Potential career. Maybe also potential NaNoWriMo plot?
Not sure how I ended up there, but I saw this guess which celebrity this is, based on a horrible pic of him/her as a child thing and sort of skimmed through it. I am not at all ashamed or embarrassed to admit that out of 129 people, I knew like maybe 3 of them. When I noticed that they had the answer about half an inch below the "now" pic, it didn't help much. Even the names I recognized, vaguely, I could count the number of times I actually knew how they earned their fame on my two hands.
I really don't pay attention to that stuff. My knowledge of pop culture is both limited and spotty; the only shows I've paid any attention to in the last year, besides stuff like Rachel Maddow (because one can actually learn something useful, watching her) are American Horror Story, Bones, and Major Crimes (the last item being a kind of guilty pleasure, I admit). Not really listening to music on the radio, because it's mostly ads, it takes away from NPR (which I prefer), and it's also dominated by the same few dozen songs by the same people. I don't feel like getting their songs stuck in my head just because lots of other people do. Besides the reimagined Star Trek and The Hobbit trilogy, can't remember the last movie I saw in a theater. (Maybe Avatar? I'm totally serious.) And yeah, I do watch some sports on TV (football and hockey, sporadically) but it's not like I'm heavily invested in any particular team, much less the individuals on any team. It's kind of amazing if I know any of their names, or what they look like with the helmet off.
It's a gap in my experience. I acknowledge it, and maybe I should care more about it, but I really don't.
Back when I worked for US Airways, I was working an overbooked flight to Washington DC (I continue to call that airport National Airport, or refer to its airport code DCA`; I refuse to call it R**g*n after what that grease headed fuck did to the ATC union) and I remember this man who came up to me, kinda perturbed that I finished what I was doing before I greeted him, and he told me that he wasn't sitting with his friends and I needed to fix that. Took a look at his ticket, saw that he was in First Class, but some of his friends weren't (but none of them were in middle seats), and told him, as I'd told several dozen people already, there were no seats to assign, that we were oversold, that there was nothing I could do for him. He looked dumbfounded, then angry, then almost hurt, as he kept asking the same question a different way and I kept giving him more or less the same answer. Honestly, I was thinking it's just an hour flight, and you're in First Class, boo fucking hoo. Probably not caring enough whether or not my face communicated that because, you know, I was busy, printing out paperwork for the flight crew, keeping an eye on how many volunteers we might need… I didn't have time to hold his hand and comfort him, the guy who's getting free booze the moment he sits down in his big leather seat on the plane, because he wasn't sitting close enough to one of his buddies to touch him.
It was… a famous rap star, and not only did I not recognize him, or know he was famous even after I looked at his boarding pass, but when I mentioned this passenger with a weird name to someone later and they had a spasm, they had to explain to me who the hell he was. And I still don't think I've ever heard any of his music, although maybe I have but it just didn't stand out to me. And while I am hesitant to spit out his name, mostly because the power of Teh Googlez, I do not regret the way I treated him, my lack of deference or worship or whatever it is that he expected, that he clearly didn't get. His fame, his money, his talent do not, in my worldview, earn him any special reverence that I wouldn't give to any other person. He's just another person.
There are very few people who could elicit the fanboy giddy tongue-tied reaction from me that most people have around celebrities. The very short list, off the top of my head: Rachel Maddow (of course), David Sedaris (maybe), John Corvino, Jon Stewart (again, maybe… no, probably). Maybe Mark Morford, although I suspect that his energy is probably so calm and Zen that it would dispel any anxiety I might feel pretty quickly. All people I would love to meet, but I would feel nervous meeting them. I know I'm missing some people, but you see a pattern? They're smart. And, in general, their intelligence is a big part of the reason that people who are not in their social circles know who they are. And I'm not saying that the aforementioned rapper is stupid, but I am saying that he's not famous because of his intellectual prowess, as far as I know.
(Okay, in all honesty I'd probably have a reaction to John Stanton from BuzzFeed, but that would be more about wanting to lick that sexy fucker from head to toe. But that's different.)
