I had hoped he’d disappeared into the annals of 80s trivia, but Vanilla Ice is making a comeback. So are a lot of other things from the 80s… clothing, Madonna, black lipstick, and government cheese.In his next 15 minutes of fame, thankfully the Iceman won’t be singing. According to ABC news, he will be the focus of a reality show that documents the renovation of his mansion. Turns out, other than his passion for… well, whatever he was doing on stage… he is a sucker for interior decorating.
He’s also not alone in his quest for a comeback. In a country so fond of recycling our kitchen trash, we also recycle our entertainment trash. Stars who were barely a blip on the 80s scene… Flavor Flav, Bret Michaels, Brian Boitano and Scott Baio, among others… have their own reality shows.
While it may be amusing to see how the world has treated these celebrities decades later, the entertainment business is doing all of us a disservice. There are plenty of writers out there, and plenty of new ideas. Hollywood just won’t let us see any of them because they don’t want to take the risk in a market where every dollar has to work harder than it used to. Not only do we recycle old ideas (please, someone tell me why we need to resurrect “Hawaii 5-0” and why we needed a revival of “The Karate Kid.”), we recycle other countries’ old ideas. Hence Japanese game shows and British reality shows.
Okay, I’ll admit that “The Office” was a pretty good pickup. But even a broken clock is right twice a day.
I'm with you ~ recycling what didn't work the first time is an exercise in frustration and insanity.
ReplyDeleteIf we're going to indulge in a seeming need for nostalgia - why not bring key Values back from days gone by? Like, Integrity - for instance. Or maybe, Respect, Compassion and Generosity towards others vs a fierce and determined fixation on self-promotion, self-preservation and self-aggrandizement?
As always Laurie -- I quite agree with you.