Up in the Stars
As Kyle and I were watching an E! show on the cutest child stars, one day a while back, he wondered aloud why people put celebrities up on such high pedestals. This provoked me to think, wondering:
Why do we idolize celebrities? Why do we make them seem so much higher up than we are, more important, when in reality, they are no better?
I know why I personally idolize someone, such as Stephen Christian; he’s an intellectual with extremely interesting things to say that make me sit back and contemplate. And he also makes music that I love. I would freak at the thought of meeting him, but once the moment came, I would be perfectly calm, just as I was when I met some members of my favorite bands this past year. I suppose the real reason I would freak is because I wouldn’t want to walk away disappointed in him or myself, because maybe he wouldn’t be what I expect. But this is, of course, different than what I see in other people.
I don’t mean to be critical, but I personally can’t understand why one would nearly faint at meeting a famous actor or musician or what-have-you. They are, essentially, the same as you and me. They may not be from the same culture or background, but they are no more or less than you and me. I can understand why one would be ecstatic to meet them, but to put them “up on a pedestal” is beyond me. They may be astonishingly successful, beyond what you or I have even dreamed of accomplishing as of yet, but to idolize someone? It’s kind of crazy. I know I said I “idolize” Stephen; it isn’t the right word, of course. I adore him, admire him, I value his thoughts and his words, I would love to sit and talk with him over coffee for hours about everything in the entire world; but I don’t view him as some sort of god, someone who is better than I or whom I could never match in music or philosophy. He’s a regular guy who happens to be successful in music and who also has a good brain and can put his thoughts into words on a blog or in a book and make me think about what he’s thinking about. Maybe I just don’t understand these other people because I’m logical. Or maybe I’m just wiser than others. Or maybe I’m just audacious.
I just don’t put stock in all these celebrities. They may be entertaining, but I find my own friends to be entertaining as well, so why aren’t they making millions of dollars like these celebs, in their Ferraris and Astin Martins and 10 different homes around the world? And that just brings the story around to excessive spending. Good lord! But that’s for another day.
Maybe people are strangely enamored because they want to be like this or that celebrity. Maybe people just have nothing better to do than sit around and idolize and drool over a celebrity, building them up to something they are not. Maybe it’s like “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I’ve never really liked this phrase, but I think I kind of get it. When someone’s away for a long time and you haven’t seen them, it’s easy to forget their flaws and to sort of trick yourself into believing that they are something they really aren’t, that they’re better than what they really are. I think this is easy. And then, it’s easy to be disappointed when you realize you just lied to yourself about all of this person’s characteristics and flaws, or absence thereof. Maybe it’s like that.
Maybe I’m the hypocrite. I mean, I totally flip when one of my favorite bands is coming to town. What’s that about? I’m obviously excited to see them live. Maybe I’m doing the same thing, putting them up on a pedestal, making them more important than I should. But I personally just like to think it’s admiration and I’m not crazy like some of these other people. But then, we’re probably all the same.