The life of fame. Why do we give a damn?

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You hate them, you love them, you want to make love to them... The famous actors, singers, artists even leaders. Some have a large effect on our way of life, others entertain us and provide us with amusement. We see them rise and fall. They're rich because we pay them (buy their CD, attend their concert, watch their movie, pay taxes). Then why do we give a damn about their private lives?

So what if actor XXXX got into a fight with famous businessman XXXX and lost?! So President XXX enjoyed a bit of the greener grass on the other side?! This rapper got sued! This singer broke up with this actor!

Why do we care?

Don't we see enough of our celebs doing their job that we have to care about their personal lifes? Are we so obsessed with these people that we want to know what type of pizza they like? What type of shoes they wear? Where they live? Who they're dating? What they had for breakfast that morning?

These are people. Living their lives. Doing their jobs. Sure, some are very skilled. Others are very intelligent. (many aren't) But then again isn't a doctor? A scientist? These people doing things that actually 'help' society. Why don't we care about their lives instead? Why do we care about the lives of actors at all? Sure, another rich person who got lucky, turned up to the right rehursal (sp?) and the director said in his most feminine voice "Oh my GOD! He's PERFECT!"

Why do we care? What makes them so speical? Why do we pay for the woman's day magazines (or why at least do women pay for those magazines?) and watch the E! channel? Are we so insecure with ourselves we have to find out about these people so we can copy their way of life?

Are we so critial that we judge someone's ability at their job by the way they live their personal life rather than the way they do that job we're judging their ability at?

Take President Clinton, we all know what he did in the privacy of the Whitehouse, but what about what he did in Israel? Compared to Bush's reign Clinton was a 'damn' good president, possibly the best many have ever lived under. Yet he was judged by his personal life. The opposition tried to win votes by bringing this to the attention of the voting public. They didn't do it because this fact actually makes him a worser president, it's because they knew the public would 'care'. If the public didn't care about the personal life of these celebs I'm certain the opposition would never have made such a fuss about it.

What about Arnie? Sure, he grabbed a few bums when he was younger. But honestly, how many males of that age haven't made moves against women like that? Sure they didn't get away with it, but it didn't come back to haunt them 30 years later! Just because Arnold groped X amount of women 30 years ago does NOT make him better or worse at being a governor.

I can't find it. Why do people care so much about the private lives of famous people?

 

Most people think of celebrities lives as not only being more important then their own lives, also that celebrities should be held to higher standards. When famous people are judged, and man are they judged, everyday people think that they should be delt with harshly. When your in the public eye, up on stage so to speak, everybody sees your dirty laundry. They just expect it to be cleaner then theirs.

I personaly believe that they are just normal people, but hey, I'm just one voice in a sea of ineptitude.

 

Normal people put in specific circumstances resulting in the given present situation - that's how I see it. This is not to ignore their talents or neglect their hard work where they apply. No. Or to bring those who rose back to the level of the ground. Neither.

But, they're still human persons, with human feelings, emotions, joys and worries, and biases. As is everyone. It's not right to hold them to surreal standards other than those set by their job. It's not right to snoop on them and deprive them of their privacy (if, however, many make a merchandise of it). It's not, still, right to put our reason aside and give ourselves to idolomania. Idolomania, idolatry... what the difference? During triumphal processions in ancient Rome, when the victorious commander was passing Via Sacra with whole his army, prisoners and loot, slaves stood on both sides speaking to him hominem te memento (remember you're human).

Of course, not all celebrity-concerned people are having idols. Some respect their talents, their achievements, even their position. They're interested in lifestyle, fashion, maybe quotes. Or what such a celebrated person might have to say to them. They would like to know his opinion, perhaps hear some advice. Perhaps some like the illusion that someone really important actually gives a damn

For some celebrities people have warm feelings and they genuinely worry if everything's going right for them. They would also like to hear from them from time to time, just like it is with family and friends. For example, while I frown on copying people or gathering gigabytes of celebrity data just like on any other display of brainlessness, I sometimes like to know what's going on with people I like. Or even admire. Just like hearing some news from them. Hmm... wonder if plural is justifiable here, though.

 

I look at it a bit differently. Being in the public eye is all about self-promotion. They need to be noticed; otherwise they don’t have a job. It’s only a natural extension of this that some people will be interested in every little detail of a celebrity’s life. So what amazes me is how so many of these celebrities get upset that their “private” lives are put under the microscope. It’s like they're saying “here, look at me, but only look at the parts I want you to see”. Personally, I don’t care about their private lives, but the hypocrisy is ridiculous.

 

Splunge has a point. Celebrities do want to be noticed. It's part of their job, and most of them enjoy it.

Personally, I couldn't care less, and I'd say the same is true of most of my friends. I've got my own life to worry about, I'm not about to start caring about someone's 2000 miles away just because they're in a movie.

No I don't.

I think the true obsession with stardom is that many people are so despondent over their own lives that they attempt to live vicariously through their idols in Hollywood. Few people that I know that are truly successful do read any sort of VIP magazines or watch similar shows, other than to find out what movie might be worth seeing. They don't care at all about the personal life. (Note that I speak from example here and refuse to apply this claim to all people.)

In certain jobs, that is a necessity. You don't really want a president who lacks morals, do you?

