Celebrity Apprentice fascinates me. It’s interesting to take the animal, Celebritus Americanus, out of its natural habitat and drop it into the fishbowl of reality TV.
They don’t have their regular schedules or personal assistants. (Well, the personal assistants are there, I’m sure, but not allowed to be hands-on during the challenges.)
Left to their own devices, their personal quirks and flaws become blindingly apparent.
Last spring ousted former governor Rod Blagojevich proved that he was not only incompetent on a computer, but also couldn’t lead a team or make a decision to save his life.
How in all that is sacred to American politics (which isn’t much) did Blagojevich get voted into office? Didn’t people realize he was an idiot? It’s as though someone mistook the court jester for the king.
Of course, in politics, it’s all about the image you sell to your audience. But it’s not real. And we’re left as the fools who believed.
Case in point: George W. Bush. He was elected not once, but twice! Or in Canadian terms: Stephen Harper. We keep re-electing him and then are surprised at his politics in action.
So how do we keep from being fooled by the marketing machines and media hype? How do we find out who these people really are before we make a choice?
The answer is simple: Celebrity Apprentice. Drop them in that fishbowl with The Donald and their “true colours” will come shining through. (Thank you, Cyndi Lauper.)
No one would have voted for Blagojevich had his appearance at Trump Towers occurred before the election. Of course, this exercise could certainly be applied outside politics and the Trump franchise.
For instance, Sandra Bullock would have been spared such heartache had she seen more of Jesse James in the boardroom instead of the bedroom.
Employers could weed out the bad candidates by auditioning potential employees on I Wanna Work for Diddy.
MTV’s Real World would have decimated the mystique of Reuben Studdard. Before they voted with their heartstrings, American Idol viewers would have realized they want to take care of The Velvet Teddy Bear, not buy his records.
Survivor, however, would be saved for special cases.
On that island, Tiger Woods would have been caught dropping his drawers much earlier and the public wouldn’t have idolized him like the second coming.
We would have focused on his golf game, instead of the incessant press conferences and mea culpas that have been popping up like apologetic Tourette’s.
We need to know the truth before we give our hearts, our cash or our votes to these people.
And reality TV is just the place to pop the media bubble of celebrity illusion. Ironically, it does just the opposite to the every day man.
But hey, that’s showbiz, folks.
This column originally ran in April 2010.
They don’t have their regular schedules or personal assistants. (Well, the personal assistants are there, I’m sure, but not allowed to be hands-on during the challenges.)
Left to their own devices, their personal quirks and flaws become blindingly apparent.
Last spring ousted former governor Rod Blagojevich proved that he was not only incompetent on a computer, but also couldn’t lead a team or make a decision to save his life.
How in all that is sacred to American politics (which isn’t much) did Blagojevich get voted into office? Didn’t people realize he was an idiot? It’s as though someone mistook the court jester for the king.
Of course, in politics, it’s all about the image you sell to your audience. But it’s not real. And we’re left as the fools who believed.
Case in point: George W. Bush. He was elected not once, but twice! Or in Canadian terms: Stephen Harper. We keep re-electing him and then are surprised at his politics in action.
So how do we keep from being fooled by the marketing machines and media hype? How do we find out who these people really are before we make a choice?
The answer is simple: Celebrity Apprentice. Drop them in that fishbowl with The Donald and their “true colours” will come shining through. (Thank you, Cyndi Lauper.)
No one would have voted for Blagojevich had his appearance at Trump Towers occurred before the election. Of course, this exercise could certainly be applied outside politics and the Trump franchise.
For instance, Sandra Bullock would have been spared such heartache had she seen more of Jesse James in the boardroom instead of the bedroom.
Employers could weed out the bad candidates by auditioning potential employees on I Wanna Work for Diddy.
MTV’s Real World would have decimated the mystique of Reuben Studdard. Before they voted with their heartstrings, American Idol viewers would have realized they want to take care of The Velvet Teddy Bear, not buy his records.
Survivor, however, would be saved for special cases.
On that island, Tiger Woods would have been caught dropping his drawers much earlier and the public wouldn’t have idolized him like the second coming.
We would have focused on his golf game, instead of the incessant press conferences and mea culpas that have been popping up like apologetic Tourette’s.
We need to know the truth before we give our hearts, our cash or our votes to these people.
And reality TV is just the place to pop the media bubble of celebrity illusion. Ironically, it does just the opposite to the every day man.
But hey, that’s showbiz, folks.
This column originally ran in April 2010.
