What does it really mean when we say an actress “annoys the shit” out of us, anyway? That we hate the roles she chooses? The paparazzi’d version of her life we see in US Weekly? Her insufficiently funny quips on the red carpet? Or, as Salon asked today, is it her face? In some ways, the point of sitting on the bleachers of celebrity culture is the thrill of judging with impunity. Unlike our neighbors or co-workers, we convince ourselves that famous actors, by dint of making their living entertaining us, have chosen to be judged. And judge we do. (This isn’t just a byproduct of our Twitter-enforced instapundit culture, either: “Let’s get Entertainment Weekly and play my favorite new game: Love Her/Hate Him,” exclaims Will in a 1999 episode of Will & Grace.)

Sasha Weiss theorizes that certain people detest Hathaway because “she represents the archetype of the happy girl, which is one that many people resist.” TNC chips in his two cents:

I recognize that there is an entire publicity industry designed to get us to “like” people whom we essentially pay to see work. And perhaps it’s fair to judge whether or not that industry has been effective in making you think you know Hathaway in a way that you probably do not. But the fact remains that you don’t really know any of these people.

Earlier Dish on Hathaway here.