Glorifying the low

 

This Sydney Morning Herald article says, 'The hit television show Underbelly has turned the gangsters it is based on into cult stars.' I wish someone could explain this sort of phenomenon to me. I just can't understand why anyone would think it was worth their time to glorify these people. It's the whole Paris-Hilton-lowest-common-denominator celebrity factor that I don't get.

I suspect that, for a lot of people, there is some kind of irony at work here but really that doesn't excuse it in my eyes. When you worship the low you're putting them on a pedestal - and that means you are putting them above you. Which really begs the question...