Oh gods, how I loathe her. I loathe her from the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of my bottom. Ofcourse, I loathe her so much that she has become a person in my head, with a fully fledged identity (unlike the whole furry mutation of lindseybritneyjessicaashleymischaashleytheothertwin and every other chicklet in LA). She makes every stereotype of the ugly American come alive, every stereotype of privilege and money not being able to buy class be true. That she is crass goes without saying. The question is... why doesnt the media dismiss her the way it does Lil Kim? Why is she untouchable?? Hm, Kate Moss vs Naomi?

It all comes down to viewership and money as far as our major networks and cable news stations are concerned. Also I think that people all have a bit of a voyeristic gene and we like to hear about celebrities woes. I'm pretty old and I can remember all of the movie magazines writing about movie stars parties, many husbands, illnesses etc. Remember all of Liz Taylors husbands and illnesses. Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner etc.

Paris Hilton is the poster child for everything that is wrong in the United States! There is only one color, its green! There is only one religion, its green! There is only one sex, its green! There is only one political party, its green (not the enviro friendly's here kids)! You are either green or you aren't! Most of us aren't and the greens have sacrificed a stupid bimbo to placate the masses!

She like Marta and OJ will rise again to torment us with her self absorbed, narcissistic, petty, spoiled privilege. And we will very stupidly continue to believe that the real problem is the inequality of black and white, or the inequality of men and women, or the inequality of Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc or the inequality of Republican and Democrat. And the greens; they laugh all the way to the bank!

The real problem is the outright ownership of the political process by the rich. The real inequality in this country is that of the rich and the poor!

I believe that's "us" astute observers of celebrity culture. Object of a preposition, eh?

It's just jealousy and self-loathing. We're jealous of her for acting any damn way she pleases and successfully becoming a celebrity, yet paying no penalties, all the while having more money than most of us will ever see for no reason other than luck of the genetic draw. Then we fixate and comment on her, follow her every move, read Celebritology, post to Celebritology, etc. ad infinitum. And we know we shouldn't, that we should care about more substantive things, about the people in our lives who could do with all the attention we give Paris. And then we begin hating ourseves, and loathing that we care about a skeletal dress rack with no skills save PR. So we turn our self-loathing onto her, thus scorning the very object we crave. Damn you, damn your eyes, Paris for making us watch!

What I learned from Paris Hilton:

1) Americans love rich people. We have sympathy for the poor, but we don't love them.

2) Fame is the only entitlement in this country. We may limit social security, health care, access to higher education, but no one wants to limit the opportunity for fame. How else can you explain US Weekly, Perez Hilton and CNN

3) Americans are superficial and are proud of it. We want to spend our lives partying and dating hot men/hot women.

4) The only purpose of the internet is to display home-made porn.

5) No matter how old you get, you still want your mommy when you're in trouble.

American Culture, Exhibit 289: Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton was born into a family of wealth and social power in the late 20th century. Due to Americans' tendency to automatically elevate any person who has money (see Exhibit 2) or any person who is physically attractive (see Exhibit 5), she came to fame in the early 21st century.

Against intuition, the American public did not shun her when she showed little respect for the middle and lower classes of society. This is most likely because most Americans - who had to work to earn money and led unglamorous lives - envied the fact of Ms. Hilton's existence. She was in a financial position - through no effort of her own - that would perpetually allow her to be insulated from the harsher realities of life.

Many people also liked to feel superior to her, because of the traits this insulation elevated in her. They liked to feel that despite all her advantages, they were better individuals. Maybe because they worked hard for a living or spent their money more wisely or were simply more aware of the world around them. But by following her exploits - many of which were shallow, selfish, and vain - people could feel better about themselves.

Unfortunately, this made Ms. Hilton feel she had a certain level of invulnerability. Because so many people were interested in her actions - a notion supported by her own TV show, recording deal and autobiography - she felt that she could do anything and not be accountable for her actions. This led to more and more outrageous and overtly illegal behaviour, that eventually led to her incarceration in June, 2007.

What if, what IF Paris humiliation is for real and she has experienced some kind of about face? What if seeing the image of herself sobbing in the back seat of a police cruiser inspires a few months of honest humility? I don't think she understands international politics, I don't think she understands "second chances" the way a recovering addict does. But what IF after her release she starts donating gobs of her money to worthy charities for a few months? Better yet, what if she hides in her mansion out of embarrassment and we have a few weeks, dare I say months, free of tabloid coverage of her antics? She is not an intelligent person, not a kind person, the only aspect of her personality of any substance is her bank account. What IF she suddenly realizes that? A girl can dream.

Can someone tell me - other than the jail sentence - why people equate Paris Hilton with Martha Stewart?

