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When Britney's lawyer visits the pop singer's home, we know within the hour. When a celebrity power couple splits, we cry as we read the unpleasant details in the checkout line. We become excited over silly celebrity fights about meaningless things. We support causes because Bono tells us to. Why are we so fascinated and engrossed in celebrities' personal lives?
Why are we fixated with gossip magazines and television programs devoted to the rich and famous? Society's propensity to idolize celebrities has spiraled out of control in the last decade. We have become stalkers. The media plays the middleman so we do not have to worry about that sticky thing called privacy laws. We can peek into these people's private lives and feel good while doing it. Why? Because we are told it is OK. Shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Insider sustain our borderline-obsessive desires for useless information.
They cross the line of decency and privacy invasion so we don't have to. This is a multi-million-dollar industry based on another multi-million-dollar industry with skewed intentions.With the recent death of Heath Ledger, news stories about his life, his career, his family and his co-stars have cluttered the entertainment pages for weeks. This would be real news if the media would stick to reporting the facts instead of speculating and sensationalizing his death.
A seemingly healthy actor found dead in his apartment with no obvious cause is a real-life mystery. His story brings up all kinds of important issues such as drug abuse and family values - both subjects worth reading.Britney's defiance of the court systems and wild behavior in front of the ever-present paparazzi, however, is not news. Dipping into her personal crises and exploiting her depression for embarrassing photos and humorous stories is inappropriate. The homepage for CNN.com has been splattered with Britney news for months.
These stories seem trivial when the links appear next to articles about winter weather disasters in the Northwest and presidential campaign updates. Yet, for some reason, the people want to read about her ridiculous antics. Checkout line magazines maintain our celebrity indulgences. What do these magazines feed us? Candid shots of actresses in their bikinis, glimpses of the stars without their makeup, and questionable opinions on who is the best dressed and who missed the mark at the latest red-carpet event.Why do we crave this? Is it because it makes our beloved idols more human, more like us? Do the magazines give us something to read that we don't have to think about?
Or are we really getting some sort of gratification from these destructive images and stories and don't realize it?I'd like to think that we see a bit of ourselves in the rich and famous.
We can live vicariously through them as they crash parties, date the hottest actor of the year (by the way, do we need a magazine to tell us who the "sexiest man of the year" is?), and even go rehab-hopping.When did privacy become devalued? I doubt it is necessary for the general public (i.e., hundreds of thousands of people) to know where the celebrities are at any time of the day. But if you want to make it to Britney's next custody hearing, you know when and where to go.
You can send Justin Timberlake a birthday greeting since you are friends on My Space. Celebrities are the one obsession we don't have to feel guilty (or creepy) about, though we probably should.
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You are so right about our unhealthy obsession with celebrities. I too am guilty of picking up the latest mag at the checkout to see who's doing what to whom and some bit of scandal that is probably made up anyway. I guess for me it is just an escape from my everyday life as a normal joe and we like to think that even though "celebrities" appear to have it all it is just a Kodak moment when we see them looking their best and that they are indeed very much like the rest of us warts and all. The intrusive news regarding Heath Ledger's death went way too far and had little regard for the feelings of his family. Shame on the paparazzi for this. Tidbits about fashion and stars without make-up are one thing but prying into someone's life to this extent upon their death is just plain cruel.
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Well you're perpetuating the problem with an editorial like this. I don't need a column telling me how unhealthy and out of control it is because it's pretty obvious. Look at how many celebrity blogs there are now. They are bigger than the magazines, tabloids, and everything else b/c they can update it the minute it happens from their blackberry. It's only going to get worse. They need laws to keep the paparazzi at bay and prosecute when they break the laws.
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How is she perpetuating the problem? To do that she'd have to be bringing unnecessary attention to it, and thats impossible. Shes just stating (what i believe to be) a fact. We do have a problem. I have a general problem with surfing the net, and that by default includes reading endless news and gossip. Im ashamed of myself actually!
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