Andy Warhol was a genius. And if he were alive today, he’d marvel in the prediction he made about everyone being famous for fifteen minutes. While he was able to see his prediction come true before his death in the late 80s, today he would see an entirely different circus happening with reality television, mobile technology and the Internet.

But I think he’d be more intrigued with the biggest puppet show on Earth and how his quote merges so beautifully with super-genius, William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s quote, “All The World’s A Stage….” applies today more so than ever before. And everyone is indeed, ‘playing their part.’




While watching these birds, I had to laugh. With everything that is happening in the world, even the animal kingdom is taking note and striking poses. The twist of a head, the straight on look of the eyes…it made me more aware of how conscious everyone is becoming of the camera.

In a nearby neighborhood, I watched kids do stunts on their skateboards because they want to be the next Tony Hawk or the next Jack Ass star, not because they actually want to do a fun sport for the heck of it, or be physically fit, enjoy time with siblings and friends, or even enjoy the great outdoors. There is an agenda and they are using the street as their ‘stage.’ They too, are looking for their 15 minutes.

While people were line waiting to by their Lotto ticket, I overheard a conversation… a teenager was talking about what he would do with all the money if he won, and mentioned he’d make a movie which he’d star in. While most teens wouldn’t say ‘I’ll put money toward my education’ – I guess I wasn’t really expecting to hear something so …. Fame-seeking.

During the holidays, I had noticed that as many children lined up to sit on Santa’s lap, Santa wasn’t really the star anymore, he had become merely a prop of sorts while on-lookers were gearing up their digital cameras and cell phones and taking photos and footage of each other. Everyone was more interested in gaining their 15 minutes of fame, and Santa was NOT the attraction. And this wasn’t the only place. Santa was walking around the IHOP roaming the restaurant for attention awaiting the gasp, the ‘ooh and ahh’ with eyes of surprise from many a child, but he never got it. Instead, people were playing with their cell phones, viewing pictures, talking about how they were going to enter them in contests, but NOT taking pictures of Santa. He knew his 15 minutes of fame was up… or maybe people just didn’t recognize him because he had gotten thinner. To his own admission, he gave into the Lap Band. This was ironically funny because the Lap Band commercials actually do run on television every 15 minutes. But witnessing this – made me realize, just as new 15 minutes-of-famers climb on the scene, others who had it for awhile are getting bypassed.

What has happened to our ‘stage’…? You know, the real stage which is being upstaged? Have people become so personal-media obsessed, they’re changing their focus on what 15 minutes means to them and are they missing the nuances of life, even experiencing childhood and tradition?

What has happened to our ‘television’…? Yes, I mean the real one, the one where they actually deliver ‘the news’ as it comes from real sources, not speculating what the news really is by reading somebody’s Twitter page…

What has happened to our ‘legends’…? The real athletes. The real actors. The real deal… where talent and artistry culminate into a place where 15 minutes is earned, where 15 minutes is ‘a result of good work’ – not because someone gets out of a car, sans undergarments.

As we look at our watches and examine the next 15 minutes and what it will bring, perhaps we can give 15 minutes of our time to the heroes, the people who are making a difference by saving lives, protecting them and bringing the service of education, enlightenment and a little bit of substance. Perhaps then, the following 15 minutes can be a tad more worthwhile, and maybe even inspirational, as we develop our own sense of change in what 15 minutes can incorporate in our daily living.

http://www.100percentrealwords.blogspot.com
© 2010 Queena Verbosity 100% Real Words
Media Monster Communications, Inc.
Stacey Kumagai
http://hubpages.com/profile/mediamonster
http://www.braingasm.com