Why Celebrities?

Today we talked about how the media does or does not (depending on the view) influence our society and the way in which we relate to it. It made me wonder why we place such emphasis, such intense and almost obsessive emphasis on celebrities.

It seems as though such a large percentage of the population bases what they wear, how they do their make-up or hair, the clubs and bars they go to, and how they act in society on what particular celebrities do. If a certain celebrity, say Paris Hilton, goes to a particular West Hollywood club, within a matter of weeks, it is the new "hot spot". If Jennifer Aniston cuts her hair in a certain fashion, it becomes the most requested haircut in salons. Finally (and possibly most disturbing) are the men and women who turn to plastic surgery to get lips like Angelina or a nose like Nicole Kidman.

Society idolizes every aspect of the celebrity. However, if a celebrity, for example an actor, is just someone who excells at their craft or occupation, why then don't we idolize the top doctors, top academics or top business leaders? Clearly the reason is that they are not glamourous enough for us. Even though their professions are significantly more legitimate than pretending to be someone else on screen, we don't see them as being as "important" or "influential" in our society.

Effectively, we have replaced what is actually important, meaningful, and what should be influential in our lives with something false. Now, I may sound overly sinical and I will admit that I do look to what celebrities and actors are wearing or going. However, it has been useful to me to step back from the situation and realize what we are actually looking up to.

I was recently reading and article that detailed how certain celebrities got ready for their appearence at the Academy Awards. In the detailed timeline was an explanation of when the make-up artist, stylist, hair sylist, and jeweler arrived. Working together, these men and women created the image that later walked down the red carpet. If this is what we're supposed ot look up to for trends and our social identity, are we not just looking up to glorified mannequins?

It would seem as though our emphasis on celebrity fashion, nightlife, and culture is a misguided attempt to make what we think is important or influential in our lives actually legitimate. With the help of gossip rags and celebrity dedicated television, our society has become one focused entirely on the wrong things.