celebrity culture: damaging people

[Lt Cdr Data]

The thing that disturbs me is all this celebrity culture...if your not famous or on tely, your a noone, not worth anything, its implied and accepted without question.

Just look at the media 'tone'

'she was discovered' 'became someone' 'star'

everyone is a star now, and the film stars are 'superstars'

they only act in front of a lens...

some of them can't do that!

everyone is a model, so they have to have 'supermodels'

Young people being more impressionable think its everything to have people adore you, and it damages them, mentally and physically, trying to get thin, not beautiful, too fat, teeth too big. ad infinitum.

Whereas its just a gimmick, as people are interested in new talent, then they get used to the novelty, so what, they have to make news, so the create scam, drugs, relations, bands breaking up, etc....so once adored they are now villified and hated.

And we are left all thinking, you have to be a someone and if you are not, you aren't anything worthwhile.

Its insidious, damaging, all pervading, accepted without question and is part of the problem of our society, and needs stamping out.

 

[The Devil]

Antidote here. A good friend checks for celeb deaths daily on ceefax. Celebs are paid a lot of money to provide entertainment for the rest of us. News of their goings-on supports mags like Hello!, for instance. Read in the right frame of mind, these provide a lorra laughs.

 

[tones]

Bread and circuses, isn't that what Nero said?

Speaking of which, that's the way it has always been - the Roman charioteers were big stars, a bit like F1 drivers. Ditto the gladiators. Some won their freedom, but continued to fight professionally, had adoring fans and lived the good life. We haven't changed a lot.

 

[Goomer]

I remember getting stuck at Rotterdam station once, en route to Amsterdam, and was approached by a young man who very politely introduced himself as Kenny, told me that he was a registered heroin addict, and then, again very politely, asked me if I was interested in buying a postcard to help him raise money for something to eat/somewhere to stay.

I bought a postcard with a view of sending it back to my relatives, to let them know how I was getting on on my holiday, but, before writing it, read what it said on the front. It said: "Save The Planet: Kill Yourself". I didn't send the postcard as I didn't want to worry anyone at home but kept it as that message has always rung a little bit true in my left-of-centre leaning head.

My point, if there actually is a point in this aimless waffling, is that, like tones, I think the 'failings' of our society have been around alot longer than the notion of celebrity that you describe, and that IMHO our societies obsession with fame, if there is an obsession, is symptomatic of a much bigger problem: human beings suck.

 

[johnhunt]

i don't think human beings ' suck'. celebrity culture is just a facet of our over complex western lives. you can at least partly blame the media for the celeb thing although they can't actaully force you to buy the stuff, can they? Somehow though we get the media we deserve though so it's not that simple.

The other thing that occurred to me is that celebrity worship isn't that prevalent. My evidence for this - none of my family, friends or colleagues seem to give a stuff . conclusive evidence then that kylie will soon be working on the check out at sainsbury's.