Celebrities have always been adored and admired by the public, perhaps because they dream of having the same life, or because they admire their work. However, this seems to have been taken to extremes, with some people becoming famous although they have done little or nothing to merit being classed as celebrities. In my view, there is nothing wrong with enjoying someone’s work or admiring their style, but I consider that there are several reasons not to worship celebrities.
It’s often said that if you feel intimidated by someone, for example in a job interview, then imagine them using the bathroom and they seem more like us. Well, celebrities are human as well. They have feelings, get sick, and want to be alone sometimes. The cult of celebrity worship fuels the demand for photos in every situation, so that they can’t even go to the beach or take their kids out without being photographed.
Anyone remember the scene from Wayne’s World where Wayne and Garth meet Alice Cooper, and bow down shouting ‘We’re not worthy!’ Alice plays it beautifully and proffers a hand for them to kiss. It’s one of the funniest scenes. But in reality, why should we worship celebrities? What makes them better than us?
Once upon a time (not that long ago, actually), the term celebrity was only applied to someone who had talent in their field and had achieved something worthy of praise. Now you need to do very little to be dubbed a celebrity, thanks to the seemingly unstoppable rise of reality TV (which isn’t very realistic at all).
There are far too many celebrities of whom when you ask ‘Why are they famous?’, the answer is either ‘for nothing’ or ‘their boob implants’. Magazines are full of pictures of them at minor award ceremonies, parties, clubs etc. That is all they do. They don’t act, sing, design or demonstrate talent in any field. It’s a joke, it really is.
So often we read that girls aspire to be famous, and that is the total of their ambition. They don’t want to study or work, just achieve easy fame, which seems to be down to the examples of many undeserving ‘celebrities’. What is certain is that some of today’s so-called celebrities are not people that are any kind of example – unless you want to know how not to behave. Plus there are many better role models outside the celebrity field.
Admiration is one thing, but worship is another. There are many famous people whose work I enjoy, and because of that it seems sad to me when they die. But I don’t go into hysteria, as we have seen when some celebrities die. Let’s have a sense of perspective. When you have enjoyed someone’s performances, it is a shame to know that they will produce no more work. But worshipping someone is taking it too far.
The widespread celebrity worship that happens nowadays leads to a devaluation of the term. There’s nothing wrong with admiring someone, as long as it is kept within realistic parameters. When you get someone selling stories about a reality TV ‘star’, and when the magazines buy such stories, one has to wonder where it will go next? How low will the definition of celebrity go?
So you can see that I think it’s pointless to worship celebrities, rather than just admire them. But do you disagree – or have you ever been embarrassed to look back and realise how much you worshipped someone famous?
Top Photo Credit: Mary Anne Morgan