Celebrity Culture: Why We Are so Intrigued

Have you ever gone on a website like yahoo and saw an article about a celebrity? What else do you typically see right below? There are hundreds of comments by ordinary people who have never even come close to the celebrity in the article a single day in their lives. People will bicker with one another about why this person is awesome or why they are the worst thing to hit this planet, and yet not one of those people can genuinely say that they have been around who they are defending or speaking ill of.

In my perspective, and I reiterate MY perspective, the interest society has in celebrity life falls mainly into one of two categories. The first category being what I like to call the “I Wish I Was” category. The “I Wish I Was” people are ones in which we admire or resent. They are the ones who have something that we as regular folk wish were a part of our own lives. Because of this, we either love them or we absolutely hate them. We either spend our time defending these people we admire so much but never met or we spend our time speaking ill of these people who we despise and yet still never met.

I can honestly say that I do not like or dislike any celebrity enough to waste time and energy defending or speaking ill of them. But I do find myself watching a lot of “reality” TV shows that center around families. I was able to do some self analysis and realized what this interest in family reality TV was all about. I realize that because I grew up in a family which had a lot of issues with one another, there was constant internal bickering. Therefore the inner workings of other people’s families’ interest me. I absolutely enjoy the Kardashians and watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey. It amazes me to see a group of siblings who have issues with one another, and to see how they are resolved and worked through; particularly in ones where the family stays in contact as a genuine cohesive unit.

The second category of people are the ones who fall under what I like to call the “Thank God I Am Not Them” category. Sometimes celebrity culture is a reminder of what you do not have to deal with on a daily basis. These people have so much extra baggage and nonsense. It is sometimes refreshing to people to be able to turn on the television to experience someone else’s issues and problems. It is a time when they can step away from their own lives to experience someone else’s hardships and/or bad judgments playing out on the screen. Yes it is very mean to gain entertainment from a negative occurrence in another human being’s life, but we must admit to ourselves that we do enjoy it sometimes.

Celebrity culture is something that has gained so much intensity within the last few years. I am not necessarily sure where it is going to go next but I do see how it has gained so much momentum now.


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