Celebrities In Popular Culture

Introduction

I would walk into my local Shoppers Drug Mart to pick up some items. As soon as I stand in line to cash my items, low and behold I would see rows and rows of glossy magazines and they would have captions like “ Kate Middleton under attack by the royal family.” or “ Why did Jennifer and Ben Affleck break up.” I could hear the magazine whispering in my ears saying, “Raquel, come read me. You know you want to.”

We are part of a generation that is obsessed with celebrity culture. Celebrities are distinctive. Media and consumers alike invented them to be a different race of super beings: flawless, divine and above all the real moral world. In a 1995 New York Times article “In contrast, 9 out of 10 of those polled could think of something

bad to say about popular culture, with a large proportion mentioning too much sex, violence and vulgar language and a smaller percentage pointing to bias and just plain stupidity.” (Kolbert) In addition, the poll suggested, “Six percent blamed "the media" more generally, while 4 percent cited movies. Altogether, 33 percent of those polled named some aspect of popular culture, making it the most often cited cause.” (Kolbert)

The rise of celebrity gossip is due in large part to the massive scope and scale of the media industries, enabling celebrities to viewed more often and in more places than ever before. Is celebrity entertainment a good thing? Is there any cure? Celebrity gossip is one form of entertainment. Whether it regarded as harmful or viewed as pure fun, it is a major part of mainstream media. Individuals know there is more than one reason why we are obsessed with celebrity gossip. Is celebrity gossip a good thing? Is celebrity gossip a bad thing? In addition, will the cycle be broken? The minute-by-minute notifications about the rich and famous are almost unavoidable. Although many may disagree, entertainment viewed as a reflection of culture and as culture evolves, so does entertainment.

Why we are obsessed with celebrity gossip?

Humans have continuously been obsessed with things. As with practically every aspect of modern life, the Internet has a lot to do with celebrity culture. Furthermore, social media ignite the fuel on what is trending topic that sparks conversation and get people excited. People like to be a part of a group or a conversation. By staying current with celebrity gossip, it gives a common ground to talk to friends and strangers. The co-authors of Celebrity Worshippers: Inside the Minds of Stargazers explains, “When we see people looking perfect and glamorous on TV, we may think they have a perfect life. Money, influence, and nice things often equate to joy for people, and we forget that there is a price associated with all of that." (Ashe, Houran, Maltby, McCutcheon)
Unfortunately, we live in a society where people have the shortest attention span and something could be popular one minute and the next day it is old news. The love for celebrity gossip has our own intense desire for it, to crave for fame and to emulate them. For example, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow us to be accepted, admire and feel wanted by strangers that we do not know and to be popular and gain follower on the web. It creates a need for celebrity, it gives you a taste of it, it also allows you to imagine what it might be like to be famous, but rarely does it delivers on it promise. Can celebrity gossip help you from your trouble lives and give you that much need distraction? Can it be a good thing?

Can celebrity gossip be a good thing?

Some people would say it helps you bond with your closes friends.

The act of gossiping, sharing your darkest secrets and talking about your daily lives can bond your friends together and form a special friendship that could potentially last forever. Few individuals look up to celebrities for fashion advice, relationship goals and success stories on how to better your lives. According to Linda Carroll msnbc.com contributor, “A little bit of gossip is healthy. It's what keeps the culture going, greasing the social machinery.” People do enjoy hearing, reading and viewing celebrities downfall. People feel good about themselves knowing that their life is in a better place and stronger dose of emotions. Furthermore, when individuals love certain celebrities because they identified themselves with them on celebrities likes or dislikes and hobbies they enjoy on their spare time. Lastly, you have to keep in mind to moderate yourself with the latest’s gossip there is such thing as too

much.

Is celebrity gossip a bad thing?

In a tabloid frenzy, social media bonanza, reality television, TMZ and Entertainment Tonight world. You have to sit and wonder what is this doing to our souls. Are folks stuffing themselves with culture nonsense? According to New York psychologist James Houran, co-developer of the Celebrity Worship Scale (CWS), "People start meshing their identity with that of their favourite celebrity." Houran estimates that a quarter of the general population is at this level.” The takeaway in all of this to focus less on celebrities and more on world events and social issues that is happening in your community or around the world. By focusing less on the excitement and more on the real-world events going on, individuals are likely to avoid the negative emotional responses and the vulnerability that gossip may bring.

Will the cycle be broken?

Reading celebrity gossip has become a pastime for many. Since it is something most people have in common, it has become a social activity for everyone to participate. The restriction of who becomes the center of discussion seem to become more relaxed after the surge in popularity of the internet and social media websites. More recently, it seems as though regular people who happen to be there at the right place at the right time are able to break into sphere for better or worse. Just as long as we do not fall into the trap in the culture, it seems less harmless, at least for the consumer. Everyone has there own reason for wanting to look into the life of his/her favourite A-list celebrity, and it can be quite difficult to stop the machine.

Conclusion

Having a strong interest into their personal life and betrayals, their highs and lows and tragedies, could indicate an interest in the world of magical characters.

Many factors on why we are so obsessed with today’s celebrities are the fact that there is nowhere else in our culture with such rich and readily accessible stories. We are famed obsess culture where technology have made it a lot easier to get the juice at a click of a button. Whatever the motivation is, people all over the world will continue to search out the latest information and gossip about our favourite idols.

Despite us being so obsessed with the celebrity culture, fascinated by their every move and being glued to our mobile devices, it somehow begs the question do we love celebrities because they are all around us? Do we demand information about them? Do we watch them because we like their opulence lifestyle, or forced to aspire to be like them? What do you

think?