Why are celebrities usually idolized more than scholars and people whose main job is to make a difference?

Question

hmmmmm.......

what is wrong with my generation.....

Answer 1

I know. Isn't it a shame? It reminds of that saying about youth being wasted on the young. I guess the celebs have better public relations than the scholars. Celebs are attention seekers. I think they start out "discovered" and doing something they enjoy (possibly worked very hard to attain) & it just takes off into a vicious cycle of a popularity contest that they must win, attaining perfection in physical appearance and staying in the public's eye. They complain about the paparazzi a lot, yet need them for 'staying power'. They are into major drama, that's for sure. Many of them are groomed for this position at a very young age.

I just don't think that many scholars (very few of them) are into celebrity lifestyle and if they were, I don't think they could actually be scholastic anymore. Many scholars are renowned and highly respected for their achievements and contributions and have been publicly rewared, but very well might be forgotten long before a celebrity, even though they have achieved celebrity in their own right.

Can you imagine the time it takes to get into & stay up with all the frivolities of being a celebrity? My guess is our fascination with them and idolization is based on the fact that they are pampered, drive the best vehicles, own the best houses, can afford the best medical & seemingly have endless cash, and don't forgot they are in our face all the time and won't let us forget them.

Not everybody, but most people want to be pampered every once in a while, want a sound vehicle that is paid for, have a home that is payed for and be able to afford medical when they need it and on top of all this, have physical appeal. All celebs have these things and more, and are in our face with it all the time, so we envy and idolize them. Some of us do it with pride and joy, others of us despise them and some don't care. I myself am kind of indifferent to it. I really could care less. It is just their job & a good number of them were born into their status or were just in the right place at the right time. They are taught to mesmorize and are masters at it & I think some of our fascination for them comes from their unattainability and total availability to us. I can't get into idolizing them, though.

There are actually some very bright and scholarly celebs out there who do make a difference & they might shine more than another deserving person because of their connections and public personna.

I can't get my spellcheck to work for some reason. Sorry for any mispellings.

Answer 2

Nothing is wrong with your generation. It's just the kind of media that's available to you. Not more than a few decades ago pro basketball players largely played for the fun of the game. Now they show up to events with an entourage. Part of this is due to the way all the media present, build up, market these people. Imagine a scholars, movers and shakers getting same billing? Imagine prime time verbal - civil battles between people discussing the merits of war versus those discussing the merits of peace. How could this discussion be marketed to everyone in order to receive a share of the market where advertisers would assist sponsoring the show. "This edition of Princeton educators versus Montana State University educators was brought to you by the new White-Out sticky tape and the makers of Endnote: The fastest document footnote software around!" Imagine the play by play and color comentators. And imagine the egos of the "power conferences" and the mad scramble of young impressionable scholars aiming to become part of the popular debate team only to realize not everyone gets on the team and discovering all their studies were not going to get them on the team...

Answer 3

Maybe because all you need to be a celebrity is to loose on American Idol or in some cases to know someone else who is famous for nothing. The losers on Idol are more famous than the winners. I guess by those standards we could all be celebrities.

Answer 4

the reasone for this is because we as a people LOVE pretty people, and as a socity we have allowed those who do barly anything more then entertain us to become greater then the scientists, i meen who would you sleep with ben aflect of albert einstein. I am not gay but id say ben. What it is is people obsess about celebs because we see them in the news everyday. Scientists may have one huge breakthrough in a lifetime, and they are only seen once by the genral public. Its a shame i know, but its what hte majority of socity feels. This is my belief

Answer 5

Nothin' wrong with your generation. We as social creatures have a need to be entertained. Celebrities satisfy that need. Which explains why the people who enjoyed Anna Nicole Smith can't just let it all go, they need to know everything about her and her child. It's still entertainment.

Answer 6

Maybe young people now are intimidated by people making a difference in this world. They could be intimidated by their knowledge maybe???? Celebrities are people with as many, if not more flaws than the rest of us. People can relate to them.. I would suppose thats one reason.....

And sadly, its far more lucrative to be a movie star than a research scientist.... The glitzy appeal isn't there.

Answer 7

From what we're tought, celebrities are more interesting, and you hear about them a lot more. I'm not saying that they are more interesting, I'm just saying most people find their lives more interesting. Personally, I idolize Richard Feynman more than I do Britney Spears, but hardly anyone even knows his name...

Answer 8

It's not just our generation. John Wayne was made famous playing a soldier fighting wars while the rest of the world was actually fighting one!! It's just human nature to admire those we see and ignore those we don't see.

Answer 9

The news is just all about sensationalism and celebrities grab more attention . I think the news is becoming more commercialized and want to sell as many commercials as they can to make more money and keep the ratings up .

Answer 10

because in our society people that make a difference get one liners on the 3rd or 4th page of the newspaper and celebs are front page all the way, people pay attention to what's on the cover, it really is a shame