Honestly, I'd say Bush has done a better job than Clinton (our economic boom had absolutely nothing to do with the administration, nor has the recession). He's a bit vindictive, but Clinton was the one that opened the US up for attacks in the first place. Clinton made the mess, now Bush has to clean it up.

Done that exactly? I can think of quite a few. Either way though, it doesn't matter, and that really should not have entered into the campaign.

 

Well I certainly don't care very much about the private lives of celebrities.

Another example is the Kobe Bryant issue. Famous, talented ball player who is all wound up now with personal issues. If the average citizen commited the same crime, I'm sure he'd get one day of 'glory' in the newspaper and then be forgotten.

So why all the hype? Is the crime really that much more serious just because we've heard of the guy who did it?

If it were up to me, I'd say stop trying to slander his basketball career and let him be known for his entertainment value. Let him deal with his own personal business.

 

It's entertainment.

We watch soap operas (as a people, not indivduals!) romantic comedies, dramas.... we like to escape our own livwes by getting involved with the lives of others, even if we are mere spectators.

It's allso jealousy. After all, it's so good to see that not all can be gotten with money, that even the rich and the fampous have breakuyps and hangovers. That they're not so picture-perfect after all.

it's infatuation. We all (most likely) have had a crush on this actor or that popstar in our time. TO read about them is like watching that girl/boy you know you can never have across the courtyard, even if it is in a larger scale. You know you have the chances of a mutated rat (unless you're nicole Kidman but that's another story...) so you read about the loves of thier lives in the throwes iof envy and hope that mmaybe someday you could be the guy/girl in the pics next to them.

Or something like that...

 

It's being a hero, and I didn't think I gave a damn till I tried it myself. After you try it for yourself you'll truly understand why it's so addictive for the celebrities.

I was a fireman and during a drill at a school, when we came back out all the kids were cheering at us from the windows of another safe-building.
It was amazing, you feel like you can leap the clouds and do anything.

 

We give a damn becuase God gave us an inquisitive nature. It's just the way we were made.

 

Splunge is right. This whole enterprise of spying and following and accusing and everything that it can be done with the famous is a part of their game for floating over the simple people. Naturally there are people who live by reading and always learning and gossiping about the famous, but these people have just been caught in the net of advertising for a number of reasons mostly of phycological nature.
Don't forget that these kind of magazines, shows etc don't care about their work or the quality of their work. They care about everything spicy.
And at least here in my country (i imagine that this applies almost everywhere in the world) the "stars" call themselves the papparazzi to "suprise" them in the restaurant they eat with X or Y or anywhere else. In a few words they try to make a fuss around their name in order to keep floating. Some people buy it others don't. Everyone is making the choices for him/hershelf.

 

A slightly different take on the issue.

Personally, I can see how following the jet-setting lifestyles of celebrities can add a spark of romance to the often-mundane existences that many people lead. It doesn't do it for me, but to each his/her own. What's the harm in a flight of fantasy? How much different is pretending to be famous from pretending to be an elven warrior, at the basest level?

What gets me is not that people get so completely wrapped up in gossip about celebrities, it's what constitutes "celebrity" in the first place. An athlete or actor has something to offer people in the way of entertainment, so I can see why such a person becomes famous. But what's up with Paris Hilton? She offers the world nothing more than her capacity for alcohol and sex, and for this she's all over magazine covers? Unreal.

 

Our society really has taken on a new low with this sort of thing. What about the girls that become celebrities by broadcasting rauncy pictures of themselves over the Internet? It's amazing what people will go through just to be famous.

 

Actually, Paris Hilton was the new "it-girl" (God I hate that term) long before her little porn-o-thon ever became public. The reason she's famous is because she's rich, she's the daughter of rich people who worked hard to make a name for themselves, she looks like a model because money can and does buy looks, and she's been seen partying with a few movie stars. For this, she's treated like royalty. Basically, she's famous for being famous. I think America has too much of an obsession with glamour and wealth.

There's another new example that fits this bill. MTV, continuing their hallowed tradition of quality programming, have a new show called "Rich Girls." Tommy Hilfigger's butt-ugly daughter and some other clueless debutant get their own show. Why? Because they are the envy of MTV's new demographic: 14 year old girls. They have the lifestyle every teenage girl dreams of: They have more money than God, not a dime of which they earned, nor will they ever work a day in their lives. All they do is shop and complain about how much their feet hurt from walking around Soho shopping all day. The tagline for the show? One of the girls saying "Just because we're rich doesn't mean we're not good people!" True. But you're still an idiot.

And then on E! (yet another pillar of quality TV), there's a how called "Celebrities Uncensored" where they show papparazzi video of movie stars doing incredibly interesting things like....wait for it...eating lunch! Driving their cars! Standing there blinking as 50 loser photographers record their every movement! I'm sure glad they decided to show all this "uncensored" content, because we're missing SO much. My point? This is now E!'s top rated show. People are idiots and easily amused.

Shows like this do serve a purpose, however. They remind me I have better things to do and the TV gets clicked off, tut suite.

 

Thank You Death Rabbit, as always you've summed it up quite nicely. But, I had to post something as the post that started this had

in it.

Yeah, O.K. keep sniffin' that glue.