We often forget that celebrities are mere human beings like ourselves and before we know it, fall victim to this unquestioning, almost blind admiration. We idolise these *gods and goddesses* we have appointed from among us.
I say this because we (the adoring public) are the ones responsible for their fame, if they did not have us, there would be no them. Celebrities NEED fans to be famous.
Now, I do not mean to sound condescending or snooty as I have fallen victim to this love for celebrities many a time!
The blind admiration of fame without regard to the fact that celebrities are mere MORTAL beings like us and being famous in itself is not a positive attribute which speaks of the character of a person is what I am talking about.
The fact that anyone..and I mean anyone who stumbles upon 15 minutes of fame for whatever reason, can become rich and famous for the rest for their life (e.g. Jade Goody R.I.P) quite understandably translates to young people as *WHY study and work for the rest of your life to exist in a world of bills and mediocrity at best?*
When you could sign up for big brother or X-factor (the latter being a talent show, I know) not do extraordinarily well or show any talent (e.g. William Hung) and still become rich and famous
"Academic success" and other such phenomena are now deemed as almost unnecessary by most and most of those who still pursue an education secretly harbour dreams of “making it big” through some other means. But that makes me think....is it not allowed to have other dreams? Hmmmmm...confusing stuff.
Nowadays, it is commonplace to meet girls who are studying courses such as medicine at university but wish to become models when they graduate or boys who study law but cannot wait to finish university in order to pursue a career in professional football, although they are fully aware that these dreams are not particularly realistic as the two professions mentioned above have very early recruitment and retirement ages.
I do not feel comfortable with the thought that future generations will grow up in a world where the values I was taught are forgotten. Values such as , "you can’t buy love”,
“looks are not everything”, and “we are more than the sum of our achievements or failures” and lastly “all that glitters is NOT gold”.
these rich famous and beautiful people are worshipped by younger generations, ambitions to become just like them cant be helped, hard work seems to get you nowhere in life so why should you have what they have? i dont wanna settle for a mediocre life, why should I? Everyone else seems to be getting it like you say xfactor, pop idol etc, everyone buys into them so why should you have a piece. The whole thing is out of control but thats the tragedy of it, without trying to bring politics into to but to echoe exactly what you are talking about you need only to look at the corruption in places like Nigeria,and like this country even, its not about moral judgements, hell you dont like exploitation, but if everyone else is doing it and making money, if youre clever enough youl do it too. its dog eat dog out there, survival of the fittest and money makes the world go round.
ReplyDeleteand on another note id just like to say my university education has put me in debt over my eyeballs, for what ? really and truely? it is not going to give me any kind of head start, its an economic depression and my degree is little more than a piece of paper. it means nothing. whereas i could more easily learnt a skill or trade gone over to australia and be making 50 000 pounds a year HALF TIME like some bloke who fits carpets. i mean for gods sake.
Totally agree. I also have a problem with the whole idea that celebrities are somehow 'different' from 'normal' people... like when people take pictures of Mary-Kate Olsen or Nicole Richie buying coffee, shopping, in Tesco, whatever. It's ridiculous, they have to shop somewhere!
ReplyDeleteAnyway... I think it's incredibly sad and detrimental to the growth of society that celebrities are held up as gods in the way that philosophers, academics and medics used to be. Back in the day, people were held in esteem for what they could do, not for... well, nothing... as seems to be the case with today's celebs.
Whew. Rant over! ;)
You took the thoughts right out of my head with this post- thank you! To me, this lewd fascination with celebrity culture is a negative by-product of capitalist society. SO much emphasis is placed on being the best, getting the best clothes, shoes, bags etc and celebrity culture has just become the lazy man's route to success. Everyone wants the easy way out. Release a sex tape with the right person and you're in the money (Hi Kim, Hi Paris!) We thank GOD for a figure head like Obama who, to me, embodies qualities that should be replicated in society: clear morals, hard work and a reliance on intelligence.
ReplyDeleteWell I will like to speak about this blog from a different perspective. What I believe is the true problem, and a continuous cycle, is that in these present times - ignorance has become "god" in most people and not just the young ones. They are so ignorant hence the inability to differentiate between the very thing line of "idolizing" and simply being "inspired".
ReplyDeleteThese trends you have highlighted have existed since the beginning. We, as human beings live on this idea of "idolising" someone or something. It is simply innate, which is why we it's hard to break free. We start off idolizing say, a family member and where such people do not exist, we look elsewhere - maybe the magazines, music videos, movies etc. It is then through such mediums we pick out the so called "celebs".
They then dominate our daily activities and decisions that even go on to have great impacts in our lives. I would think the solution is to simply admire but not to over-do it.
With the whole degree vs. dreams dilemma. I see no reason why you cannot have a law degree and also have interests in say, fashion. My only worry is that these individuals only use their degrees as something to "fall back on". I think why waste your money and time doing a degree you know know wouldn't be needed unless plan A (eg modelling) fails???.
It comes down to (in my opinion) people not knowing what they want. They simply haven't embraced the full pecks(lol) that come with studying and gaining knowledge in a specialist area. There's a reason why it's called "education". Everyone can learn a principle but not everyone, unfortunately would know how to apply it.
