We’re still mourning the loss of Prince over here.

How do you work through sadness? By remembering the good times. One of those good times was this interview that Prince did with MTV. Watch it below.

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Yeah. We’re still reminiscing about all of the awesome stuff David Bowie did in his life.

David Bowie was always challenging the music system. Proof of that? His balls out question he posed to MTV in this 1983 interview.

In the clip below, Bowie asks Mark Goodman why MTV doesn’t play more videos by black artists.

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ColumnWhere celebrity becomes conscious.

It’s a reality TV world, and we’re just living in it. The cast of Jersey Shore knows their marks. The Kardashian sisters can work a camera angle on false eyelashes like no others. In almost all cases, the participants are in on the storyline while the rest of us choose to tune in or not. But where does this formula of complacency completely fall apart? It’s among the ruins of baby blankets, broken dreams, and bad baby daddies of MTV’s Teen Mom.

I’m not the first person to clutch my pearl necklace over MTV’s hugely-successful series Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2. The two shows are Vegas-styled off-shots of a once interesting attempt at a real documentary, 16 & Pregnant, which followed young girls as they moved from childhood to parenthood. The ratings are huge for the entire franchise.

Some claim teenage motherhood is evil, sucking the rest of society down a collective drain. I’m not one of them. Plenty of young mothers rise to the occasion. But MTV’s assertion that their “ground breaking” documentary is some kind of socially-conscious public service announcement, and that they’re actually helping kids by exposing the real struggles of being a teen mom, is nothing short of smug. Teen Mom is Jerry Springer-style shock television, not an after-school special. You can dress it up as a public service announcement, but it still smells like baby vomit.

First, the entire premise of the show is that being a young mother is a struggle – unless you are actually on Teen Mom. Some of the stars earn as much as $65,000 an episode. You wouldn’t know it from the show, where the theme of low-income jobs, tuition bills unpaid, and living with parents plays out over and over. And yet, there are cracks in the façade. Teen Mom Maci “has savings” and suddenly rents a two bedroom condo to be near her boyfriend. Teen Mom Jenelle has bail money, even though she’s living on the streets.

It’s heartbreaking to watch Teen Mom Chelsea Houska keep going back to a deadbeat boyfriend who, in her own words, “seems to care more about his car than his daughter [Aubree].” The only person this information ultimately benefits is Aubree’s future therapist, who is likely to cash in on multiple sessions with the little girl who suffered a tremendously public, disinterested father.

But perhaps the drama is most pronounced amongst the flying fists of rage belonging to stars Jenelle Evans and Amber Portwood. Just in time for the season finale of Teen Mom 2, Evans has been arrested and booked on two misdemeanors for assault and affray after beating another teen mom into the ground. Sound familiar? Maybe it’s because the first bad girl of the series, Teen Mom Amber Portwood, has already been arrested and charged with felony domestic violence charges after beating boyfriend Gary Shirley.

What are we supposed to be getting out of this? A true representation of what it’s like to be a young mother? As quantum theory tells us, in the very act of watching, the observer affects the observed reality. A few years back, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science conducted a highly controlled experiment demonstrating how a beam of electrons is affected by the act of being observed. As Science Daily writes, “The experiment revealed that the greater the amount of ‘watching,’ the greater the observer’s influence on what actually takes place.” We might apply this theory to teenagers under a microscope.

And of the effects? It’s no secret that celebrity can be extremely toxic. See: Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan. Wil Wheaton, child star and now prolific blogger, poignantly referenced the tragic loss of co-star River Phoenix to the Fame Monster. As Wheaton wrote, “Richard [Dreyfuss] put it best when he said that there is this monster in Hollywood that everyone knows about. It lurks just out of view, and occasionally it reaches up and snatches someone…and it got River.” Imagine this experience for a scared child who is embarking on parental responsibilities before they can even legally drive in some states. It’s concentric surreality, and it’s foisting fame on kids who need as much support as they can get – not magazine covers and new paparazzi stalkers. (These girls are all now tabloid stars, hounded by paparazzi and appearing on magazine cover after cover.)

