Why is America Fascinated with the Royal Wedding?
Posted: Sunday, May 01, 2011
by TeamAfro
AfroDaddy.com
This week was the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Clearly it was an historic and monumental event in England, but why was there so much fascination about this in America? America is founded on a total disrespect of Kings and Queens ruling over the land. We fought a revolution to free ourselves from the royal ruling class, so why is it so important today to see two royals get married? I think there are 2 main reasons, with neither of them being very good.The second reason for this fixation is related to the first and can be described as the “princess syndrome”. Many little girls fantasize about being the fairy princess swept away by the prince or the knight in shining armor. What is surprising is that this little girl dream is the dream of so many grown women. Surely some adult women would be interested in this and rightfully so, but to have this Wedding story dominate ALL the news channels suggests that something bigger is going on than a fascination about a childhood fairy tale. Clearly there are large groups of American women are dissatisfied enough with their own lives and want to take solace in living vicariously through the princess, even if for one day. I think this is a wakeup call for the men in this country to treat their women more like princesses so that they don’t have to seek that out through a British woman thousands of miles away.
The sad thing is that while America was fixated on the Royal Wedding, real news was happening all across America and around the world. We need to reprioritize our attentions as a people, and although we do not control the news stations we do have a say as to what is shown. If as citizens we wrote to the news corporations and demanded that they show less Royal Wedding and more balanced news there just may be a shift in programming. The action that would have much more impact however would be to simply turn the channel and not watch the Royal Wedding on the news. Media corporations respond to ratings and if the Royal Wedding wasn’t selling it wouldn’t be shown.
Ultimately the people have the power over what is shown on TV. We must use our power to dictate change. As long as we sit like mindless drones watching two Brits get married, they will continue to broadcast it all day along with all the other reality TV that so captivate Americans today.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Great one Team Afro. I have been one of the women you mentioned that love to read about the lives and happenings of kings and queens, princes and princesses and their kids on this earth. I have cut down a lot on their juicy news lately because it wears me out gradually.This is rather precisely written all in all !
Hi TA.
I was not fascinated by the Royal Wedding and had enough of it before it even began. Bah Humbug! :)
There might be another reason it was so heavily reported ... diplomacy. It's like when you make a fuss over your friend's new sofa. It may not appeal all that much to you, but she is clearly very pleased with it and out of friendship you express your delight as well. It isn't necessarily a falsehood because we are commonly happy when our friends are happy.
What is your definition of "balanced news?" I don't watch much news because it is mostly depressing. And while I didn't care to watch the Royal hoopla, at least is wasn't a depressing affair.
Hugs,
Dianne
I understand the points you make, but I know I watched it because there was so much goodwill and happiness everywhere and I think the couple have a very healthy, down-to-earth relationship. I think that's healthy for people to see.Let's hope it stays that way. I will say a little prayer for them (smile)
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