Charles Darwin, Damien Hirst, and Paris Hilton.
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Artist:
Darwin would have been 200 years old on February 12th, 2009. On that day, a 150th anniversary edition of On the Origin of Species was published. The cover, which you can see below, was created by Damien Hirst. I'm still on the fence about Mr. Hirst's work, sometimes I find myself feeling angry and others impressed, but there's no denying that he did excellent work this time.
Human skull in space
As we all know, Darwin was "an English naturalist who realised and demonstrated that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection" {from wiki}. What Darwin failed to mention, or is hidden at some unpublished work of his titled On the Origin of Species: Second Thoughts, is that we are perfectly capable or evolving backwards. The proof of this theory lays in the show called Paris Hilton's British Best Friend. In this British reality TV show, Paris Hilton searches for her {you guessed it} new British best friend & twelve people compete in challenges in order to win {?}.
There are no words to describe this. You just have to see it, and nothing I can say can prepare you for it. It's not as bad as you can imagine; it's worse. It makes you feel like you just fell 5 steps down the evolutionary ladder and to the bottom of the food chain. It's like the most terrible, shocking & surreal accident in the world that you can't take your eyes off of. I watched it with my mouth open, numb to the point of not being able to change the channel, and thinking thiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbehappening. She makes people make clothes that capture her style {clothes?}, sends them out to buy her presents, and at the end, she sits on a silver throne, selecting her new "pet" for the week {apparently, this is a good thing to be}, deciding who stays and who leaves, saying good bye to the loser {yes, apparently they think there's only of those there} with the simple but solid phrase of "TTYN" {=talk to you never}. This surely is evolution gone really, really wrong.
What is happening to the world? Are we really evolving? If yes, to what exactly? Is it possible to go back into being monkeys and apes? And is there any chance that it would suit us better? Why is society nurturing her kind instead of eliminating her as a species' anomaly? Is it stupidity that has become adaptive? I wish Darwin was here. He would have answers to all of my questions. Or he would set his work on fire.
Happy birthday, Darwin. Bet you didn't see this one coming.
Comments (42)
America at it's finest, we are all doomed.
Right said, Anna! And every day, it seems, the bar gets lower.
An apocalypse would be a good thing to experience right about now...
I just had to swallow my own vomit. Will somebody please dispatch her and do it fast for I can not afford to go to jail myself. My how we have regressed as a species.
In the 1970’s evolutionary scientists, to explain the lack of evidence for gradualism/macro evolution in the fossil record, proposed a rather interesting theory called "punctuated equilibrium" which basically teaches that a reptile laid an egg and a bird popped out. Paris certainly gives weight to this theory.
What worries me the most is that this concept got financed, is being broadcasted (it's not the UK's fault, I bet the same would happen in Greece), and people are participating in it. She is who she is, but more disturbingly, our society nurtures her and gives her space to grow. Paris Hilton as the dominant species.
I'M SCARED.
Ann, Paris certainly gives weigh to that theory, especially if we keep in mind that evolutionary change in a species need not always improve the species. I wonder how much of mutilation a reptile would have to have suffered in order to lay an egg from which Hilton would pop out.
It's called "the freak show" and we're all compelled to have a look, whether it's because we love it or hate it.
We must be the only species that treats its freaks this way.
Most other species eat their own.
Love Darwin - I think I pretty much have their whole catalog, cept for a few bootlegs I hear are floating around - one I believe you mentioned. Still, quality stuff- especially how their tunes seem to evolve into an entirely different genre from start to finish. I discovered them a few years ago and wasn't sure want to listen to first so I just went with my gut - you know, kinda like a natural selection process and anyway,
OH
You mean the biologist/naturalist?
Never mind
David, exactly! We think we're better off calling it "cannibalism" and frowning upon it. Hilton for brunch anyone?
Hey Anna!
"Why is society nurturing her kind instead of eliminating as a species' anomaly?"
Some of it is those damn tabloids and the people with no life or passion or desire to have one of their own purchasing them. It's enraging how ignorant those articles and these reality shows can be.
To add to your Muse...
"Some say the end is near"
inrumford, Darwin or The Darwins? If my naturalist was alive he would sue the natural selection out of your guys. ;P
exactly!
HelenMarie, ah ye, it's appalling, to say the least. Your song selection, on the other hand, is an excellent one :)
Then again, we do have 'Be Britains youngest Dad and win £50k from The Sun!'
