American Royalty

I just do not understand all this hullabaloo about the Royal English Wedding that happened today. It's not even our country, and yet it's the only thing on the news. It's been all over every single aspect of the media since last week, if not before then. Sure, it's cool to learn about the details of one of the most expensive weddings in history costing tens of millions of dollars, but it is not so fascinating that I would actually watch the event or that the news should only cover this story.

I do love her dress. I have always loved lace sleeves on
wedding dresses. Even though I don't get the excitement over
the wedding, Kate truly is an elegant, classy gal.

But I guess what matters to people is that it sells. This kind of event appeals to the masses. After all, a supposed 2 billion people tuned in to watch William and Kate tie the knot. Daniel Radcliffe (who played Harry Potter in all the movies) said that the American media is making it a bigger deal than it is even in England. I suppose it might have to do with the fact that America has no royalty. We treat our Presidential families like celebrities, but our president changes every 4 to 8 years. Although former presidents are still important, they aren't always in the limelight past those 4 or 8 years. I mean how often have you heard anything about George W. Bush since Obama took office? In England, there is only one royal family, and it's been that way for hundreds of years, if not thousands. So when the firstborn son who is pretty much going to be king one day gets married, it's a big deal. Perhaps we Americans turn to them to fulfill any romanticized fantasy of how it would feel to be royalty or to have a monarchy. It's interesting how many people I know who watched the wedding, or were mad because they fell asleep during the wedding, or were critiquing the fashion and elegance of it all. I personally don't know how anyone could get so sucked into all that, especially when we are so far removed from that actual event. But I can see how the idea of a normal girl becoming a royal princess and an international political figure is appealing, especially in England where the royal family seems to be loved by all.

Perhaps it is America's fascination with weddings in general that brings this huge media coverage. Weddings are all about showcasing superficial material goods representing two people. Sure, symbolism and love is a precious and sacred thing in weddings. But really, beyond the actual wedding ceremony, the reception and everything else seem to be fancies and frills. Weddings have really become a lavish thing the more mass consumer culture has become a part of modern life. Of course not all weddings are so expensive and fancy, but planning a wedding has come to entail so much more than simply becoming united with your spouse. So much time, energy, and money seems to go into planning a wedding these days. I have seen many of my friends get married in the past few years, and the wedding planning and engagement stage seems to be such a stressful time in their lives! Getting married and having a wedding has come to be much more than simply uniting two people in love forever.

America's mass consumerism seems to have shifted our entire culture and traditions regarding marriage to include wedding receptions and gifts and other material things which may not have been a traditional part of weddings in the past. As so many people focus on the material things in life (i.e. what dress Michelle Obama wore to some party or how much Kate's wedding cake had cost), it makes sense that people would want to hear about all the material aspects of this royal wedding. America did it for Chelsea Clinton's wedding, and now America has done it for William and Kate's wedding (but on a grander scale). These high profile celebrity politicians seem to set the stage for the rest of the world determining the new trends and fashions in wedding cakes, dresses, designs, and so on. I don't know if we can ever stop watching people like them. The media plays a powerful role in determining what society knows and thinks about the world. And as long as the media keeps tabs on these kinds of celebrities, the world will be there to watch.