Beware the "Hipness Unto Death"

The title quote is from Mark Crispin Miller, and is intended to capture the end result of, in Ken Myers' words, the "dispiriting blend of sensation and ennui" generated by a steady diet of pop culture. Mark Andrejevik has explored the "reality" behind reality television along these lines:

In its very format, reality TV caters to the savvy awareness that reality itself is contrived. The recent phenomenal success of professional wrestling testifies to the power of this appeal. It highlights and concedes the contrived nature of sports as entertainment. Rather than inviting viewers to suspend their skepticism and lose themselves naively in the game, it frees them up to lose themselves in the action precisely because they don't have to drop their skepticism. This time of reflexivity seems increasingly prevalent, not just on television but in film and advertising. It thematizes and exploits the decline of the big Other by catering to the canny skepticism of the viewers. . . . This is the paradox of reality television, even as it promises access to the real, it facilitates the process of derealization.

--from Reality TV: The Work of Being Watched (2005)