1. She is a popular icon of this era, a quick-check means of ascertaining what society is about right now. Soulless, clueless, narcissists? (Oh, not all of us. Just Paris and me.)

2. She has FANS. Young ones, I assume. Persons who are willing to spend their hard-earned money (or their parents') to make Paris richer. Honestly, I don't know what all of her products are, but I assume books, perfume, clothing. She has a TV show, once highly watched. One has to shift the attention from Paris back to the people who love her and spend money on her. Why?

3. With guys, perhaps this is why: She's attractive and knows how to project sex in a burger commercial wearing a swimsuit washing a car. Sex symbols are made, not born. She demonstrably did this right -- though there is something to her face that lacks true beauty.

4. She's just like the moral of "The Sopranos": Life isn't fair. Some people get away with everything. Get used to it (the jail time is a mere blip versus this theme.)

5. She's of an "idle rich community of beautiful people" that have been with us for centuries. Generally, they live apart from us poorer, uglier people, and travel in globe-trotting circles which we could never afford. Paris' parents are a trust-fund hotel heir and his gorgeous airhead wife, who met her husband while a bikini extra on "The Love Boat." To the good, Paris broke free from total rich-kid apathy and actually pursued a public career of sorts. To the bad (for her) Paris stumbled into the "real world" of the LA justice system, and thus left her bubble of careless privilege. Oops.

6. Though countless others are released for Paris' legal violation (DUI initially; a dangerous one today), she evidently refused to partake of any of the requirements: didn't sign up for required classes, didn't perform any community service, drove with a suspended license. She showed up late for her sentencing hearing and told the judge she wasn't familiar with the probation papers she signed because "I hire people to read those for me."

7. The video tape. No, not THAT one. The one in which she is shown joking and laughing about, as I recall "poor, dumb ni..ers". You wanna bet the judge and prosecutors viewed THAT one? It created "social context" for her sentencing.

8. The video tape. Yes, THAT one. I've never seen it, but I saw a TV interview with the guy from it. One word: reptilian. You'd think Paris would have better taste in men. And he giggled like a little girl.

In some ways, Paris Hilton is our Zsa Zsa Gabor. Zsa Zsa married and divorced a Hilton, I guess that makes her a relation? (Zsa Zsa also drew some legal trouble on a traffic violation, slapping a Beverly Hills cop.)

But these are far tougher, colder, mercenary times in the tabloid celebrity biz. Paris has lived by them. She won't die by them. She's tougher than Anna Nicole, and without child. But, in her clueless arrogance on this one legal matter (poorly advised by her elders), she made herself the focus of the serious consideration of her frivolous life, and that's the moral of her story.

Well played, sir.

Bravo.

Hey, thanks. Maybe I can use this to get a date with Paris when she's sprung from the can.

It occurs to me that 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 also applied to Princess Diana.

As for 7 and 8, as far as I know 'Lady Di' did not indulge in video, but there was plenty of scandal and innuendo to make up for it -- that interview, and that lover who sold his story, and so on.

And of course 6 applies in its own grim way. She was not setting behind the wheel at the time of her death, but she ought to have been smarter than allowing their driver to behave like that.

Which begs the question: Why was Princess Diana an international icon, adored by the millions who mourned her death, while Paris is just amusing thrash? That Diana was British and Paris is American can hardly be the complete answer, although probably that has something to do with it.

lucabrasi:

But, in her clueless arrogance on this one legal matter (poorly advised by her elders), she made herself the focus of the serious consideration of her frivolous life, and that's the moral of her story.

Well, the story would be moral if she were capable of some sort of self-examination of her life. Regrettably, at least according to one of my personal heroes, Tina Fey, she lacks any ability to do so. (Fey reported that when Hilton hosted SNL she demonstrated stupidity and meanness in spades. The cast evidently hated her.) The coldly attractive scatterbrain who calls herself this era's "iconic blonde" can't even implode like one -- 45 days on a suspended license charge doesn't match Marilyn Monroe's descent into drugs and pills, though I assure you that within 15 days of her release, Paris will make that very comparison. Paris has Tony Soprano's delusions of grandeur, but is without his limited self-insight.

If as you say the moral of the story is rather that we as a nation are bound to consider frivolousness a topic for, then God help us all. Maybe it's our educated society's self-hatred for engaging in that kind of uh, navel-gazing, that makes people feel such strong hatred for her. I find her mildly irritating and essentially beneath my interest, though I find this whole story oddly compelling.

By the way, a terrific top-post as usual.

She is consequential because she young, rich and thin. At least one of those qualifications will be removed in due time.

Most importantly, she is consequential because she insists on getting the behind the wheel in a condition guaranteed to produce a tragedy for someone else sooner or later.

True "numbers" on Diana, but I would note that 7 and 8 are probably what take Paris that extra distance to being a depressing, annoying figure.

I can't remember when or how I saw the tape that showed Paris speaking about a certain minority group (I'm pretty sure I did), but that one basically revealed that behind the vacous dummy was a viral bigot. Her handlers probably did whatever it takes to get that tape out of there, as it reflected her blonde-rich cultural dissolution in the ugliest possible way.

As for the sex tape, well, can't be hypocritical. Sex tapes can be fun, and ya gotta admit that makes Paris a "legitmate" sexual icon. But plenty of women evidently make them better -- hello, Jenna Jameson!-- and, again, I caught an interview with the guy in the tape, and he was downright creepy. Evidently Paris was looking for a Ron Jeremy element in her private film.

I read Tina Fey's remarks as well, and they tracked pretty well with the public Paris. So utterly clueless, self-absorbed and spoiled, that other people simply cease to exist -- even reasonably rich, famous and spoiled celebrities like Tina Fey herself.

We're supposed to ignore her, but I fear we'll always have Paris.

Yes! And now that she has battered her way into our consciousness, we all have our opinions of her, which are subject to reality-testing. Who will she turn out to be tomorrow?

so now we've crossed that rubicon as objective, fairminded intellectual snobs; i.e. we admit paris hilton is interesting- even in our own glittering world political sell-out dweebs, hillbillies and incompetent tinhorns. a big step. are we ready to read f.scott fitzgerald yet? or do we need a little more time at the level of saturday night live?

While every on of the things you said may be true, immutable facts, the statements made about the similarities to Di are apt. There is a similarity there. The difference is really one of character.

Why Paris is relevant is a positive thing. It means that people are still attuned to the character of a person, even if every other thing of substance blinks out of their minds.

Diana gave off the impression of one who was kind, whatever the reality might be.

Paris is palpably stupid, ignorant, and mean with an overarching sense of personal entitlement. Since when do we like this? Well when other than when we're electing a President, I mean...

As for Paris being a sexual icon, what's the big whoop? Almost every woman has sex, whether or not it's recorded, and enjoys the hell out of it. And almost every woman could drape herself over a car and put on a little act and get men horny. Getting a man turned on is one of the easiest and most universally accomplishable things women do, which is a nice thing, but which is also one reason why most of us don't feel it's necessary to do it in public to gain attention. Another reason is that, unlike normal people, celebrities don't have to deal with the consequences of having titillated men that they wouldn't choose as partners. Most of us have to have some sense.

The answer is simple: Napoleon (III of course) understood the value of form (or at least Haussmann did).

So much was lost, yet the result was the harmony of style with use - a naturalism even I can related to.

The beast within men insisted on sanctimonious squares where nothing happens, mind you. I find little of the human in them. But a quiet walk on the small streets by my basement studio on the Ile de Cite will allow you to hear the buildings breath.

Paris is consequential.