Martha Stewart may be privileged now, but she worked her @ss off for it, and she is far more savvier and intelligent than Paris Hilton. If MS is pervasive, it's because of marketing her company and her talents, not because she got drunk or someone said she needed to take her herpes drugs. (Hmm, okay, so maybe PH is marketing her talents...)

Paris Hilton is the epitome of spoiled entitlement. Martha Stewart is more like the American Dream With A Detour. That they went to prison - and Ms. Hilton for far less time - is their only intersection.

Not the biggest MS fan, you understand, but I just don't understand how a woman who used her skills and brains to create a massive, billion-dollar company is comparable to a selfish heiress.

Thanks, Fairfax,VA for pointing out that this obsession isn't exactly new. I'm pretty sure it goes back even earlier than Liz Taylor's husbands. The only change is the number of media outlets reporting - but to condemn Americans for blindly following Paris at the expense of more "important" things like war is to be woefully ignorant of all of American history.

Wasn't Lincoln taking in a play when he was assassinated? How dare he dally with such triviality while there was a nation to re-unite!!!

Since I don't know the Hilton family personally, I'd have to say that everything I know about her has come from the media.
What I do see clearly are a lot of people on a self-righteous high over all of this. It's as if so-called "ordinary folks" have never driven after one too many or never tried to put one over on the police.
If I were perfect myself (like so many ranting and raving against her?), I might feel justified in being more critical.

mr. or ms. alien, meet paris hilton.
she is a young woman born to privilege.
she has evidently experienced no limits or boundaries in her life or, if she has, they were of no effect.
she behaves the way she behaves, boorish, entitled, flippantly, because she sees no reason not to.
she is a product of her upbringing by (probably) doting parents who saw no reason to deny her anything.
our fascination is a result of a mixture of envy (to be so carefree!) and disgust (how can she not care about anything but herself?) and a secret hope that justice will prevail (somehow she'll be knocked off the pedestal she is on and understand the simple life is real life for most people.)

does my casual interest in this entity we call 'paris hilton' mean i can't also be absorbed by real, substantive issues? i don't think so. i'm a pretty smart cookie.
i could post a list of 'real life' stuff that our family is currently facing that would make anyone long for a vacation. nor do i feel bad because i have an opinion about paris and i express it, mainly because i see her life as an object lesson of how not to raise a child, rather than something to be admired.

"Not the biggest MS fan, you understand, but I just don't understand how a woman who used her skills and brains to create a massive, billion-dollar company is comparable to a selfish heiress."

Actually Paris has made quite a bit of money on her own--she's successfully developed herself as a brand, marketing books, club appearances, magazine and runway shoots. She's paid an enormous fee simply for showing up at an opening or a club--fees she negotiated. She's a smarter businesswoman than people give her credit for.

"... not a kind person..."

Every "real" (that is, not US puff pieces and the like) article on her that I've ever read, the interviewer has said how likeable, normal and clear-eyed she was. And the camp participants in the most recent version of "The Simple Life" all testified to how kind and approachable she was. She may be self-absorbed but I really get the feeling this outsized outrage about her is based less on any kind of informed opinion about her, and more on jealousy, cultural stereotypes and expectations about young women in general (why are Britney, Lindsay and Paris so vilified? And what do their sex lives have to do with anything? Unless they're hurting someone by having sex, it's none of our business).

That said, I personally wish she'd go away as well. But I don't wish her ill, and I fail to see what she's doing that's so reprehensible and worth all the faux-outrage/schadenfreude.

Methinks thou doth protest too much...

Face it everyone, your obsession with Paris is all about envy. We hate her because we should be the ones who are swimming in money and fame, not Paris. We take a perverse delight in her misfortune, and this is a lot more evil than anything we are accusing Paris of.

Lest we forget, Paris's offense this time was to be driving on a suspended license. Although she had a previous OUI, she wasn't under the influence when she was stopped this time. I personally agree with the Sheriff that her celebrity status hurt her in this situation -- she got a far more serious sentence than a non-celebrity would in this case.

So, to the moral police, why don't you stop harping on Paris and take a look in the mirror? I'm sure you can find something to criticize there if you look hard enough. And to Paris, here's hoping you come out of this smelling like a rose...

Now, is one of these girls going to take over the Hilton business after their parents' time? Neither of the girls strike me as particularly intelligent or smart. I hope their parents leave the business in good hands when they do or I don't see much of a future for the famous hotel business. I think people mistake notoriety for fame sometimes and that maybe a reason for all this hoopla. It strikes me as really funny when Paris thanks her "fans"!!! Anyway, I hope she would learn to be more discreet about her life instead of blindly chasing fame after the latest incidents.

