Cultural Symptoms: ‘We Are All Snooki’
Sady Doyle has a post at the Atlantic titled “We Are All Snooki.” Here is an excerpt:
In a sense, we are all Snooki. The Jersey Shore star—and tanning product spokesperson, and hair-product entrepreneur, and aspiring author—was the subject of a spectacularly blunt profile in last weekend’s New York Times, which has already caused its fair share of Internet controversy. But cruel as the piece was, it’s hard to dispute its main point: On the surface of it, there’s no reason for Snooki to be famous. She’s not particularly smart or well-spoken. Her behavior is appalling, and her fashion sense is worse. She doesn’t have any discernible talents, other than her ability to make a compelling spectacle of herself. In our current cultural moment, however, that ability is more valuable than almost anything else. And it’s something that all of us—not just those of us who happen to be starring on reality TV shows—are having to learn.
