Listening to right wing talk radio following the re-election of Barack Obama would have you believe that socialism is the biggest threat facing America right now. Watching the news on television indicates that the much more authentic threat facing America is socialite-ism. When America reaches a state where a socialite like Jill Kelly becomes a major player in the military and intelligence fortunes of the country, you know we are heading toward an Armageddon that has nothing to do with Karl Marx.
How far socialites have come from their portrayal in the movies!
Overboard
From all external appearance, Jill Kelly does not seem that far removed from the socialite played by Goldie Hawn in "Overboard." Both Kelly and Hawn's character of questionable intellect, to say the least, but at least Hawn's character learns a valuable lesson in the end about the emptiness of the hollow life of a flighty socialite. And, of course, there is always the estimable fact that Hawn's socialite never employed delusions of grandeur about her place in history.
A Place in the Sun
The similarity between Jill Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor in "A Place in the Sun" ends with the fact that they are both socialites. Well, the fact that they are both socialites whose relationship with a man ends with the man going down to tragedy. Then again, if I were Montgomery Clift I would probably let Shelley Winters drown if the prize were Liz Taylor. On the other hand, it is quite difficult to imagine a scenario in which I resigned from the position of CIA Director in disgrace that could possibly have anything at all to do with Jill Kelly. Of course, I identify quite a bit with Montgomery Clift and not at all with Gen. Betrayus.
It Happened One Night
Claudette Colbert is a socialite on the run from a marriage who must spend the night in a single bedroom with reporter Clark Gable, hence the title "It Happened One Night." Colbert's socialite is nervous about the fact that she and the down on his luck reporter will be alone the entire night together. Gable eases her discomfort by famous putting up the Walls of Jericho in the form of dividing the room with clothing. This alleviates the moral qualms that the socialite fears. As I said, socialites have come a long way to arrive at Jill Kelly.
From Here to Eternity
Oh, wait a minute...Deborah Kerr's character is not a socialite in "From Here to Eternity." Still, she seems to be the model upon which Jill Kelly and other socialites who gain easy access to America's military bases base their personalities.
For more from Timothy Sexton, Yahoo!'s first Writer of the Year, check out:
A Place in the Sun: America in the 1950s
Why David Petraeus Wasn't Honest When Asked if Iraq War Made America Safer
Why are Screwball Comedies Called Screwball Comedies