Celebrity is the product of technology - why do we revere these people?

Question

Until the media and technology was able to give us instantaneous communication - it was not possible for the notion of celebrity or celebrity culture that is so embraced today to exist..

In a market economy it is clearly financially driven yet we Joe Public seem to have an almost insatiable appetite for glossy mags/hollywood news etc etc

Personally I scratch my head at this phenomenon but do note that something must clearly be distinctive about our society when the likes of Posh/Becks or Brad and Angelina are more familiar to all of us than the families next door..

These people are ultimately often just people - not necessarily bright, or funny or kind or altruistic either.. they are often good at entertaining but would probably not have the knowledge to perform key hole surgery to save someone's life or the selflessness needed to dedicated themselves to say devoting their life to saving poor children..

So why the adoration? Shallow and misplaced in my view..

Answer 1

i kind of agree.

i don't mind 'celebrities' who are celebrated for their achievements, whether we like them or not. such as actors, artists, musicians etc.

it's the 'celebrities' who are famous for being famous that annoy me. especially those that are famous for being infamous, such as rebecca loos.

who wants to be a celebrity for shagging someone else's husband?? that mentality i'll NEVER understand!!

there are many, many charitable people in this world who could not perform keyhole surgery, so i feel that's an unfair point. it doesn't make what they do any less important.

Answer 2

Look at the oldest celebrity, Jesus.
He got so popular, they wrote a really thick book about him.
Unfortunately, the celebrity status got such a big following, they eventually turned the "soap" into a religion.
When I think of "celebrities" (actors, footballers, sportspeople) getting paid millions, It reminds me of the story about the King's Clothes.
The public's values are now determined by what we watch on TV or read in the magazines rather than being able to see the true farce of celebrity status.
Basically, most of the public are just sheep - Baa Baa !

Answer 3

As someone above stated, there have been celebs for centuries, going back to ancient civiliations, Alexander the Great, Julieus Cesar, Ramases II. But i agree with the level of media coverage we have today celebs are 10 a penny. The reason 'we' revere these people now is because they have the lives we want, most peoples lives invole waking up, going to work, coming home have dinner and sleep, pretty mundane really, but celebs have interesting lives, do col things have money to splash out and pretty much get up to all kinds of high jinks

Answer 4

Firstly not everyone can be a doctor or teacher and I think celebrities have their place in society by inspiring others;whether they want to be an actress or actor or pop star or sports star they aspire to be like their idol.
A lot of these people do have drive,determination,ambition and in many cases talent;certainly the celebrities with longevity have talent.
The one type of celebrity that I do not agree with as having any purpose whatsoever are those from shows like Big Brother who are famous for nothing other than appearing on a reality television show or someone like a page 3 girl who is famous for a short time for showing her breats in public;however these celebrities without talent usually last a very short period of time in the media spotlight.
The Beckhams and Brad and Angelina have their uses as ambassadors for various charities,so their celebrity status can do some good in society in general.
The thing which gives these so called celebrities their status is our desire to emulate them,I think most boys would like to play football like David Beckham or be an actor like Brad Pitt or girls to be like Victoria or Angelina (A.because of their respective husbands and B.because of their money and the lifestyle which accompanies it).
I think we all need hero's and celebrities are just the modern day hero.Perhaps until most people require the services of a doctor or brain surgeon they will never respect their status.
The modern media creates ownership of celebrities,they are in our living rooms on television,in every weekly gossip magazines and on demand via the internet,so therefore people feel close to them and hope to be like them where as they know they could never be a brain surgeon or as you said perform keyhole surgery !

Answer 5

Funny you should ask: Today, on Paul Harvey News & Comments it was revealed that a study had been done and the most trusted among Americans was doctors followed by teachers. The bottom of the list? The least trusted were actors and just above them were lawyers.

Need I say more?

Answer 6

Celebrities have been around for centuries, as long as there have been newspapers. Its not a modern phenomenon.
And we don't all subscribe to the cult. I don't buy magazines or papers, watch little t.v. and never watch soaps. I don't like gossip and think its an indication of a sick culture.

Answer 7

well i agree with you because i think people who actually contribute to the society such as charity workers, doctors, firefighters e.c.t should be the real celebrities but unfortunatly america in the 1920s decided that celebrities are who should be the apple of everybody's eye!

Answer 8

because we are daft

Answer 9

because we're lonely.