The Cult of Celebrity

We are currently undergoing another spasm of celebrity wrongdoing.  A South African athlete has been charged with murdering his equally celebrated girl friend.  And every day since the murder took place, there has been story after story about the event all over the media around the world, or at least all over North America.  People can't seem to get enough of it.

Why do we make such a fuss over celebrities, be they entertainers, athletes or even some politicians.  We put them on a pedestal and extol their virtues.  We ooh and awe over every little bit of information that comes forward from their publicity department.  We endow them with superhuman capacity, thinking that everything that they say and do must be profound.  And when they do something wrong, we either defend them against all evidence or tell everyone that we know they were bad all along.   And when they die, we hold them up for sainthood.  We'll go to see a washed actor who was a star thirty years ago because he/she was a celebrity.  We copy their looks and habits. 

It used to be that celebrities had to do something to earn celebrity hood. They had to be a gifted actor or an outstanding athlete.  Nowadays, they don't even  have to do anything.  They just have to be.  How else do you explain Paris Hilton or the Kardashians.  In other words, when it comes to celebrities, we obsess.

Why???

Is it because we are unhappy with our own lives and accomplishments?  Is it because we are seeking role models?  Is it because everyone else is doing it, and we want to be part of the crowd?  It certainly seems those reasons are relevant to a lot of celebrity watchers.  A lot of people would rather envy someone else rather than make their own lives more accomplished.  If you hold someone on a pedestal, it is much easier to make excuses for your own life.  "He/she had all the advantages."   "He/she was born gifted."  "I never got a break."

I never could get too hung up on celebrity watching.  I was too busy trying to overcome my own shortcomings.  I surprised myself because I found I could succeed well beyond what I thought I could.  That's not to say I don't admire a good athletic performance or a great acting job. I do.  I know that those cases, they are doing things that I cannot.  I just cannot bring myself to get obsessed with their personal life or follow their every every utterance.  They're human, people!  A great slugger in baseball does not suddenly become a great philosopher.  An actor who wins an Academy Award does not automatically have all the answers to life or know the best tooth paste.

So recognize these people for who they are and what they have accomplished through a combination of talent and training.  But recognize that they are human with all the foibles that that entails.