Jul 1 2009 - 3:59pm | Krista Almazan

Pop culture today is comprised of teen idols, debutantes and countless crossover sensations who started out on a Disney or Nickelodeon sitcom and seamlessly transitioned to concert tours around the world and chart-topping albums. There seems to be no struggle, no drive or fight in the modern pop culture icon.

Recently, media giants such as Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcet and David Carradine have taken their final bows. Does all the legitimacy and inspiration of pop culture die with them?

The teenagers who dominate American media today barely had to work to get where they are now. When your father is an already world-famous country music singer, like Billy Ray Cyrus, why try at all? You could practically point at any career you wanted and Daddy would have the means to make that happen for you.

Of course, the life of a ‘tween-aged superstar isn’t the straightest of paths, and I am aware there are those who would argue Miley Cyrus and those like her work very diligently to maintain their images and careers. My only qualm with the likes of Hannah Montana is simply their lack of a true journey to fame takes all the wonder and hope out of their very careers when they come out of nowhere and shoot straight to the top. Little girls who dream of being a rock star or a famous actress have little inspiration these days because their role models were all but handed their careers. It might lead some to think, “However hard I work, will anything happen for me if I don’t have a famous family member?”

The characters portrayed by the dozens of Disney stars now operating and thriving in the recording industry only cater to the “diva” attitudes that countless American children exude already. What they see of their role models is make-up, clothing and exclusive super star treatment. Is this all we can offer our children? Where are the positive, hard-working and humble role models who could make children today hope for something more than a specific brand name purse or the most popular sneakers?

Michael Jackson wasn’t born to an already world-famous country star, like Miley Cyrus. According to IMDB.com, he was born in Gary, Ind. to two middle-class parents, not Beverly Hills. He and his family had to start small and work hard to get to where they were eventually noticed by the world for their raw talent.

There is something mystifying and satisfying in a modern Cinderella story. We all want to see an underdog rise to the top and become someone special, because we all want that same magic, to some degree, in our own lives. But when all we see today are children being virtually catapulted to stardom because of their sex appeal or their family tree, it is a little disheartening to those who have real, natural talent and want to some day share that with the world.

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