Pairs's sentence was harsher because she disrespected the court by going to court late on her first appearance. Rich or poor you NEVER detain the court and run the risk of pissing off the Judge! Had she and her lawyers made sure she went to court on time the first time, she might not have received such a harsh sentence. Then on Friday she held things up by 2 hours! Her lawyers should have learned from the first court appearance and made sure she was there and early! If you ask me, her lawyers should be serving some of that time too!

Paris is in jail for many reasons.
1. DUI, to which she pled guilty and was placed on probation.
2. Driving with a suspended license as required as part of probation(caught by police 2x, by paparazi many times over)
3. Did not attend required class/treatment in time that was required as part of probation
4. Showing up late to court to face the results of #s 2&3 (judges don't like being kept waiting)

These things would land anyone in jail, length of time of sentence may be debatable, but she'd still go to jail for violation of probation and contempt of court.
Then add the fact that the Sheriff's office lets her out to house arrest, against judges orders, for nothing more than "health reasons" which appear to be a nervous breakdown. If the Sheriff's Office had said it was due to overcrowding, we wouldn't be having a problem, I doubt she'd be sent back. But the "health reasons" is what did it. There are plenty of other people in prison with much more serious health problems and plenty of them with mental disorders who all still have to serve their time in prison, they don't get house arrest and neither should she.

To answer F'burg's question - "is one of these girls going to take over the Hilton business after their parents' time?"

In short, neither.

The parents no longer control Hilton Hotels Corporation; in fact, they're not even majority shareholders. There's a family trust that controls about 5% of the shares, worth about $700M.

I'm not defending Paris, but she didn't hold up court on Friday. The sheriff did. Remember, she wasn't allowed to leave her house. The judge wanted the sheriff's office to pick her up, but for several hours the sheriff refused to let his men bring her in. Finally the sheriff capitulated and sent a cruiser for Paris.

The media shows sister, ex-boyfriend, and mother, but where is daddy?

Paris is like a Danielle Steel novel: entertaining, fluffy, and forgettable. She is as unimportant to the history of America as Danielle Steel is to real literature. There's a reason we read this stuff in the bathtub: because if we drop it in the sudsy water, we won't be upset at the loss. When Paris stops being entertaining, we'll stop paying attention, and we won't miss her in the slightest. There will be a dozen newcomers to choose from, and one of them will probably do something more outrageous (and therefore amusing) than getting drunk and flashing her panties.

Paris hasn't reached Anna Nicole level yet, but she might. The Anna Nicole saga was one of the best bits of serialized entertainment I've ever seen. Say what you will about the "real world implications" of the existence of people like her, but I defy anyone to pooh-pooh the quality of the story. The geezer billionaire husband, the european "prince", the baby-of-questionable-origin, the mysterious deaths... I couldn't have written it better myself. Paris has a long way to go.

Isn't the father deceased?

You can't explain Paris Hilton without attempting some explanation of Americans. Somewhere, it's hard to figure out where, Americans stopped placing value on virtue and instead valued only money. Neither Anna Nicole Smith, nor Paris Hilton, nor Lindsey Lohan would exist in their current or past forms if we as a people valued values.

I have a friend whose wife is a practicing attorney. She spends much of her free time reading Us, or People, or whatever other celebrity-hounding rag catches her eye. It's a perverse habit - this ogling of other peoples' lives. What is wrong with one's own life that one takes such an interest in someone else's, and why be so lazy as to not fix it?

Oh, I guess he's alive and well...

http://www.prlog.org/10016138-california-court-treats-paris-hilton-father-better-then-her.html

I think my interest comes from her life being another form of entertainment. She's a 24/7 reality tv show. She's famous for doing nothing noteworthy and now the plot twist is that she's having to face consequences for some of her actions but she doesn't seem to get why. It's a soap opera, drama, comedy and with the recent rearrest an action flick rolled into one.

She went after the fame, got it, used it and now wants to say hold up. The thing is she created the monster because the public wouldn't pay her any attention if she didn't set out to be photographed all the time.

Her mother said that her mom was always looking for perfection. I think in raising her girls or at least Paris, she wanted to go as far from that as possible and the resulting wreck is what we see. Interesting that her sister doesn't get this kind of press and apparently she's got brothers as well.

i can't help but thing the sex tape has something to do with the national interest in paris. her sister just designs purses. ho hum.

Paris Hilton whacked Tony Soporano!

Hello, alliteration.

I am not that old, only 40, but when did we start celebrating people who've done nothing worthy of celebrating? Don't get me wrong, I am an avid reader of Celebritology, although, I like to balance it with Froomkin, NPR and of course The Daily Show but for the life of me I can not figure out why I should even care about this vapid nobody. Unfortunately even when I try to get away from it, I can't, because when NPR starts to report on it I have to wonder...