Anyway, it occurred to me while I was flipping through that list (no idea, not a clue, who the hell is that, never seen her…) that I would be a perfect shrink for these people. Even though it would probably mean, in many cases, living in Los Angeles, which… don't really want to do that, ever. I am not wowed by their celebrity status; for the most part, I wouldn't even know they were celebrities if I were in the same room with them, although I'd probably figure it out by the way everyone else behaved, and the expectation they have that this is normal. I could be genuinely curious about their lives, because I really don't keep up with who is married to/fucking/backstabbing whom, or who sings vs who acts vs who just has a reality show.
I probably sound a lot harsher than I feel about these people. It's got to feel strange to be constantly ogled, to have paparazzi constantly trying to snap a pic, to have fans constantly following and screaming and probably offering sexual favors. Or, on the flip side, it's got to be rough to constantly have people trying to wreck your confidence, to make up stories about you or to tell stories that might have a grain of truth about them but from a very critical and judgmental perspective. And in any case, it's got to warp one's self image to have lots of people covet what you have, constantly, and to be obsessed with everything about you. I do feel compassion for those aspects of their lives, even as I must also observe that with all the burdens of celebrity, they certainly have the means to erect barriers around themselves and protect themselves from the worst aspects of it. I'll never find out how I would handle celebrity status myself, because I can't imagine ever getting into a career where I would be that recognizable. I am too much of an introvert, and I enjoy my privacy and alone time way too much, to be an actor or a politician, or (oh HELL no) be in a "reality" show. I do like attention, in small and manageable quantities, but I would much prefer being in the background.
I'm already a secret-keeper for countless people (I do HIV testing in a bathhouse; think about it) so I'm confident I could handle knowing their deepest darkest secrets, even without the NDA I'm sure I'd have to sign as part of the job. But even more important? I know I could just see them as people, and not "celebrities." I'm sure there are very few people in their lives who will just talk to them like people, and not gods, sex machines, or butts that need to be kissed.
I doubt it will ever happen; when I finish my education and finally get to put LCSW at the end of my name, I imagine there are about a thousand more important things I'll find to do than to help extremely rich and privileged people cope with the relatively tiny downside to having lots of money and attention. But I would be good at it.
MSNBC Rachel Maddow (video) - 02-04-2014-203648 by from MSNBC Rachel Maddow (video) (Rating: 0)
I really don't pay attention to that stuff. My knowledge of pop culture is both limited and spotty; the only shows I've paid any attention to in the last year, besides stuff like Rachel Maddow (because one can actually learn something useful, watching her) are American Horror Story, Bones, and Major Crimes (the last item being a kind of guilty pleasure, I admit). Not really listening to music on the radio, because it's mostly ads, it takes away from NPR (which I prefer), and it's also dominated by the same few dozen songs by the same people. I don't feel like getting their songs stuck in my head just because lots of other people do. Besides the reimagined Star Trek and The Hobbit trilogy, can't remember the last movie I saw in a theater. (Maybe Avatar? I'm totally serious.) And yeah, I do watch some sports on TV (football and hockey, sporadically) but it's not like I'm heavily invested in any particular team, much less the individuals on any team. It's kind of amazing if I know any of their names, or what they look like with the helmet off.
It's a gap in my experience. I acknowledge it, and maybe I should care more about it, but I really don't.
Back when I worked for US Airways, I was working an overbooked flight to Washington DC (I continue to call that airport National Airport, or refer to its airport code DCA`; I refuse to call it R**g*n after what that grease headed fuck did to the ATC union) and I remember this man who came up to me, kinda perturbed that I finished what I was doing before I greeted him, and he told me that he wasn't sitting with his friends and I needed to fix that. Took a look at his ticket, saw that he was in First Class, but some of his friends weren't (but none of them were in middle seats), and told him, as I'd told several dozen people already, there were no seats to assign, that we were oversold, that there was nothing I could do for him. He looked dumbfounded, then angry, then almost hurt, as he kept asking the same question a different way and I kept giving him more or less the same answer. Honestly, I was thinking it's just an hour flight, and you're in First Class, boo fucking hoo. Probably not caring enough whether or not my face communicated that because, you know, I was busy, printing out paperwork for the flight crew, keeping an eye on how many volunteers we might need… I didn't have time to hold his hand and comfort him, the guy who's getting free booze the moment he sits down in his big leather seat on the plane, because he wasn't sitting close enough to one of his buddies to touch him.
