It's a boy!

Oh yeah, I'm an American all right. I may loathe these medieval concepts on a fundamental level, but I definitely consume the media byproduct. And you know what? It's delicious. But why, like the 23 million Americans that watched the most recent royal wedding on television (not to mention the countless that watched online) am I so fascinated?

For me, I think it has to do with a combination of liking traditional, ritualistic displays on an anthropological level and a guilty consumption of tabloids. Both are fascinating parts of any culture and actually entertainment art forms. What could be a more traditional display than watching a dynasty anoint an heir? Even the staunchest anti-monarchist could probably admit that the horses in the parades are pretty and that they really do wear some nice things when they march. With so much media saturation about the lives of royals, who doesn't have a little curiosity about these people? Our celebrity involvements with these figures are powerful because, in the case of individuals like this baby, we are literally with them in the media from birth to death. You get attached.

America, maybe we like royalty because they're basically reality TV stars. PLEASE DON'T START COMMENTING; LET ME FINISH! Clearly, the vast majority of royalty is better behaved than the vast majority of reality TV stars but what they share in common is that their jobs are to be in the public eye. Guilty consumption of royal watching is basically a higher class version of guilty consumption of reality TV. Maybe we can consume SO MUCH royal culture (numbers aren't in yet for news coverage of Royal Baby but they're sure to be ratings winners) because, as Americans, we can safely watch these people from a distance.

So three cheers for the birth of those other peoples' King! Keep the cameras rolling and even if we don't want to, we'll probably keep watching.

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