For as long as I can remember, Americans have been obsessed with celebrity relationships. At the end of each checkout lane at the grocery store, at least half of the magazine covers scream "So-and-so Caught Cheating!" or "(insert Famous Couple here) Are Over!" Rarely does an evening go by where Entertainment Tonight doesn't have new, juicy details to share on some celebrity pair. Even the radio is about more than music now- during drive time, most show hosts love discussing the latest Hollywood love affairs.
Why is America so obsessed with the love lives of the stars? They are, after all, just people. Yes, they may make millions of dollars, walk down red carpets, and carry around tiny, expensive dogs... but in the end, they are still just people. Why do we care if Brad and Angelina went to the gas station? And why is it necessary to assume their love is doomed just because they were not holding hands as they grocery shopped?
The degree to which we find ourselves hooked on the Hollywood elite says a lot about how we use our free time and what we find entertaining. It's very easy to get sucked in to the Daily 10 when flipping through the channels after dinner. But after a few minutes of hearing who Taylor Swift wrote her latest bitter love song about, it should be time to change the channel.
Ultimately, if this sort of news is what people find entertaining, that's their choice. However, it's important to be aware of how our fascination with celebrity love is perpetuating an ever-growing cycle of nosiness and loss of privacy. I've had discussions with friend about how horrible the paparazzi are, climbing into peoples' trees, forcing famous couples to hold top-secret weddings and carry their babies around with blankets over their heads. My friends shake their heads in disgust at these "lowlifes" who make their living in such a dishonest way. Yet minutes later, as we stroll through Target picking out new nail polishes, I see the same friends pick up the People magazine that pays the paparazzi they loathe so much.
It's hard to ignore the juicy gossip that bombards us from every side. In a world where the media is everywhere, trying to turn a blind eye to who had a kid with who and which actor broke up with which heiress can be nearly impossible. I don't know that we will ever see a day when celebrities are famous on-screen but allowed to live normal lives off-screen ( except for on Hannah Montana). But perhaps we could draw the line somewhere, remember that celebrities are people too, and stop being so interested in whether or not Jesse James and Sandra Bullock will ever get back together.
After all, romance is romance and people are people. So in the end, celebrity couples are only trying to find love... just like you and me.
Interesting piece (even though reading the red-on-pink made my eyes hurt). Have you noticed how much of the celebrity news is bad news? If you believe the tabloids, these folks are all miserable. I wonder if that's part of the appeal. Maybe we want to be assured that the rich and sexy and famous are even more miserable than we are, because that makes our own lives more bearable. Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. America's obsession with celebrities is pretty crazy and often pointless. I once heard about these fancy remote control helicopters because my friend wanted to get one. He said that the paparazzioften use these helicopters and attach cameras to the bottom and then fly them over celebrities houses to get pictures and video of them. It's just crazy!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Laura, that is just ridiculous! They will go to any lengths to get the pictures they want...But anyway, this post is so true. I often pick up the magazines to read the covers while waiting in line at Target, but I am sick and tired of "Brangelina." On one hand, its like they have become a super entity, but then every other day they are broken up. If you really think about it, Brangelina is a busy team. They both work and are raising six kids..I'm sure their life is less-than-glamerous.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Doug, so I just highlight the text! Then its white on blue. Boom.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I often wonder why celebrities even date/marry each other in the first place. After watching countless of them fail, you would think the double stardom life doesn't work too well. Now some make it work: Demi/Ashton, Jay-Z/Beyonce, Brad/Angelina. But I would say a majority fail.
Think about it. One star's schedule is hectic enough with making movies and going to endorsement events and such, now add another person onto that with similar, but different engagements, and you never even see each other anymore! Relationships take time spent with one another. Celebs treat their significant others like they treat their dogs, expensive things to carry around for the press.
As much as I hate to admit it, it is very addicting to read about celebrity relationships, especially when they're calling out to you in the check-out lane at the store. It's so tempting to pick up the magazine, and see why two people broke up. But why do I care? I really have no idea. I would love if we could just leave celebrities alone and let them live their lives. I think if we did that, they'd have a lot less problems, and we'd find more productive things to do than watch E!.
ReplyDeleteI think you were absolutely right in talking about how your friends loath the paparazzi and then how they pay the very magazines who "hire" paparazzi to read up on all the juicy gossip. Kinda a catch-22.
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