Cult of celebrity
We have become a nation obsessed with celebrities. Magazines, newspapers, TV features, radio interviews and internet sites all willingly feed us the latest celebrity gossip. Who is having an affair, who just got arrested, who is getting a divorce and who is having a baby. But why have we become so enthralled with celebrities, and is it healthy to idolize them?
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Celebrities are still the same as us in many ways. They still have to eat, sleep and go to the toilet. They still get colds and the flu, they still stub their toes on the corner of the bed and they still get stuck in traffic. However what they do have is fame (and hopefully some fortune). Like it or not celebrities use publicists and agents to project an image they want us to see rather than the truth. When endorsement deals and multimillion dollar movies all hinge on the public willing to support them it is vital that their image is controlled. The flip side of this are the gossip magazines and their willingness to print private potentially embarrassing stories on high profile celebrities. Even if it is only partially true some magazines are willing to look the other way to get an exclusive story. Somewhere between the two extremes the truth lies but we rarely get to see it.
Back in the 1950's film stars were tightly controlled by the studios. They projected an image that they were perfect and that there life was something everyone should aspire to. Their dream career, their fairy tail wedding and their perfect home life. It is natural that we would seek to better ourselves and look up to those who seemingly have it all. However as the years have moved on so has our society. No longer do we want to feel inadequate trying to live up to the perfect life of a celebrity. Now we want to see them as they truly are, human. We want to see their flaws and their weaknesses because in many ways it makes us feel better about ourselves.
In a world where we no longer trust our politicians and true heros are few and far between who do we idolize? The celebrity is the everyday person who has made it big. Maybe for a lot of people it is a way to live out the fantasies of a lost youth. The football superstar, the record breaking singer, the award winning actor. All of us like to be praised and most of us at some point have looked at a celebrity and imagined ourselves in their shoes. But although we may want to be like them we are more than willing to bring them down to our level and humanize them.
When we read or view an article about a celebrity what are we looking for? In the majority of cases it is some type of gossip. Although their latest movie project or charity cause will certainly be interesting it is the private details of their lives that really enthrall us. So ultimately we need to look at ourselves as partially responsible for creating the celebrity machine. Just remember that if everyone stops paying attention to celebrities they stop being famous.
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