Tommo: "Somewhere, it's hard to figure out where, Americans stopped placing value on virtue and instead valued only money." I'd guess it was sometime around 1607, when we were trying to discover a trade route to the West Indies.

"Neither Anna Nicole Smith, nor Paris Hilton, nor Lindsey Lohan would exist in their current or past forms if we as a people valued values." Correct, but did Fatty Arbuckle exist in spite of our values, or did we not have any values back then, either?

I wish people actually KNEW their American history before they sounded off on its "decline"

Liz--
I believe your college writing profs would be proud. The literary devices included in your post were quite impressive--well done.

I believe Nicky actually does have some brains. I remember reading something about her opening up her own hotel. What I found funny was shortly after she made that announcement, Paris came out and said that she too was going to open up a hotel someday down the road when she was ready.

I'm old enough to recall the Taylor-Burton days of scandal, and this makes me really miss them. They had scandals then; they were big and public and messy. But back in the day, there was a certain element of campiness to the bad behavior of celebrities. Drunken brawls in expensive hotels, big jewelry, gobs and gobs of tacky excesses. They had faces then. Yes, the scandals continue to be big; it's the celebs got small and tacky and common. Liz Taylor, wherever you are, here's to doing the bad up right with passion and sass and lots and lots of enormous hair and bling. No matter what you destroyed or drank or wore, you never showed a waiting world your woohoo. And for that alone, America salutes you.

actually, America laments never having seen Liz Taylors woohoo, or anything else. Those are some photos I would LOVE to see. Even Sophia Lauren has some dirty pics you can dig up.

And as for whether the celebs are small and tacky and common . . . I think that's just generational. For anyone who followed Charlie Chaplin, I'm sure Liz Taylor seemed small and tacky and common. Just as I'm sure today's 15 year olds will roll there eyes at how cheap the exploits of Suri Cruise and Shilo Jolie-Pitt are when compared to the glory days of Paris and Nicole and Britney and LiLo.

Take a step back and just appreciate it all for what it is - entertainment at the expense of another (rich) human's dignity.

"The real problem is the outright ownership of the political process by the rich. The real inequality in this country is that of the rich and the poor!"

BINGO! Well said.

The greatest divide in American society are the econ stratas. That is not to say there isn' racism, genderism, homophobism blah blah. But wealthy identify with wealthy. They are so out of touch with the general reality of the other econ classes its pathetic

Look at Congress, look at the White House - today and in general. The majority are wealthy. Truly, can anyone not wealthy get into politics? Very rare.

How much did the Hilton family pay the sheriff's department to release Paris early? Where's the investigation of their bank deposits? What happened to the contempt motion filed by the prosecutor against the sheriff for violating the court order? There's a much bigger, more interesting story here than how will Paris cope. Will the Post investigate?

I think it was Bill Mahar who said that Paris Hilton is America's "head cheerleader", and people react to her the way they do because in high school most of us envied, lusted after, despised or felt (morally, ethically, or mentally) superior to the head cheerleader.

And the reason we've elevated this woman to head cheerleader status says a lot about where we are as a country right now: We're in a highly conflicted state where we love and hate ourselves at the same time....and we're so time starved and information bombarded that we've begun to look for simple icons in which to assign and direct these emotions. Paris Hilton is the manifestation of the information age -- and the incredible loneliness, isolation and need for simplicity and connection it has produced.

I think it was Bill Mahar who said that Paris Hilton is America's "head cheerleader", and people react to her the way they do because in high school most of us envied, lusted after, despised or felt (morally, ethically, or mentally) superior to the head cheerleader.

And the reason we've elevated this woman to head cheerleader status says a lot about where we are as a country right now: We're in a highly conflicted state where we love and hate ourselves at the same time....and we're so time starved and information bombarded that we've begun to look for simple icons in which to assign and direct these emotions. Paris Hilton is the manifestation of the information age -- and the incredible loneliness, isolation and need for simplicity and connection it has produced.

What bothers me the most about Paris H. is not that she is (hopefully was) a morally empty, famous-for-nothing celebrity who NEVER deserved the attention and the huge amounts of money that she received for partying is the fact that the media and the American people WASTE so much time and space on nothing. It's been an empty ride so far and people have only been wasting their time on covering her exploits.

She still needs implants and an emergency subscription to Proactiv - not being able to cover up the next day the bloody mess she has under there is pbly. what caused the vapors.

She still needs implants and an emergency subscription to Proactiv - not being able to cover up the next day the bloody mess she has under there is pbly. what caused the vapors.