A celebrity-obsessed culture that belittles us all
Perhaps it's my upbringing, that I learned early on to draw strength from within and inspiration from immediate people around me, rather than celebrities. Are people's lives so empty that they would become devastated that a hyped-up media star passed away?!
Sure, we all admire talented individuals, but to see people crying, the endless tweets and facebook status updates that go on and on about the recent passing of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, I have to wonder, do people live their own lives anymore?! Yes, it's tragic that someone died, but when we place celebrities above us all, we have, in effect, allow them to have undue influence on our lives. If we start to examine our own lives, what we can do to improve ours and those around us, then we would have a better, more cohesive and harmonious world. Instead, at least in America, we are constantly goaded by the media, to celebrate, to aspire to, and to dream to become among these celebrities.
When I started this blog over two years ago, I was sucked into this whirlwind of becoming somebody, when in reality, I was and still am somebody to people who care about me and vice versa. Why are we so obsessed with seeking approval from others?! A celebrity-obsessed culture is the hallmark sign that we have taken the wrong turn, we don't value each other and those around us, but we constantly chase this image that marketeers conjured up and profiteers use to hustle us. Think of memorabilia, think of what media companies will make off his death by selling us more craps that we don't need by playing on our emotions.
We all should take a step back, re-examine our lives, re-prioritize our goals, and re-evaluate our progress, instead of getting whipped into this media frenzy. Think about what is important, be with people who accept us already, instead of getting herded into the mosh pit to grief for celebrities who really should not be that influential in our lives. I know there is a downside to not wishing to become celebrities, there will be fewer starlets, fewer porn stars, and more responsible adults. May be, just may be, we will have a more productive society that doesn't squander our time and energy but to focus them on those immediately around us and who we really are, rather than what we are told to be.
1 comment:
I don't believe that the mourning of a celebrity is something that belittles our society. I believe it reflects the passion that our society can have. While it is true that the media has a gripping influence over society today, it is the reason we evolve, and a huge factor in change. Western society isn't primitive enough to digress back into the world we used to live in before entertainment became part of our daily lives. People need to escape from their own reality once in awhile, and the world of entertainment allows us to do so. Celebrities aren't the foundations of our society, neither are they gods who rule our lives. To hold such a belief would be narrow-minded. We all have someone in our lives whom we admire. Celebrities are just people who are globally recognized and admired by people who find something worth idealizing in them. You also forget that celebrities are people too. They work hard to earn the respect and admiration of others. The 'celebs' who don't work hard to are generally viewed as a joke and subjected to much criticism. Take Paris Hilton for example. Her fans are usually materialistic people who glorify pink poodles.
To blame world-wide grief and mourning over the 'hyping up' of media is to blame the emotion people have on the media too. Death should never be seen as overrated, or hyped, which is what you make it out to be when it comes to the death of celebrities. People understand that the loss of life is something to grieve over, whether you know the person or not, whether it is the loss of someone close to you or someone you barely know. A person from the highschool I had attended died from his injuries due to a car accident. Someone I never knew. And his death still deeply impacted me. To know that someone as young as I, with a family and friends that deeply loved him died, was enough to quickly and easily reduce me to tears more than a fair few times. The fact that the deaths of celebrities are so widespread and mourned all over the world, is not indicative of the stronghold the media has over our lives. It proves we're still human. Their loss is only noticed more because they were a recognizable figure to millions of people everywhere.
It's like saying that the loss the world feels when we hear about the young victims of school shootings through the media is only because of the hype the media brings.
While the concept of spending our time focused only on those immediately around us is more than desirable, it's unrealistic. There's a whole world of people out there around us. Millions of strangers walking past each other everyday, lifetimes of stories swirling about, lost to us the second we walk past the person whose stories these belong to. If we only focused on those immediately around us, and never stopped to reach out to the busy world around us, how can it truly be a harmonious society? Celebrities are just people who have gotten the chance to reach out to the world around them and share their story. Regardless of status, age, gender, race, religion, and beliefs- if we took the time to smile at everyone we walked by, to reach out to a stranger and establish a bond with them, to connect, even in the tiniest way with those blurs who are part of our daily routine, then the world would truly be one harmonious society.
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