!http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2233878.ece!
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http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2233878.ece
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plus;
Come Armageddon, come Armageddon come!
Fantastic post, Anna. I love the way you compellingly drew connections between these three totally different people. I know, Paris' show is unbearable to watch (I didn't even know she was doing a UK version! I guess she didn't have any luck finding an American BFF) but isn't it the same with all so-called "reality" shows? I mean what about "The Girls Next Door" or those "Real Housewives" shows where they toss a bunch of collagen-inflamed, silicon-implanted, peroxide-dyed, bored wealthy women together and make them do stupid self-effacing things just so the world can watch them act like primates and rip each other to pieces?? It's depressing!! I can't even watch TV anymore because shows like that make it seem like we ARE in fact evolving backwards and we're heading straight to Hell in a hand basket. You pose a very good question, but as to why society is nurturing this particular species of narrow-minded human beings I have no idea. I vote we hold a global seance and contact the spirit of Sir Darwin so we can pick his 200 year old brain.
.............WoW! Anna gets all philisophical. Do not dispair, we may be going to hell in a bucket........let's enjoy the ride, shall we? We have watched our popular culture play to the lowest common denominator for decades, now you're shocked? We've witnessed the devolution of pop music, movies, literature...everything...and now you're shocked? C'mon girl...we're nowhere near the bottom.
im guessing you havent seen 'my super sweet sixteen'
I mean I watch America's Next Top Model anytime I need to feel sixteen, hot and dumb (which is, oh, almost never) but I don't think I can stomach this show you speak of. YIKES. I am having a need to make the sign of the cross.
Damien Hirst is also on and off for me. Mostly off.
Hehe, I always add, smilingly, to people who don't really know me that well, that I can be a bit pretentious. But actually, what I mean is, I find 90% of the people are kind of dumb, and I don't want to offend you just in case I'm going to namedrop or talk about stuff you don't have a clue about. XD
And one of the reasons is, that people watch drivel like this. I mean, I can understand you don't always want to watch something high brow, but there are things that are just too dumb in my opinion. Also a lot of the comedies nowadays are, in my opinion, just being about acting so stupid people will laugh, but are laughing at how stupid the characters are. Instead of how smart and witty people are. I mean, even Chaplin and The Marx Brothers, that was a lot of physical comedy, but it was carefully build up and was about timing and placing. That was the art of comedy. Now I can't see much craftmanship in a lot of things.
Oe, this is a rant to my heart. ;) Especially love the way you went from Darwin to Hirst to your rant about Paris. ^^
Sorry Anna, I didn't read the whole post. You lost me at Paris Hilton!
Viva la Darwin!
yeah, they had that show here in the states and I think it pretty much was axed from the get go. I guess they feel she is more england and less states these days, how about she just goes away completely
Ugh....I'm late again.....I LOVED this post!! And you are so right, it IS scary that our society (or enough of it) is interested enough in someone like Paris Hilton that the show would even make. I am embarassed for humanity (and afraid for it.)
It's mind boggling how many reality shows there are on cable TV here in the US. I like your description of being alternately horrified yet fascinated at what you are watching. Most of reality TV shows are scripted & most people don't even realize it. Quite appalling, it is.
Have you all seen the movie Idiocracy? I don't know why people think it's funny. Because half of the stuff they're making fun of in that movie is already happening and that to me is horrifying.
I've seen Idiocracy, Solat. It perfectly personifies what Anna's post is about, the de-evolution of mankind. It's quite terrifying even though it's a comedy.
Could there have been a better and more thought-provoking post for Toxic Tuesday? In the words of my ancestors, "Ook! Ook!" (BTW, how dare that despicable, materialistic mannequin besmirch the name "Paris"!
In Darwin's book these Scientific Line's are found! Let us assume & It well might of been so !!!???
Neill, cool and perfectly appropriate ad!
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Why did you post about that story! I'm so petrified over it, and I've been trying to block it out....now that I saw that picture of the 2 of them with the baby, I'm gonna need ALot of therapy!
AAAAAAAACCCKKKK.
Dale, Armageddon will be an improvement at this point....
Thank you very much, Honeydoll! There's an American version of it?! This is contaminating all the continents, I'm even more worried and depressed now! TV is a very dangerous medium, I kid you not. There are good things on it, but there's also so much CRAP there, and I don't think that we, as a species, should be trusted with our free will when it comes to it. I'm game with the seance. I don't think Darwin will be very happy though...
