The Cult of Personality
In this day and age the cult of celebrity has become more widespread than ever before, even though the interest in the famous or Gods goes back to ancient times. The cult of personality and the cult celebrity have established into the same meaning over time. This global concern called the cult of celebrity is defined as the fascination and influence of following famous people’s lives treating them as modern gods. Many celebrities are simply famous for being famous, which means that the celebrity has no talents. Even if their fame spurs from a certain talent or achievement they have, the term famous for being famous applies if fame is seen as unequal to their talent or work. People contribute to the cult of celebrity by watching television shows regarding celebrities, picking up a magazine with for example; Kim Kardashian headlining about her recent divorce or even surfing the web for celebrity gossip. What will be highlighted in this paper are when the cult of celebrity began, why it began, examples of the cult of celebrity during modern day today and the effects it has on society.
In 19th century, during the industrial revolution; when people had more free time and when entertainment was no longer frowned upon was when the cult of celebrity really began. You may wonder who were the celebrities or the famous faces that people followed like we follow Taylor Swift or even Honey Boo Boo, in the 19th century people looked at Opera singers as celebrities. Instead of reading about them on the internet, checking out their twitter for the latest gossip or watching them on TV, people read about them in gossip columns, magazines or newspapers. Opera singers were put on a pedestal with a lot of power, just like we ...
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...ch can lead to self-esteem problems or even worse; eating disorders. Also another way it negatively affects society is that we are so engulfed in celebrity news it is the same equivalent of important issues in the world. For example: is that celebrity news surpasses the news of recognizing a fallen soldier.
In conclusion it is unhealthy to have such an interest and fascination with celebrities that the world today currently does. It warps our view on reality as well as the expectations and goals we set for ourselves. With the cult of celebrities and the fascination with them and their lives hopefully many people worldwide can take a step back, open our eyes and reevaluate what really matters. And no, it is not the “6 Wild and Crazy Grammys Style Moments”. There is more to life than following the lives of celebrities and wishing you could have everything they do.
A celebrity is not a person known for his/her talent or achievement, but an individual recognized for his/her reputation created by the media. The phase of stardom is slippery, and media may choose to represent celebrities varying from exaggerated admiration to mockery. The three texts chosen, movie "Sunset Boulevard", feature article "Over the Hilton" and television show "Celebrity Uncensored Six" are texts presenting different perception of celebrities than their usual images - either corrupted by the encircling media, overloads oneself with self-indulgence, or just mocks celebrity in a broad spectrum. Such media items empower and impresses the audience by perceiving celebrities as people who pay the price of privacy to gain well knowness, signifying the vanity of stardom from the commonly accepted images.
Part of that is because some people’s perspectives of celebrities allow them think as if they’re on a pedestal and are more important than the average human. When people vision these celebrities as these quintessential people it enable’s their own thoughts and opinions on the celebrity. It’s like brainwashing, these celebrities only show the media what they want, which allows them to put up a whole façade and mask who they truly are. During the O.J Simpson trial it opened more people’s minds to visualize the concept that celebrities have the ability to be just as deranged as the average person, and that we are all equal, but the only difference that’s separates us is the fact that their job is in the lime
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“Posts.” Fame is a dangerous Drug: A Phenomenological Glimpse of Celebrity.” N.p. ,n.d. Web 15. Feb 2014
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Throughout our history, cults have become a prevalent part of our society. More and more cults are forming every day. Although not all of them are dangerous, some can perform practices that are toxic to their members. Cults use fear and control to gain more and more members. Once members join a cult, they are forced to perform the practices that the cult leaders require. It is through these practices that cult leaders convince their members to stay in the cult. Through mind control and scare tactics, cults have become a very powerful and dangerous part of our society.
After observing and researching all the sources portraying celebrities I have came into a conclusion that todays society it seems like all we want is to be accepted and we tend to look at other people and judge. Its not right, we all are different and thats what makes the world go round. It would be a pretty boring world if we were all the same. Celebrities deal with this everyday, I think the paparazzi know more about some celebrities lives than they actually do. They judge them for who they are and what they do, it is not right nor fair.
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