Speaking in the wider context, self improvement and realisation is what I believe is the key. Be inspired by others, never make yourself out of another man's ways, you only end up becoming a mere replica of others. Well some will argue that no one is unique, yes we can possess similar qualities with our neighbours but we will never have the same finger prints.
p.s hope I haven't diverted too much from the main topic. Sorry if I have.xx
S.A.(LOL)
I totally agree.....I think it is rather disgraceful that people become famous for doing absolutely nothing. The likes of the Chantelles(from celebrity Big Brother), Jade Goodys(RIP), and Katy Prices( JORDAN!!)of this world became famous for doing absolutely NOTHING!!!! Young girls are even aspiring to be page 3 models as a career which is very disgraceful and shocking.
ReplyDeleteThe economic recession and economic downturn we are presently in does help matters because afterall the people responsible for this recession are the bankers; and being a banker or working in financial services is meant to be a respectable profession.
the present economic down turn is more of a motivation that getting a good education and pursuing a career is NOT the best route to succeed in life.
Our good vlaues should be taught to the younger generation to stop them from being misled.
Personally,
ReplyDeleteI do not think we should be envy of celebrities, even though some are famous for YouTube posts to horrible singing on X-factor. Let them make their riches that way! I believe what is more important is focusing on yourself... the individual. That's them, but what about you? Watching them won't make you rich tomorrow. For some of us education is the key. Although it is years of hard work, it will pay off and that is the moral values we should indoctrinate in our kids.
However, some celebrities are worth idolizing. Figures such as Barrack Obama and Oprah (personal icon!)
The individual level is the ideal place for us to start..but is it possible or is it even fair that we as individuals are bombarded daily with news, gossip, pictures and overwhelming press coverage of celebrity exploits and the celebrity lifestyle in general??
ReplyDeleteEnvy is not an attractive emotion but to be honest, I would feel better thinking some kids out there are feeling ENVIOUS yes, envious of celebrities, rather than just sitting there adoring them and wanting to be their clones....using up all their valuable time to argue fiercly with anyone who even dares to say anything less than flattering about their favourite celeb's videos on youtube. seriously!
At least that feeling of envy might be them feeling "why should this person have this lifestlye and this much money and/or exposure for doing absolutely nothing other than being a nuisance?"
Sorry but people like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Tara Reid come to mind come to mind this hehe...figures such as Barack Obama and Oprah are certainly different from these "celebrities" I'm referring to, I don't even need to go into the details of how they are different lol.
Spend 4 hard years in uni getting a degree, then work my socks off for a few more years before i start making the big bucks (if i'm lucky) or spend a few weeks on x factor or the BB house, become famous for nothing and make lots of money. Its easy to see why some people are choosing the easy way out. The problem with our generation i think is we're afraid of a little hard work. We want everything to be easy, but alas nothing in life is easy.
ReplyDeleteWe need to ask our selves if those are the kind of people we want to be. We need to look at the bigger picture. If you're studying medicine but secretly want to be a model, so you graduate and go on to persue modelling and put your degree aside to collect dust. How does you being a model benefit the world more than you being a doctor. Maybe we need to be a little less selfish. The fashion industry can wait, the children sick and dying in hospital cause of the shortage of qualified medical staff can't.
gosh does anything i'm saying even relate to what you wrote? i have a feeling i'm just ranting lol
Trust me, *Anonymous* ur thoughts are extremely valid...totally related to what I'm talking about. U've made us THINK and that's exactly what is needed right now.
ReplyDeleteCelebrity has always existed since human society's earliest days - warriors and heroes from Phidippides (runner of the first Marathon) through Samson to Mohammed Ali, women from Helen of Troy through Empress Catherine through Joan of Arc to Mata Hari, magicians from Merlin through Paracelsus to Houdini, villains like Rasputin, philosophers, musicians and characters from all walks of life through the ages.
ReplyDeleteThe common thread that runs through their lives and turns them to celebrities is the way they embody some central qualities that everyone embraces and aspires to (bravery, self-sacrifice, brilliance or sheer beauty) or recoils from (like cunning, deception or brazen wantonness).
The worrying thing about today's cult of celebrity is the bizarre notion of people "becoming famous for being celebrities" i.e. without there being any real tangible reason or achievement to warrant their celebrity beyond some media-related stunts (e.g. Paris Hilton's sex romps with her boyfriend which became one of the most viral videos of the Internet Age) and the various "Reality TV"-created celebrities of recent times.
I suppose the acid test of celebrity will always be how long it lasts, the test of time that judges how valid our sense of values as a society turns out to be.
Prince Charles about a decade ago, while commenting on modern architecture, crazes and fads said "I quite understand the need to be modern and embrace the Spirit of the Age, but it appears to me that the modern age has no Spirit".
I second that notion.
I totally agree, nowadays fame has a whole different meaning to everyone and anyone would opt for a quick and easy way to get rich. Even after getting a uni degree, ones future is not guaranteed. I find most reality shows on Tv very ridiculous but everyone wants to be famous even for stupid things. People have forgotten that the end does not necessarily justify the means.
ReplyDelete