Say Cheese

In recent years we've become more and more fascinated with celebrities and every aspect of their lives. You can't go to a grocery store without keeping up with all the gossip, as tabloids compete to sell their shocking stories. With this uprising in our culture has come a notorious presence not just in Los Angeles, but wherever the stars will take them. They're called paparazzi, and it seems pretty clear they're here to stay.

There's a good chance you may have seen them at work. Shows like Pop Fiction capitalize on how our new media works. But the truth is that the paparazzi can be truly ruthless when they need to be. They fight and break laws, scale fences and climb trees, just to get a picture. It seems ridiculous, but it isn't to them. The market has gotten so competitive that simply following these celebrities around and taking pictures of them is not enough anymore. To really make money you have to get the shots that nobody else gets. When a story breaks, like Britney Spears being taken to the hospital or Shia LaBeouf getting in to a car accident, the photo agencies know that the accompanying pictures are extremely valuable to the tabloids, so they're willing to pay top dollar. This is where the paparazzo comes in. In a crowd of thousands, the one who is willing to go the extra mile will get the shot that is worth the most. Typically this is breaking the law.Recently Brad Pitt has threatened legal action for pictures taken of his family in France. The photos were quickly taken off the internet, but were already sold to a tabloid.
The whole point of this discussion is that their less than legal tactics have been brought up recently as new laws were proposed to prevent them. Such ideas as "personal safety zones," requiring paparazzi to identify themselves on their license plates, and press credential tags have been proposed. John Mayer, Eric Roberts, and Milo Ventimiglia all testified about the horrors they're faced with day by day. But apparently this has gotten them nowhere.The chief of police William Bratton made a snarky remark ("since Britney started wearing clothes, Paris is out of town and not bothering anybody any more, thank God, and evidently Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't seem to have much of an issue”) and called the hearing a "waste of time." Apparently he believes that the laws in place are suitable and no further action is necessary. The outcome remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure: As long as the public is voracious for the pictures, the paparazzi will do whatever it takes.

picture from phillipherdnon.com