Jeff, me getting philosophical is one of the many evil things that happen with programmes like this one. I usually shield myself, and I was not prepared for this...I let my guard down, rookie mistake. I am not a fan of musical shuffling, and now I see that I should beware of the television one as well. I feel that we're so below the bottom that we can't even see it :)
SAM! FOR FUCK'S SAKE! What the hell is that?! Is 16 a secret numeral code for 666? Because that girl surely is a minion of the Antichrist!
Love the commentary though, I'll keep my eye on that guy. I guess now I can forgive you for throwing the scariest horror film of all time in my face :)
Poe, there is not enough holy water in the world to save us. Even exorcists run out of breath at some point....
I'm not sure Hirst's fanciness of purposely turning his means into the very evilness he wants to make a point of (not sure that made any sense) is working the way he wants it to. Time will tell, I guess.
Stefan, well if pretentious means having a functioning brain, let me jump on board {unless you're bad-mouthing Glasvegas again ahahhaha}.
Agreed. And also, there are various levels of dumbdom. There's dumb, painfully dumb, and dumb to the point of insulting the whole human species. Comedies are another painful subject, it's puzzling, really. Luckily, I had the chance to focus on good comedy (especially here, the Brits do it really really well), so I've been relatively uncontaminated.
Aww that made me smile :) If me and Darwin meet in the afterlife, I'll have a lot to answer for... :)
Stefan (W&N), bah! I bet you're just upset that I didn't post a song of hers hahahaha
Viva la backwards evolution!
Kevin, hopefully, one day space will be filled with orbiting Hiltons.
Andrea, no worries! There's no such thing as being late at posts as far as I'm concerned. I know! And how about the families that actually let (yes, let) their children go there? Oh let's not even go there, I'm depressed enough as it is.
Uncle A, likewise in the UK, and Greece, and most countries, I'm afraid. And I see the point of some (like talent shows, even though I don't agree with their quality or anything else), but others, like this one and Big Brother are more inexplicable than my bed-hair, and that's saying something :)
Solat, I don't think I have but it's on my list now. Thanks for that! Sounds like something I should watch asap.
Mikey, heheh aw thanks! Or, "aaffff afffff"! I was really close to finding a Hilton erm, song and posting it, but I just couldn't. Even I have limits. (and let's not even think about her sex tape, A Night In Paris....AAAAAA! -worst porn ever btw-)
elmanolete, I think we truly need to resurrect him and hear what he has to say now. Let us pray!
Remembering just HOW she became a household name makes her either the biggest fool or the smartest genius. The fact that it worked, unfortunately, points to the latter. That says something about the rest of us too, I guess :-(
She's milking the mutilated cow all the way. Good for her. But why and how did we come to witness it, that's the frightening question....
How could I leave you guys without a trailer...
hhahahahhaha
watch: idiocracy.. yes
I just watched the trailer and I realized that I have actually seen it! This happens to me all the time arg...
It was very painful and terrifying to watch...I didn't actually make it through the whole thing!
According to Darwin it's not the smartest or strongest that survive but the ones most able to adapt. Miss Hilton definitely belongs to that group. Meanwhile I quietly despair. The best part about modern life? If you shut your eyes to the marketing it's dead easy to avoid this garbage and there's 2000 years of culture to dig through in the meanwhile.
Yes...every morning it takes me two large cups of coffee to understand why I'm still here in this world:
-I watch beautiful women parking their cars one handed, I watch their boy friends standing in the middle of the street talking to their girlfriends parking the car one handed, trying to give them directions ON THE GODDAMN PHONE!
-I was in vegas last weekend for V day. The waddling humongoids and their wiley ways, salivating at the lip for mass ticket vouching...stepping...off...the tour bus as if one... more... step is going to break their gynormous swelling ankles...
-Fake ass singers who use auto pitch harmonizers because they can't sing as big as their fake ass tits...
(sigh)
The reason I live and breathe? People like you, who undo the mental claustrophobia with grounded opinions; sending out virtual slaps to humanity by observing things over times. Reminding ous that Darwin lives in the mind like Hendrix forever
And of course, the music.
Thanks for reading.
Moosak
Bizarre! Sometimes you wonder what friendship means? Having people make things for you? I mean ugh...Paris Hilton needs to hide in a hole and never come out again.
Thank you for sharing, Anna! xoox