Why I stopped reading “entertainment” magazines
March 22nd 2009 06:35 pm
July 10, 2006
I was at my psychiatrist’s office today. I like his office for its sheer variety of magazines: current and past editions of W, American Photo, and Entertainment Weekly (EW) lie on the table. I cannot picture Dr. Kadoyan reading W and who knows about American Photo, but EW is for patientss’ trivial reading, something to pass the time. Every enlightened doctor’s office has piles of EW, People, and/or Us magazines in the waiting room because patients like them. The articles in those magazines are short, easy-to-read, and usually a good distraction from whatever problem brought you there in the first place.
However, I stopped reading entertainment magazines years ago. I let the subscriptions run out or canceled them. I was a Cosmo girl in college, but while I was pursuing acting I read TV Guide, Premiere, Movieline, and of course, Entertainment Weekly without fail. I could tell you which movie was number one on any given week and how much it grossed when it opened. I could tell you details about almost any actor’s life, who was sleeping with whom, and {insert trivial detail here}. One day I realized how much space this useless information was taking up in my brain. I looked at all of the unread books on my shelves and thought it is time to read a story, not a log line, a review or a list of who is wearing what name this week.
But upon seeing all those silly magazines, I couldn’t resist picking up a copy of EW dated 5/26/06. I skimmed and then went straight to the back of the magazine, something I would never do with a book. That’s when I saw it—a new feature or a one-time piece titled Stupid Questions: This week with Reba McEntire. Now what I’m trying to figure out is why Reba (who appears to be a down-to-earth woman) would agree to answer questions that she knows in advance are labeled stupid. Maybe the editor didn’t tell her. My favorite stupid question was: Who is a bigger redneck woman: you, Gretchen Wilson, or the always popular write-in vote Britney Spears? Not only is the question stupid, but it is also mean.
I thought to myself none of the above. Reba doesn’t strike me as a redneck. I don’t know who Gretchen Wilson is (sorry Gretchen), and Britney is what we Southern gals call white trash. Or trailer park trash. Except Britney is rich. “Rich, white trash” seems to fit. Reba answered, “I’m gonna vote for Britney Spears. Bless her heart.” Now I have difficulty feeling sorry for a young woman who has more money than she’ll ever need, has horrible taste in men, and has endangered her child on at least one occasion. I want to scream at her, “Pull yourself together, divorce your husband, take some parenting classes, and figure out what makes you happy!”
I can forgive Reba for answering EW’s stupid questions, but I cannot forgive Britney Spears aka “Miss Rich White Trash” for being stupid.
AWW — XoXo
P.S. Since I initially wrote this piece, Britney has had another child, obtained a divorce, gone crazy and become sane again. I, however, still only read “entertainment” magazines at doctors’ offices or while I’m standing in line at the grocery store. I do subscribe to The Week, Writer’s Digest, and Inc.
