Recently, I attended a concert. It was a big one—like a completely filled football-stadium-sized concert. The musicians were talented and well-known, and the line to buy t-shirts seemed to never end.
The way we as a society interact with celebrities is something I think a lot about. I often wonder why so many people care more about the lives of people they will never meet than the neighbor living next to them. Musicians, athletes, and entertainers sometimes receive more of our focus and attention than the people in our home. Why is that?
As I enjoyed the concert, I again wrestled with some of these thoughts. Celebrities, it seems to me, conjure up a number of possible responses inside us:
Indifference. No doubt, there are numerous people famous in certain segments of the world or society that you have never heard about. And neither have I. However, to others, maybe even people very close to me, they would be considered well-known. But we are indifferent toward them—for any number of reasons.
Dislike. Sometimes, for very shallow reasons, we have made a decision to dislike a specific celebrity. We boo athletes that don’t wear our colors, express disdain over a celebrity who holds a different political view than our own, or feel that a certain writer isn’t nearly as good as the one we like better. Dislike of a person you have never met, based entirely on what you perceive to be true about them, seems like a pretty unwise response when you think about it.
Thankfulness. Sometimes, gratitude towards a specific celebrity is a correct response. Musicians who move us, artists who change us, athletes who bring pride to our city, actors or actresses who portray a character that brings us hope, or maybe a writer who has changed our life in one way or another. In these cases, thankfulness is proper—just as it would be toward anyone who has influenced us positively.
Appreciation. Appreciation, similar to gratitude, is often a positive response to those who hold “celebrity” status. That’s how I felt at the concert the other night. These were talented musicians who had spent a lifetime mastering their craft. I could appreciate the talent and work and discipline that was required to become the artists they had become. Similar feelings could be appropriate towards artists in other fields, executives, industry leaders, or entertainers.
Worship. This, in my opinion, is where we as a society begin to go wrong. Among researchers, “celebrity worship” is an academic term that refers to a continuum of unhealthy personal responses to celebrity status—ranging from attraction to uncontrollable behaviors and fantasies. According to some studies, 33% of people fall somewhere on this continuum in their interaction with celebrities–although only a miniscule amount would suffer from obsessional tendencies.
For the sake of this post, I define celebrity worship not on the end of the spectrum that afflicts only a small percentage of people, but the normalized, cultural obsession that seems to define so many:
- Uncontrollable fascination, such as making special effort to read personal details about a famous celebrity’s life.
- Obsession with conversing about or being around others equally infatuated with the same celebrity.
- Daydreaming about being involved in an intimate way—even in a joking manner (“celebrity exemption” for example).
- Uncontrolled screaming or unconventional physical responses to their presence.
- Purchasing artifacts and/or souvenirs connected to the celebrity.
- Purchasing clothing or products based solely on their name, use, or endorsement.
Granted, even these actions above can be graded on a scale, but I wanted to offer a description of how I most often see celebrity worship.
Proper appreciation, even thankfulness, toward somebody in the public eye is a proper, even healthy response.
Worship, on the other hand, carries some significant dangers. Idolizing celebrities often causes us to overlook the very real, tangible mentors right in front of us. Celebrity worship, on the other hand, is often based only on public perceptions (sometimes carefully manipulated) of a person, which in turn results in incorrect assumptions about them. This is why fans can be so let down when a celebrity’s private actions end up not aligning with their public persona.
Celebrity worship can cause us to idolize and desire certain lifestyles that, at least from the outside, appear to bring greater happiness than the one we have causing us to miss some of the blessings right in front of us. It can result, too often, in watching another person’s life rather than making the most of our own.
Additionally, on a significant level, not keeping a celebrity’s role in our everyday life in proper perspective results in giving up more and more control of ourselves to them. Suddenly, the celebrity begins influencing how we spend our time, our money, and our energies. James Houran, author of Celebrity Worshippers: Inside the Minds of Stargazers said it like this:
We’re not just a media saturated society but an entertainment saturated society, and so we turn to these celebrities for all aspects of our life. Now these figures are larger than life. Celebrities just don’t sell us products anymore; it’s not just for entertainment. But now you start seeing entertainment being part of mainstream media, mainstream news shows, your everyday life. You can’t get away from it. We are bombarded by it wherever we look.
