Celebrity Worship
Posted in Social Commentary on July 30th, 2007 by Erin DietrichAre celebrities worshiped by our culture because they are the story tellers of modern times? Parables, stories and even myths are a meaningful technique to communicate lessons and knowledge in a deep and lasting way. Similar to ancient cultures, our culture loves a good story and we give our story tellers a special place in our hearts. Unfortunately, this reverence may be severely misplaced.
Stories have and continue to play an important role in societies. A story engages our emotions, allowing us to better internalize the message of that story. They have the power to convey wisdom at a deeper level than simply disseminating the message concisely.
If a film, book or song is meaningful, it has a timeless quality, just like the stories of our ancestors. In tribal cultures the same story is passed from generation to generation. We still practice this tradition. How else would you explain the countless remakes of Romeo and Juliet? Or better yet, the movies that have the same theme and just slightly different storylines. For example, the novella The Heart of Darkness, the movie Apocalypse Now and the corresponding soundtrack all stem from the same root story (or for some real fun, click here to see a list of just how influential The Heart of Darkness has been).
In tribal cultures we used to gather in a common space to hear stories. These communal spaces have moved to the movie theater, our televisions or our radios. We no longer sit around a large fire to discuss these stories, instead we gather around a water cooler to trade song lyrics or story lines from last night’s reality show.
Finally, similar to tribal cultures we hold our storytellers in a very high regard. In ancient cultures the storytellers were some of the wisest tribe members. They not only understood the wisdom behind the story, they could tell it in a meaningful and engaging manner. In modern day, this is not true. The actors and singers are often just mouthpieces for writers, they do not necessarily understand the story at a deep level. However, we as a society often fail to recognize this. Celebrities are used as models for living in the false belief that they have achieved a higher level of thinking.
It is when we watch celebrities self destruct that we begin to glimpse the truth. They have not attained the wisdom we thought they had, they were characters in stories, not the story. Is it possible that someday we will not worship them, and rather turn to our culture’s true storytellers for knowledge? Honestly, I do not believe so, but it does not hurt to hope.
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July 30th, 2007 at 8:38 am
When an individual spends more time idolizing other people and what that individual doesn’t have, than that individual spends on loving and accepting the self, then celebrity worship may be destructive. What if the tables were turned? What if celebrity worship you perceive aaround you could trigger a deeper, self-appreciation than ever before? That would be desirable.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
I really like that celebrities are the characters analogy… it rings true.
But the characters of stories have always been at least as well known as the teller. I’d be willing to bet more people can tell you something about Romeo and Juliet, the characters, than Shakespeare. King Arthur, Merlin, Dracula, Winnie the Pooh… you know the characters, but do you know the story teller?
The real difference is that these days, some of the characters are real and living. King Arthur would have gotten similar attention centuries ago, had the communication facilities been around to allow it, and had he been the character from the stories, alive and real.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Interesting, I’ve never thought of celebrity worship that way before. The first thing that popped to mind as I started reading was that journalists are also storytellers and they get no acclaim. And secondly, as you said, the writers and directors are the storytellers, not the actors (though some of them can make or break the story).
Maybe that’s why I like books so much. There’s no confusion as to who is telling the story, and a well told story always leads to appreciation of the storyteller. Unfortunately a well told story, even if the story has little substance and less wisdom, can also lead to appreciation of the storyteller.
August 2nd, 2007 at 1:27 pm
“Worshipping” any human creature is wrong from the beggining. Even if the stars would have been all that they seem to be, it still would have been wrong to “worship” them.
I’m not saying that it’s wrong to have role models, far from me, but the best solution in life is to just be yourself. It sounds easy but it’s very difficult to do so…
Today’s celebrities don’t have to really -be- all that they seem to be, they just have to fool as many people as they can into believing so. The ones that fall into that trap and place the celebrities on a pedestral up in the sky are weak.
I never “worshipped” a celebrity. I respect them all for what they are doing, and that’s about all I do in this direction.
Anyhow, I think that this celebrity worship thing is just a piece of a huge puzzle.
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Hey Armand,
I agree that the best path in life is to just be yourself, as hard and uncomfortable as that can be.
Thanks for commenting!