Why Anna Nicole Smith Inspires Passion

The best of reality television shows gives the viewer a chance to look at another person's life and activities. And what do we see? Among other things, we often see that we as viewers feel either superior or inferior – to the featured television personality. To put it bluntly, we can either look up to them or look down on them. In the case of Anna Nicole, it's both, ironically – and this drives many viewers to passionate distraction. In fact, the most amazing thing about reality television is that, often, it forces us to look at ourselves. And we see many things that we don't like. The feeling in some quarters may be 'disgust.' Many collective groans were heard lately when E! announced that it had renewed the Anna Nicole Smith show for another year – but were they groans of pain or pleasure? Let's try to look at some of the passionate criticisms of Anna Nicole Smith.

Anna Nicole, similar to Michael Jackson, has become a lightning rod for criticism and ridicule. One incident a few years back occurred because she wore white to her husband's funeral. Tons of copy was written over this event, because the conventional wisdom was that Anna Nicole was a charlatan. Not only had she conned a codger into marrying her, but she wore white to his funeral. They said she also defrauded him into bequeathing her unimaginable sums of money – hundreds of millions of dollars – which were never mentioned in the will but which she said he promised to her. In other words, she had duped her elderly husband into marrying her and she didn't love him. The white dress at the funeral was proof of that, they said.

However, in her recent interview with Larry King, the suspender-wearing CNN talk host, Anna Nicole lay to rest any accusations of her taking advantage of her husband. Her frank description of the events leading to her marriage, and her feelings regarding her husband, were apparently honest and certainly clear. There can be no mistake that on this point that she was misjudged. Does anyone care?

Well, the producers of The Anna Nicole Show care enough to ensure that, despite any positive aspects in her life, there is enough material around to keep her personality and the tenor of the show in the ridicule category. In fact, the show appears to be about just how 'outrageous' Anna Nicole is – just like the show jingle says. It's not clear if having cravings for huge pickles is outrageous, but many viewers – easily following the leads of the canny producers – are outraged on cue.

Women, in particular, become enraged while watching Anna Nicole. Why is this? Anna Nicole is, after all, just an ordinary human being on a television show. Some things written and said about her are extremely passionate, and it's surprising that she inspires such depth of feeling.

Maybe people feel strong dislike of Anna Nicole Smith because they think she is worth a billion dollars. Her actual monetary circumstances are unclear, however Anna has said that she has no access to the money that her husband legally left to her in his will. It is tied up in the court system. Many know that the only parties to benefit from such problems are lawyers. What is the wrench that was thrown into these works? Since she was not mentioned in the will but still wanted the money, her deceased husband's son, from a previous marriage, who was the beneficiary of the estate, fought her to keep the will as it was written.

Is Anna Nicole Smith an irritant to women because she was a Playboy centerfold of the year? This seems a promising guess. However, Playboy centerfolds come and go – in fact, Playboy magazine is practically a centerfold factory – and most women don't even think about centerfold models at all. If they should happen to think about them, these centerfold models are immediately dismissed as being of limited mental capacity, and having accomplished nothing with their lives – short of taking off their clothes, that is. But Anna Nicole does not fit this category, because she has not just disappeared and become a mute trophy wife as many Playboy centerfolds do. She has become a working celebrity.

Does Anna inspire this passionate response because of her behavior on her television show? This is also a promising guess. But is eating pickles so horrific? But seriously, the purpose of this article is not to analyze Anna Nicole's behavior, but to look at why she inspires such emotion. Many things that Anna Nicole has done – in full view of the cameras – are what many American women have done. Yes, some women stuff their faces with doughnuts and muffins. Yes, some women get tattoos. Yes, some women treat people badly when being served. Not all the time, but sometimes. Just like men do. It's just that these men and women don't do it on national television.

Now imagine if a video camera was following you around all the time, and your worst moments – even moments lasting less than ten seconds – were filmed. Then these moments were broadcast on television. Wouldn't you look pretty bad? The answer is that yes, EVERYONE would look bad in these circumstances. But after all, as human beings, we are not summarized as people by something that happens in ten seconds unless you're the president or a criminal.

But some of the things Anna Nicole has done along with her cohorts Howard and Kim do, indeed, seem quite strange. She often talks in a kind of strange manner. Also, the headboard-stabbing incident was strange; in fact, all the incidents with Mr. Trendy, the decorator, are bizarre. And it's not just the decorator who is acting bizarre. It's unclear how someone could order sumptuous custom furniture and expect it to be delivered in five luxurious days – and how someone could promise them that it would be. In addition, the masturbation bits are quite scandalous. Sugar Pie should be criticized and censured.

When the show first appeared, people accused Anna Nicole of being on drugs because she seemed to be muttering or slurring her words. Those critics were silenced when Anna Nicole revealed that she was wearing a retainer. It seems like some people just don't like Anna Nicole – maybe there is no reason. That's fair enough. Maybe – even – they hate her. Then why do they watch the show? The inspiration of fear and pity is the equation often known as the 'train wreck' scenario – that we can't turn away from disaster.

What about her son? Does he hate the show? John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne's show proved that an offspring does not have to appear on camera if he or she chooses not to appear. Osbourne's oldest daughter has never appeared on the show due to her choice. If Daniel, Anna's son, did not want to be on the show at all, that could have been arranged. It's clear he's not crazy about the show. But at the same time, he has participated. He seems, you must admit, a bit embarrassed by his mother. Have you ever heard of any other adolescents embarrassed by their parents? So what else is new?

Maybe some dislike Anna because of how she treats her employees. It's true that she asks a lot of them. Kim shouldn't have been coerced to go on the roller coaster, for one thing. On the other hand, it doesn't appear to have affected their relationship either personally or professionally. Kim has an Anna Nicole tattoo. Well, folks, anybody who has their boss's face tattooed on their bicep is pretty happy with their job, and any second guessing is just that.