Teen Mom Maci Bookout (right) hangs out with the cast of Jersey Shore.

There does seem to be a good intention at the heart of the concept. The shows are often peppered with the declaration that “Teen pregnancy is 100% preventable,” and each episode scrupulously offers up a website for information, It’syoursexlife.com. Some of the stars are clearly intent on doing the best for their children, and there are glimpses of heart-breaking selflessness and decency. For Teen Mom, it’s in the “story line” of teenagers Catelynn and Tyler, who gave up their daughter Carly for adoption. They both exhibited maturity and strength in their decision. Teen Mom 2 brought us Leah and Corey, admirable parents of twin girls, who struggled with daughter Ali’s medical issues. Both couples display insight beyond their years. And stoic Teen Mom 2 Kailyn Lowry, who wants to make a better life for her child, recently addressed the criticism surrounding the show. As she explains, “This is about me trying to help other teen girls and guys…everyone else thinks we want to be celebrities….that’s not what the message is about.”

Perhaps not. But somewhere, this show jumped the tracks from being a poignant cautionary tale for young mothers to a cautionary tale for celebrity. (See here: Amber Portwood.) Is MTV to blame for the behavior of their less-responsible stars? Maybe not. But where’s the socially-conscious value in these babies to see their mothers acting out like this? What’s the benefit for these babies to grow up knowing that their fathers were basically absent or disinterested in their lives? We don’t have to watch, but others still will, and no one, least of all the company that started it, seems to be taking responsibility.

In addition to cutting them a giant paycheck with more money they might see in a decade, the network should get these children real help – help outside of a stern Dr. Drew or pop psychology at a series reunion. Arrests, girl fights, and drug possession might make great ratings, but this cast is no Snooki and company. They’re babies.

This is another installment in Katherine Butler’s column, Shade Grown Hollywood, where celebrity becomes conscious. “Shade grown” refers literally to shade grown coffee, a farming method that “incorporates principles of natural ecology to promote natural ecological relationships.” Shade grown is our sustainable twist on Hollywood.

The post Shade Grown Hollywood: Teen Mom, Won’t Someone Think of the Children? appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnWhere celebrity goes conscious.

I’m a Jersey girl. Hailing from the south side of the state, I can judge cheese steaks like most judge fine wines, I “go in” for Philadelphia’s teams, and I know that Wawa is not the mumbling of an incoherent baby but rather a place for a great sandwich. This also means that I grew up playing in the Atlantic Ocean, which at low tide is a haven for tiny crabs and interesting sea shells. The Jersey shore of my childhood was a bucolic place of salt-scented air and custard stands on the boardwalk.

How times have changed.

The Jersey shore is not Jersey Shore. Nor is New Jersey the armpit of the nation filled with Tony Soprano-lookalikes. Residents don’t define themselves by “what exit” – I had to drive an hour to get to the nearest mall growing up. In reality, most of New Jersey is pastoral and pretty. But making this clear to people has always been like shouting at the wind. These days, it’s a full-force hurricane. How exactly did this happen?

Oh, right.

On top of being a nation of junk food eaters and binge drinkers, we now worship people who eat junk food and binge drink. And how the cast of Jersey Shore is rewarded, with huge appearance fees, clothing lines, and a frank disregard for anything resembling manners. If you don’t like it, they could give a crap. As Snooki herself responded to all her “haters” via Perez Hilton, “F#CK YOU!…If you don’t want to watch, then don’t watch.”

So I watched – at least the first season. I can offer up some excuse that, as a Jersey girl, it was my hometown duty to collect information on how to defend myself against the latest statewide assault. And sure, part of it was nostalgia for home. Yes, MTV wasn’t offering up a Jersey Shore I had known, but there was still a boardwalk and the undeniable appeal of Snooki. Underneath the tanning and hair spray, she’s your friendly twentysomething, searching for an identity, unsure of what that all meant.

