Author: Chloe Jenkins-Sleczkowski
I think we’re all getting sick of Balloon Boy by now. Here at Oxy, we’re part of a national minority that does, in fact, have more important things to do than follow real-time news coverage of a boy in a balloon. We’re too busy and uninterested to care about all this hoopla, despite the best attempts by news media. But I believe that this country’s over-obsession with the Balloon Boy saga has deeper implications than a country with plenty of downtime.
If you’ve been anywhere near a newspaper, television or the internet in the past two weeks, then you should know something about the Balloon Boy hoax. The Heene family of Larimer County, Colorado, lied to police and news reporters, telling them that their six-year-old son was trapped in a hot air balloon. You’ve probably also heard about the media circus surrounding everyman Richard Heene, whose family appeared in the TV show “Wife Swap,” and his desperate attempt to stretch out his 15 minutes of fame. You’ve probably seen the unremitting headlines that pander a new angle of the drama: “A Mystery Aloft, a Nation Riveted – And One Grounded Balloon Boy,” reported The Washington Post; “Balloon Boy’s Parents Full of Hot Air,” reported the Vancouver Sun. You might even have read the defensive articles that insist the father wasn’t at fault – that, in fact, he’s the product of an economic downturn that drives ordinary people to clutch at the American Dream.
Apparently news media have nothing more interesting to cover than the escapades of a lost boy and his adrift balloon. I guess they’ve forgotten about those important things going on with health care. And that war in Iraq – since it’s practically over, there must not be anything else to hear about. And global warming – despite our best efforts, we’re destroying the earth anyways, so I guess the news has nothing left to tell. Basically, they’ve run out of subjects to cover. We’ve gotten bored with the old news – politics and campaigns are so last year. The American viewers need something new and exciting. Naturally, we’re eager to hear about the adventures of Balloon Boy and his ambitious father.
But really, is this the best publicity stunt Heene could think of? He certainly has a cornucopia of stunts to fall back on: Think about MJ’s marriage to Lisa Marie Presley; notorious night-vision sex tapes; the Boston Tea Party; wardrobe malfunctions; same-sex kisses at the VMAs; guitars lit on fire. History is riddled with fine examples of sensationalist news subjects. To be fair, you can’t really blame the media for growing lazy with the news reporting. They’ve just become too accustomed to rolling with the punches to consider what alternatives they have.
The sad thing is that, although Richard Heene orchestrated the whole event, pulling the stunt for his own celebrity, it isn’t really paying off. Headlines refer to him only as “Balloon Boy’s Dad,” or just “Bad Dad” – he rarely gets as much as a last name. And now authorities are considering criminal charges against the parents, or at least taking away their custodial rights. Even worse, Lifetime has decided not to run one of the Heene family’s pre-Balloon Boy “Wife Swap” episodes – so much for his resume. But at least Heene managed to stretch out his family’s 15 minutes – albeit into 15 minutes of shame.
Maybe we’re just too bored out of our minds to care about other things being on TV. Where are the wild student riots? And why aren’t news cameras focused on the melting ice caps in the arctic? Instead, we choose to watch a boy in a balloon – the most uninteresting thing to hit television since “The Simple Life 2.” Is this really the best we can come up with? It’s sad to think that the answer is yes.
Chloe Jenkins-Sleczkowski is a senior ECLS major. She can be reached at cjenkins@oxy.edu.
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