Now here's an interesting mental exercise. Can you imagine a world without celebrities? Without fame? A world where we're all ordinary, anonymous people and nobody is idolised or given special attention? It's almost impossible because the celebrity syndrome is so pervasive.
Just suppose actors and artists and musicians and sportspeople were simply appreciated and their talents recognised, without their being mobbed and obsessed over, without their being accosted and stared at wherever they went, without screaming media headlines when they got divorced or had a baby or wore a risqué dress.
Just suppose nobody cared where Lady Gaga lived or who she lived with or how wealthy she was or what she was wearing or what was her big break or whether she has fibromyalgia or if she gets stage fright or what is her favourite food or what she finds embarrassing. Just suppose people loved her music but had zero interest in her personal life.
Difficult, isn't it? We're so used to this huge stratum of society called celebrities, who get endless attention and adulation simply because they're talented, who're constantly in the media, whose every trivial utterance is treated as if it's the holy grail, that it's almost impossible to imagine their sudden absence. It's easier to imagine the death of the planet than the absence of celebs.
A celeb-free world is a bit easier to imagine here in Northern Ireland where public figures aren't idolised to the same extent as they are in England. In general they're treated as ordinary folk and if they start acting as if they're someone special they're quickly told that they're "losing the run of themselves".
But just suppose there were no celebs. The paparazzi would be out of a job. And the media would have to find some genuine news stories.
I am old enough to have lived in such a world and have even hobnobbed with some films stars without making a big issue of it. I simply cannot do that anymore. I have a childhood friend who is a senior politician and when he comes to meet me, it is a cloak and dagger matter as I simply will not have his body guard and motorcade come into our neighbourhood. Quite comic really.
ReplyDeleteRamana: A lot of our politicians have bodyguards. It's sad that they have to be protected against the lunatics.
DeleteTo answer your question no I couldn’t.
ReplyDeleteIf you meet an ordinary person , they can suddenly become a celebrity to you if they impress you enough
Bingo suddenly someone is on a pedestal
John: Sure, someone can become a sort of personal celebrity. But I'm really talking about people who're household names, people the general public would instantly recognise.
DeleteMy German friend told me that celebrities aren't tolerated so well in Germany. They don't like people put on pedestals so much - I guess you can understand the reasoning why.
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Ms Scarlet: Yes, that's very understandable given Germany's recent history. And that's exactly it, putting someone on a pedestal.
DeleteIt is hard to imagine but I don't pay attention to celebrities anyway.
ReplyDeleteMary: I try to ignore stories about celebs but it's hard to block out screaming headlines and huge pictures.
DeleteIsn't it all about the have-nots though Nick? If one is contented in life one doesn't need the lives of the wealthy/famous to drool over. It's quite sad when you drill the whole thing down, right?
ReplyDeleteHere in Newfoundland there is no such thing so celebs walk around unaccosted and I actually made friends with a few.
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www: Interesting that the celebrity syndrome doesn't exist in Newfoundland. I don't think it's just the have-nots that are fascinated by celebs. I'm sure there are plenty of well-off folk who are discreetly captivated by Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift.
DeleteI'm rather fascinated by the Royal family but apart from that I don't really care about celebs
ReplyDeleteKylie: I really don't understand why a bunch of multi-millionaires who live in sprawling mansions and get huge sums from the taxpayers are so venerated.
DeleteI would love to see the paparazzi be out of a job. They are all stalkers and should be jailed for invasion of privacy.
ReplyDeleteLinda: Agreed. They're just a bunch of ruthless parasites.
DeleteWe're so out of it that when we see headlines we say, "Who on earth is that?" When I was growing up it seemed silly to fawn over celebrities and treat them as royalty.
ReplyDeleteBut I could say the same thing about fawning over people with inherited titles who don't contribute anything to society. That said, some members of the British royal family do have my respect because they work hard to serve their country and people.
Jean: "Who on earth is that?" is my frequent refrain these days when somebody I've never heard of is given a three-page media spread. I suppose some of the Royals do some useful work, but so do many other ordinary folk who aren't so exalted.
DeleteThe paparazzi are without scruples or morals but unfortunately they are fullfilling a never ending need for certain members of society to know every move celebrities make. Like Kylie I'm fascinated by the royals but not by celebs.
ReplyDeletePolly: As you say, some people want to know a celebrity's every move, no matter how trivial or mundane. It's a very strange addiction.
DeleteP.S. I heard on the news about terrible storms in parts of Ireland, I hope you haven't been affected by them.
ReplyDeletePolly: Thanks for asking. We're fine. We're well away from Belfast Lough where there are massive waves sweeping on to the roads. And our power lines in this neighbourhood are all under ground so power cuts are most unlikely.
DeleteThank you Nick, I'm glad you're ok.
DeleteThe fascination with celebrities is confounding because I could not give ac darn about who is marrying who, who is having a baby, who is splitting up . . . The media hypes every little detail of some of their lives as IF we lesser folks should even care. You would think that attention would be focused on more important things, but then so many of those things are beaten to death in the media as well.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: The media do report the more important things, but often too briefly and superficially and then the next day they've forgotten it and they're chasing after something more sensational.
DeleteI haven’t been to see a movie in decades and I watch mostly reality type TV shows, so I’m generally out of the loop on celebrities unless they’ve been around more than 25 years. It’s weird to me that people follow celebs on Instagram and the like. I can’t imagine what they are posting that could be that interesting,
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Exactly. Why are people so fascinated by the most trivial details of a celebrity's life? Surely they could find something more interesting to occupy their minds?
DeleteI would like that world very much. I have seen a proliferation of celebrity creation and worship in my lifetime to the detriment of society, I think. Much of it occurs to make money for someone and there seems to be a segment of our population who buy into all that razzmatazz.
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