TOW 17 - The Sociology of Gossip (Elaine Lui)

Gossip is shameful. The perspective of this generation is that talking about other people is embarrassing and indecent; it is better to deny the act of talking behind someone's back than to admit a universal activity. Gossip is a commonality not only between modern society, but Elaine Lui provides research that shows it is also an age-old practice dating back to the ancient Egyptians. "Lainey" runs an online gossip site called laineygossip.com where she discusses the hot topics that are gracing the covers of magazines like People, Us Weekly, etc. In February 2013, Lui spoke at TEDxVancouver reminiscing on milestones of pop culture in 2012 while analyzing the deeper impact of these events and the ripple effect of gossip they caused. Lui uses metaphors, allusions and rhetorical questions, in her TED Talk to argue that gossip is an ancient convention that provides academic insight into a culture's current values and ultimate fate. TED is an organization that features some of this generation's greatest scientific and philosophical minds. Making an appeal to pathos by stating she is not as "distinguished" as some of the other speakers, Lui acknowledges this context and takes advantage; since her audience is educated enough to understand the words of sociologists and marine biologists, Lui compares today's social culture to that of an ecosystem. The different organisms in an ecosystem have different roles, all interdependent on at least one of the other organisms. Lui's anticipation of an educated audience allowed her to make appropriate comparisons that elevate the complexity of gossip. The audience has also not been living under a rock, and Lui knows this. Kristen Stewart's infidelity, Chris Brown's violence, John Travolta's supposed affairs, all of these events were popular in 2012 and all of these events were referred to in Lui's speech. Not only do these allusions show that Lui is a well-informed reporter, but also that there is a pattern among what is glorified in society. Lui constantly asks her audience to reflect on that. She uses rhetorical questions to force the audience's realization of what they value emphasizing"marital convention, fidelity, feminist regression or progression, social violence, and sexual orientation." These questions don't speak to the character of Kristen Stewart, Chris Brown, or John Travolta, but rather of the audience. The audience is the one craving these stories that gossip provides; so is really the act of gossip that's shameful? Or the values of the people who gossip?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFDWOXV6iEM