It has been said that we are living in a period of the cult of the Essay

It has been said that we are living in a period of the cult of the personality. With specific examples, consider the emergence and criticisms of docusoaps and - Essay Example The contemporary media scene is such that the main focus is on vague and superficial qualities such as â€Å"the personality† and â€Å"the style† – a distinguishable shift from earlier programming that was more intellectually stimulating and culturally refined. Genres such as Reality shows, talent hunts, game shows, etc rule the roost in what is becoming an increasingly consolidated media space. Within an apparently diverse offering to the public, the issues and topics that find representation are very limited, more so in the news media (Marshall; 2004: 102). The rest of the essay will discuss the conditions that led to the present state of popular media, the direction it is headed and some possible remedies to reverse the situation. To begin with, let us consider the meaning of the phrase â€Å"the cult of the personality†. The phenomenon of people being famous for being famous, as commonly seen in popular media of today is an apt description of the term â€Å"personality cult† (Marshall; 2004: 102). Such factors as the famous person’s achievements, virtues, values, etc are pushed to the background and intellectually thin attributes such as aesthetic looks, eccentric lifestyles, etc are given greater importance. The end result is the manufacturing of celebrity figures, conjured up on the basis of some superficial merits; hog a large share of communication airwaves, depriving representation for more weighty public issues. So while a majority of the general public is addicted to the â€Å"often-grotesque desperation of the rich and the famous†, we have to ask who the real beneficiary of this enterprise is: â€Å"One of the attractions is the many, many levels of stardom. So, while at the top of the pile sit the Madonnas and the Tom Hankses of this world, at the bottom are the reality TV cast-offs that spend their day chasing agents to get them something - anything - that will allow them to strut around inquiring