For those who have long wanted to turn back the clock to that simpler era (in spite of the Bush II presidency), 2005, the time has come, once again to “Pitt” Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie against each other.
Rather than direct attention on the knavish actions of Brad Pitt himself, the media firestorm continues to prefer the calculated cultivation of a “cat fight,” even triangulating Marion Cotillard into the gossip mill by positing that it’s she who is the latest version of Angelina Jolie to Jolie’s newly claimed role as Aniston.
The most recent swirl of rumors alleging Pitt’s drunken verbal and possibly physical abuse still haven’t trumped what is more important to outsiders and salivators of drama: the fact that Jennifer Aniston may or may not feel vindicated and has been waiting for this day to come ever since ’05 when she was made a fool of in the pitying eyes of those who wore Team Aniston tees.
Fans and nebs alike declaring the announcement of the divorce to be “the day love died” (though I’m pretty sure that was the day Madonna and Sean Penn separated) have delighted in the creation of memes focused on Aniston’s smug and/or laughing facial expressions upon hearing the news.
Never before in the twenty-first century has a public reaction so closely mirrored the response to Rudolph Valentino’s death. Because Jolie and Pitt represent the Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher of our time (which puts Aniston in the unfortunate position of playing Debbie Reynolds), the majority is fixated on how, for all intents and purposes, their beliefs in “Hollywood”–this entity where nothing bad is ever supposed to happened–have only further crumbled. And this is perhaps why so many are missing the point regarding the dissolution of the marriage. The masses would prefer to repackage the same scandalous story from ’05 than acknowledge Brad Pitt of any wrongdoing. Because if there’s one thing that hasn’t changed about Hollywood, it’s this: the women are 1) always to be blamed and 2) are to be rotated around depending on age and cachet to the male star.
And so, isn’t it comforting to know that we still have some vestiges left from the old studio system?