It was… a famous rap star, and not only did I not recognize him, or know he was famous even after I looked at his boarding pass, but when I mentioned this passenger with a weird name to someone later and they had a spasm, they had to explain to me who the hell he was. And I still don't think I've ever heard any of his music, although maybe I have but it just didn't stand out to me. And while I am hesitant to spit out his name, mostly because the power of Teh Googlez, I do not regret the way I treated him, my lack of deference or worship or whatever it is that he expected, that he clearly didn't get. His fame, his money, his talent do not, in my worldview, earn him any special reverence that I wouldn't give to any other person. He's just another person.
There are very few people who could elicit the fanboy giddy tongue-tied reaction from me that most people have around celebrities. The very short list, off the top of my head: Rachel Maddow (of course), David Sedaris (maybe), John Corvino, Jon Stewart (again, maybe… no, probably). Maybe Mark Morford, although I suspect that his energy is probably so calm and Zen that it would dispel any anxiety I might feel pretty quickly. All people I would love to meet, but I would feel nervous meeting them. I know I'm missing some people, but you see a pattern? They're smart. And, in general, their intelligence is a big part of the reason that people who are not in their social circles know who they are. And I'm not saying that the aforementioned rapper is stupid, but I am saying that he's not famous because of his intellectual prowess, as far as I know.
(Okay, in all honesty I'd probably have a reaction to John Stanton from BuzzFeed, but that would be more about wanting to lick that sexy fucker from head to toe. But that's different.)
Anyway, it occurred to me while I was flipping through that list (no idea, not a clue, who the hell is that, never seen her…) that I would be a perfect shrink for these people. Even though it would probably mean, in many cases, living in Los Angeles, which… don't really want to do that, ever. I am not wowed by their celebrity status; for the most part, I wouldn't even know they were celebrities if I were in the same room with them, although I'd probably figure it out by the way everyone else behaved, and the expectation they have that this is normal. I could be genuinely curious about their lives, because I really don't keep up with who is married to/fucking/backstabbing whom, or who sings vs who acts vs who just has a reality show.
I probably sound a lot harsher than I feel about these people. It's got to feel strange to be constantly ogled, to have paparazzi constantly trying to snap a pic, to have fans constantly following and screaming and probably offering sexual favors. Or, on the flip side, it's got to be rough to constantly have people trying to wreck your confidence, to make up stories about you or to tell stories that might have a grain of truth about them but from a very critical and judgmental perspective. And in any case, it's got to warp one's self image to have lots of people covet what you have, constantly, and to be obsessed with everything about you. I do feel compassion for those aspects of their lives, even as I must also observe that with all the burdens of celebrity, they certainly have the means to erect barriers around themselves and protect themselves from the worst aspects of it. I'll never find out how I would handle celebrity status myself, because I can't imagine ever getting into a career where I would be that recognizable. I am too much of an introvert, and I enjoy my privacy and alone time way too much, to be an actor or a politician, or (oh HELL no) be in a "reality" show. I do like attention, in small and manageable quantities, but I would much prefer being in the background.
I'm already a secret-keeper for countless people (I do HIV testing in a bathhouse; think about it) so I'm confident I could handle knowing their deepest darkest secrets, even without the NDA I'm sure I'd have to sign as part of the job. But even more important? I know I could just see them as people, and not "celebrities." I'm sure there are very few people in their lives who will just talk to them like people, and not gods, sex machines, or butts that need to be kissed.
I doubt it will ever happen; when I finish my education and finally get to put LCSW at the end of my name, I imagine there are about a thousand more important things I'll find to do than to help extremely rich and privileged people cope with the relatively tiny downside to having lots of money and attention. But I would be good at it.
MSNBC Rachel Maddow (video) - 02-04-2014-203648 by from MSNBC Rachel Maddow (video) (Rating: 0)