There are people in your life that you ought to look up to as role models and mentors. Some you know well, others you will never meet. And it is certainly wise to feel appreciation and gratitude when appropriate.
But when our view of celebrities begins to move past appreciation and into undeserved worship, it would be wise for each of us to catch ourselves and consider the consequences—they are not benign.
T.L. says
Well said. As an ESL teacher who just returned from a short trip abroad; I noticed among my students the culture differences of their appreciation and respect for professions that aren’t as celebrated in the USA. Celebrity worship is cray-cray here and its taught to us early via our media. In addition, many parents push their children toward careers similar to the celebrated. Where as in other parts of the world if you ask a 13 teen yr. old who they want to be when they grow up, they’ll tell you a scientist or engineer. The cultural differences are very thought provoking.
Andrea Allen says
I don’t worship celebrities. I simply enjoy their performances. I admire them for their persistence and for the hardships they had to endure to become successful performers. Ask the Beatles. Ask AC/DC. They definitely paid their dues. I admire their skills and their creative talents. I don’t know them personally and I have no idea whether I would even like them. It is not their personalities that I am appreciating, it is their performances. And thank you, Davian, for your thoughtful comments.
Gloria says
Very honest down to earth answer.
Sandy says
This is a very interesting discussion that helps me understand some friends who do seem to worship celebrities.
Kristi says
Truth. i would take it a step further, and in a twist, say that many “non-celebrities” would like that status. How many people do you know posting relentlessly on Facebook, or another social media site, every last thing they do. It is like they want others to be aware of just how “fun” their life is and just how “special” they are…..in a way they “celebritize” ( think I just made up that word.) themselves for the purpose of being looked up to and idolized.
In Romans it says that in the end times people will be lovers of themselves. Interesting. We have lots of celebrity focus in one way or another.
Amit says
The point about the constant postings on social media reminds me of the scene from American Beauty…where near the end Ricky says to Angela ‘You are boring and ordinary…and you know it’….even when we see her trying to portray herself as a mini celebrity throughout the movie.
You really get to see her as a really ordinary person just trying to make other “ordinary” people look up to her and idolize her.
I have never understood this celebrity fandom…..by all means enjoy their performances(music/acting/painting/arts etc)…but following their personal lives makes it look like you yourself have very little to look forward to your own personal life.
Joy says
I agree with Tina….golden calf it is!
There is so much more to life. It all lies in your beliefs.
Betsy says
I am constantly amazed by the people that are considered celebrities. They have done nothing to add to society yet people are obsessed over their every move. Now it’s even infiltrated the national news. Some nights they skip the updates on who is expecting their first child etc. and they show a story about someone making a difference like a 12 year old girl making small fabric purses and selling them to make money for homeless women. They show that there are good, ordinary people that are making a difference. There are great celebrities, look what Tom Hanks has done for the WW11 vets. I love his movies too but I couldn’t tell you anything about his personal life. I don’t need to know that. His good works speak for themselves.
Austin Thompson says
I really like your point about how we idolize celebrities and want to be like them, but we overlook the people in our lives that could actually mentor us and help us grow. Personally, I often struggle to prioritize opportunities to invest in my neighbors. I am learning to put the needs of others before my own.
David Y says
There is also the flip side of our celebrity worship. There is only one of them, but thousands(or millions) of us.
Once I was in a restaurant with some friends. At another table was a fairly well know actor. As we were leaving, one of our group went over and asked “Aren’t you *******?”. He shook his head as if to say no. But, a woman he was with nodded to say yes.
Enjoy their work. But, let them have a little privacy.
Sophie says
Does anyone else is curious about the band Joshua saw in concert?
misery chick says
Yup, I’m waiting :)
Tina Smith says
After reading your article about Celebrity Worship, what flashed through my mind is the worship of the “Golden Calf.”