But there’s another reason I tuned in, and it’s the one that gives me that creepy-crawly uncomfortable feeling that I should be reading up on my Dostoevsky. I paid attention for the same reason people slow down on the freeway to check out an accident on the other side. You look at the accident. You think, “Man, that sucks.” You try to move on, but from time to time, you can’t stop thinking about the twisted carnage on the road. And you feel really sorry for the people involved and the thousands others stuck motionless on the 110 North at rush hour.

But by the second season of Jersey Shore, I was out. It was apparent that we’d been punked. The cast of Jersey Shore had us stuck in park while they were clearly laughing all the way to the bank. They still are. To quote one enthusiastic commentator, “The ratings for the third season premiere of Jersey Shore are freakin’ huge.”

Sure, Snooki and her kin have figured out that getting falling down drunk for the world to see pays financially. Spiritually? Intellectually? Psychologically? Perhaps not so much. As Snooki (alias, Nicole Polizzi) recently told Rolling Stone, “I just hate it. Obviously, they’re only going to put the good stuff in, and the good stuff is us drunk, so all I’m seeing is me drunk and falling down. That’s how I am when I party, but some of the stuff I do is, like, ‘Really, Nicole?’ I look like a freakin’ alcoholic. I’m like, ‘You’re sweating, your makeup is running, you look gross.’ I just look like shit.”

But the winds of of Hurricane Jersey Shore continue to roar. And what’s the real harm? It’s not like Snooki, JWoww, The Situation and company are claiming to be saints. They don’t make any pretense to be conscientious moral compasses, hauling their recycling out to the curb while toting cloth bags to the supermarket. Via MTV, we watch them party, fight, and hook-up with each other and an enthusiastic crowd of guest stars. They drive giant cars, they ignore warnings about excessive tanning – they basically do whatever the hell they want, carbon footprint be damned. They are twisted sisters to the green movement and we’re the worried older sisters fussing over them and shaking our heads.

Maybe it’s because my Jersey shore was more Bon Jovi and big hair than spray tans and tank tops. And I’ve done stupid things drunk too, just not on TV (And here’s when I thank the universe once again there weren’t cell phone cameras when I was in college). One on one, I bet some of these stars are lovely.

So here’s my plea to sweet Snooki. Girl, you’ve got miles of viewers stopped on the freeway watching you. Do a 180-degree turn on expectation and start kicking butt on the charity front. You can motivate a whole new untapped resource of admirers into helping others. I know you told Rolling Stone that your dream is to build an empire like Jessica Simpson, but you don’t have to be the next princess of consumerism. Read The Road Not Taken. Drink some orange juice. Put on some sun block. Give your liver a rest.

Snooks, you were a veterinary assistant – there are probably some unfortunate pups that could benefit from one appearance fee. You were famously punched in the face by a man in the first season of Jersey Shore – is there a woman’s shelter that could use some funding? The beach has been good to you, why not help another coastline? Your legacy doesn’t have to be fellating pickles and doing face plants in the sand before getting dragged off by the cops.

And just think what the repercussions could be for reality TV. The Kardashian empire could get lost in its own hair extensions. Teen moms might start using birth control. Real housewives might put down the Botox syringe. Oh, what a wonderful world of TV it could be.

But look at me, all worked up, paying attention while stuck in traffic.

This is another installment in Katherine Butler’s column, Shade Grown Hollywood, where celebrity becomes conscious. “Shade grown” refers literally to shade grown coffee, a farming method that “incorporates principles of natural ecology to promote natural ecological relationships.” Shade grown is our sustainable twist on Hollywood.

Images: aarongreenwood

The post Shade Grown Hollywood: How Snooki Could Save Us All appeared first on EcoSalon.