Has anyone noticed this trope in the pseudo-intellectual community?

A while back I noticed that in magazines like The Atlantic and The New Yorker they would praise celebrities generally not regarded as intelligent as if they were geniuses in their own right in some BS attempt at being counter-culture. The most notable example of this was an article in The New Yorker covering Paris Hilton in which she was praised as a marketing wizard for her ability to sell her "brand". This was one of the more revolting pieces of pretentious dreck I had the misfortune to read. Just a few months ago I was leafing through The Atlantic and came across a similar article extolling Lady Gaga for the sopric philosophical undertones of her schtick (y'know that fame monster crap). Another notable example was an online article about Justin Bieber (the kid who didn't know what "German" meant) insisting he had artistic integrity. I dunno I just noticed a pattern here and wondered if anyone else noticed...