As Gwyneth Paltrow recently put it (and I'm paraphrasing), the internet is a fetid swamp of ideas where cruel, anonymous hordes can unload their resentment of the beautiful and wealthy. But what did people do with that kind of creative hater energy in the days before the web?
This 1993 report from MTV News about a growing anti-Shannen Doherty backlash offers a quaint glimpse into that simpler time. Back then, you couldn't just go to the local comments section of your favorite TV blog to observe "what a lopsided-eyed dumb skank" the Beverly Hills, 90210 star was. You had to take the initiative, and print up your very own "I Hate Brenda Newsletter," then snail-mail every bilious copy to your 7,000 monthly subscribers. Print was alive! And then you invited them all to attend your Warhol Factory-inspired, "I Hate Brenda" be-ins. Man, what a decade.
Some amazing things to look for in this video:
... Tabitha Soren.
... Doherty's description of her band, Uncle Velvet, as being a cross between "U2 and Pearl Jam."
... The slow pan out to reveal she's with a young John Corbett, who is showing off a dangerously low-plunging neckline.
... Gay looks of the '90s.
... Doherty pledging allegiance at the Republican National Convention.
... A punk rock band called Gefilte F%@! that features members in Jewish prayer shawls and giant bunny heads.
... Drag queen WWF look-alikes. More like WTF, amirite?
... Ironic Brenda supporters.
... A gigantic Brenda pinata.
Maybe the '90s weren't so terrible after all!
Well, I hated Brenda (the b*tch)... but looking back, I hated all the characters: Jim & Cindy, the "cool parents", Brandon & Andrea (Mr. & Ms. Perfection), Steve & Donna (superficials & airheads), Dylan the whiny, and David "I was a loser but I'm so cool now". The only character I liked was Kelly, before she was "saved" by Brandon and got this holier-than-thou attitude.
This is so stupid. Brenda Walsh was a great character. Shannen Doherty might not be that good of a person, but she's an amazing actress. Brenda always!
I like Brenda Walsh too, more then Kelly in first seasons...
Why would Brenda Walsh? I know she had wild side and stuff but that didn't stop me from liking her. She was always a great actress.. Still is.
I must say, people like that, who invest so much time into hating someone and even organising public hate conventions about that person, frighten me.
The thing about the pre-internet era was that if you had an opinion you had to stand behind it and show yourself. Unlike today where any 12 year old with a blackberry can stick their tongue out and go NYA! Interesting that Gwyneth thinks only beautiful people are on the receiving end of vitriole. I guess in her mind ugly people have it easy - they don't face any ridicule at all.
"Things that make you go hmmmmm"
I watched the old Beverly Hills 90210 a few years ago, and loved it (the corny opening song was my favourite part) but I really liked Brenda. I couldn't stand Kelly. I like Shannen Doherty, I don't get the hate.
Ahhh the 90's.. BTW here's the full interview that Eddie Vedder gave http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/ihb.shtml Brenda was kind of a crazy stalker! Who knew.