She May Be Lively, But I Don't Get It

Whenever I see the covers of OK and Star and In Touch, I realize they're all the same magazine. I feel the same about the stars they write about. Maybe I'm just getting older, but I don't recognize any of them anymore.

They're all clumped together: leggy blondes with no distinguishing features. Some have kidlets that look exactly like them. Sometimes there's a dash of a Kardashian thrown in for extra spice, but I wouldn't know. I don't know what a Kardashian is.

Stars They're Just Like Us! screams the caption in every issue of those magazines. I keep flipping the pages-- looking for the stars.

Where are they? Maybe they're so much like us that I can't recognize them anymore.

On rare occasions, an Emma Stone or an Ellen Page emerges from the crowd with some level of genuine talent and elusive star power, but it doesn't happen very frequently. And even Ellen Page has the capacity to annoy me. (Juno anyone?) And everyone missteps... ( The House Bunny, Ms. Stone?)

I don't watch TV. Maybe that's why I can't pick out a Gossip Girl from a line-up. Maybe that's why I don't have any idea who Blake Lively is. I certainly couldn't name anything she's been in. When I see her face, my mind responds with zero recognition. (In other words, I don't even know I'm seeing her face.)

However, the fashion world loves her. She's seduced them with some invisible power based on pixie dust and empty calories and Gossip Girl- equivalent wardrobe possibilities. What designer wouldn't want to dress a gossip girl? I don't blame Ms. Lively. I just feel like an ingenue should build up solid credits and flex her acting muscles before romping around in haute couture by designers with more name cred than she has.

In IMDB message boards regarding Blake Lively, one contributor posted the question:

Why is she so famous? Several people posted theories, but no one had the answer. Maybe because there isn't one. What I do know is the question: Why is she so famous? could be directed to any number of faceless actresses these days.

Who crowned this new generation of stars? I don't get it.

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In a recent interview I read part-way, Lively admitted to having 600 pairs of shoes. Perhaps she should make a Goodwill donation and watch the Iranian film, Children Of Heaven, by director Majid Majidi. In that film, a young boy accidentally loses his sister's shoes and must share his own shoes with her for several weeks to avoid telling their parents.
(1997 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film)

© 2012 by K. Liedle