Lonelygirl15...Giving the People What They Want

This is one of those stories that can only be commented on after-the-fact. The reason being that if you missed it at any time in the last couple of months, then your introduction to the Internet is only just beginning and out of my scope and ability to help you with further.

Suffice it to say that Lonelygirl15 and the mystery surrounding her is finally solved, maybe. The LA Times is reporting that the creators behind the popular video blog series have finally come forward and given an interview, wherein they confirm what many of us suspected all along. “Bree” is indeed an actress and the narrative she provides is scripted and part of an ongoing effort by a team of talented individuals for their own purposes.

So, big deal, right? Let’s move on to the next story, you say? Not so fast. What is completely hilarious to me is the self-righteous indignation of so many followers of this story, bloggers and commenters on YouTube alike. Consider this guy, for example. On his blog, Mark Parrenas writes, reacting to the news that Lonelygirl15 is a fake, bold emphasis is mine for reasons you will see later:


But there’s another side to it. I know there are people who related to characters in movies, or shows or stories that they go and see or read. But at least they know these are works of fiction and fiction being that the story or the people reflect a certain degree of reality. At least the line is still drawn. But to actually go out and produce something and put it up as real and then later on saying that it’s all a made-up story - that’s just dumb. It’s like saying, I put up something that I know would click and I’m sure I can rake in the cash or the popularity immediately on the internet. It’s like saying the people who surf the net are either gullible or self-contained idiots.


Then there is this mind-numbing and excruciating video reaction by a young lady every bit as phony as Bree has been revealed to be. A notable quote from the rant, if you can’t bring yourself to watch beyond 30 seconds of that nasal whine about how Lonelygirl won’t be as popular now that the truth is revealed:

“It’s not going to seem real because (sitting back in chair and doing that annoying quote thing with her fingers) ‘it’s not real’”


Gee, whiz. It’s not real so it won’t seem real? Is that it? Prior to that one line and sad commentary on the intellectual depth of modern youth, “Bravegirl5” states that part of the popularity of the video series was in trying to figure out whether it was real or part of some corporate marketing ploy. Now you understand why I highlighted the last line of the Parrenas quote.

Those who got so wrapped up in the Lonelygirl saga, to the point they feel genuine hurt or anger concerning the newest revelation about the series need to take a good, long look in the mirror and say the following over and over again until it sinks in that they and everyone like them is the reason why humans no longer deserve to rule the planet:

“You have been pandered to. You are being pandered to. You will be pandered to.”

Bravegirl5, Mark Parrenas, and countless more are leading us toward a kind of “idiocracy” both feared and prophesied by Mike Judge’s newest film by the same name. The lesson here is not that “big corporations” are willfully manipulating the masses in order to sell some product or service. It’s that the masses WANT to be manipulated. We want to be pandered to and given some shiny new toy to play with until we grow bored or break it and the cycle repeats.

Parrenas is bored with the toy and Bravegirl5 broke it and so now they stamp their little feet in anger and demand something new to occupy their time and attention.

But they will continue to watch Bree. They will continue to discuss her, ad nauseam. What’s worse, they will continue to allow themselves to be emotionally affected by marketing geniuses, like the creators of Lonelygirl15.