First of all, this isn't the first time this has happened on TV or with Misha Barton. This has been done with her on General Hospital (according to Nancy, who watches this stuff).
As if we didn't here about Misha, Misha, Misha before, basically on every face wash commercial, seventeen magazine, and public service announcement. Now, we get to here about her scandalous girl on girl kiss.
Why do people talk so much about celebrities? (and when I mean celebrities, not the midget from Shasta McNasty or Bridget and Flava Flav from Strange Love - those aren't really celebrities to begin with). I'm talking about a celebrity right now. There's whole sections of news dedicated to "entertainment" - in fact, there's whole 30 minute time blocks with shows completely dedicated to "entertainment" - like what new crappy sequel Vin Diesel is working on, who Paris Hilton was seen with at the club, the next reality series with P Diddy, what Gwen Stefani ate for dinner last night, etc.
A couple of months ago, right around the time of the tsunami, people were running around like headless chickens, clucking wildly, "Did you hear? Did you hear the news?"
"Yes," I would reply, "the tsunami in Asia, one-hundred thousand people died."
"No, not that, OMG BRAD AND JENNIFER GOT DIVORCED!", said the headless chicken.
And my response, "Oh…………so what?"
From the DEVISTATING split of Brad and Jennifer, to the celebrity trials that mock the US justice system (Michael Jackson, anyone?), why do we, as a society, care so much about celebrities?
Well, first of all, they have a lot of money, which automatically puts them in an upper class, a class so far ahead of you that you can never hope to ever achieve anything even remotely close to their level of income. On top of that, they are all "good" looking - for the most part, or they at least have something going for them in the comedy department or something. But we can still somehow hope to relate to them since they are just people, after all.
Ultimately, the goal of every human being is to be noticed - to receive attention. This is why some kids act out in class - the class clown, for example, does it since his peers think its funny - he gets the attention he is seeking. On the other hand, the quiet, studious kid in the back gets 103% or better on every quiz - then when the kids always complement how smart he is, or his parents praise him for good grades, then he gets the attention he is looking for. It's why people go gothic, go on extreme reality TV shows, write websites (smart ass) or commit suicide - it's for attention. For people to notice them, good or bad, like the person on American Idol who MUST be trying to sing as bad as possible on purpose.
Then there's the few people who hate people and live as hermits all their lives. Well, they certainly aren't looking for attention - this is because they don't know how to do it in the first place. They aren't smart or funny, so they just get mad at everyone and themselves for not noticing, so they shun society at their own faults.
Thus, celebrities are so important because they have perfected this art of receiving attention. And it is quite an accomplishment.
Of course, once they are celebrities, then the grass suddenly looks greener on the other side. All of a sudden, they've had enough of the attention, and NOW they want privacy. Yes, the one thing you must give up to be famous (but not rich, there are a lot of rich billionaires who no one gives two shits about).
The O.C. isn't a great show - had it been set in New York (like 78% of every other tv shows) or Random Fictional-town Wisconsin (the other 22% of tv show settings) - the ratings would have been nothing. The show is selling an image, not just a soap opera like story. A 'cool' laidback, Californian, surfing, alternative music, trendy clothing soap opera.
To give the show some credit, at least, I didn't think it was going to happen - the girl on girl kiss - I saw the preview for it on the TV, and as they leaned in, I said, "it probably is just a tease, and one will pull away at the last second." Apparently not, it actually happened, as I've been told from numerous horny teenage males and borderline child pornographers. Well, I'm sure the ratings for the show will increase for the fourteen to sixteen year old male demographic (since they need to whack off to something).
Personally, I prefer to watch this for an hour instead of the OC. (Put your mouse over it).