admit it's pretty hard to abstain from all magazines that feature these photos, and even more so when the photos are only an internet click away. You'd think this policy would have garnered more support (about time someone tried to do something about this, right?) but the problem for many publications (read People Magazine's response here) is that a lot of celebrities arrange for paparazzi shots to be taken of their families during an awards campaign, to divert attention from a scandal or negative publicity, or even to establish themselves as "celebrity parent know-it-alls" (like Jessica Alba, who seems to be famous for little else these days). The question now asked, how to you take steps to protect celebrity children when many of their parents are more than happy to pimp them out when it suits their own needs. And that doesn't even address where the line is for children of celebrities who are launching their own careers - think Jaden Smith, or Cindy Crawford's modeling youngster. It's a complicated and interesting subject, and regardless where you stand, I appreciate that Shepard and Bell's stance has opened up the discussion further. Blame has to be placed not only on the photographers, but also on the Hollywood machine that enables this invasion, and we the consumers who don't protest. (The comments in that Pajiba link are really interesting as well.)


  • Post Olympics high; I didn't really watch a lot of competition, just the snippets I caught in between pill passes at work, so I didn't watch the figure skating competition live. But I heard great things about 19 year-old Jason Brown and tracked down video of his performance at the US Nationals last month. First of all, he is just freaking adorable. Secondly, while he can't do a quad yet (apparently this is really important) his jumps are beautiful and his lead-ins are full of movement - so unlike that long buildup to the jumps I associate with the Ladies competition. Is this a male thing, or a Jason Brown thing? Third, this kid is full of enthusiasm and he makes frequent eye contact with the audience, something I don't see often in the Ladies either. It always seems like they're looking to the heavens and not at actual people. Basically, the kid is a gem and I hope his career continues to inspire and prosper.

Jason Brown Free Skate, 2014 US Championships




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