Wait in line to pay for groceries at any large store in the USA, and often you’ll find yourself staring into the glossy, airbrushed faces of actors, models or British royalty. Their dazzling smiles, pictured in lens of the camera, speak of glamorous evenings, expensive clothes, and the unspeakable joy that comes with having their names up in lights. In the media every public and private moment of their lives is captured, with 8-page photo spreads on their million-dollar weddings, and equally extensive coverage of their almost-inevitable divorces. People who buy into the celebrity culture, an area of social life that is almost unavoidable, will often project their fantasies about their own lives on to these famous figures, and dream of one day being in their shoes.
The entertainment industry does everything to further this interest, and in turn makes the stars famous in the first place. The major awards shows such as the Oscars are among that most-watched television programs of the year, and there are multiple shows that cover exactly what the stars are wearing to each event. There is a huge premiere for every movie that is released, or press conference for every announcement made, and a resulting popular image gallery of the stars or public figures online within minutes. Now, with the advent of social media, celebrities (or their managers) are able to post about their lives with just the click of a button, with millions viewing the selfies or promotions they send out into the world with avid attention. As a result, celebrities are placed on pedestals, and often are seen as what people hope to live up to, particularly children and teens.
However, if the silken veil is lifted, so to speak, from their seemingly perfect lives, and the stunning pictures and charming interviews on major talk shows are forgotten, life in the limelight may not seem so appealing. Indeed, the media that makes celebrities so famous also makes their lives almost unlivable. It fuels a public fascination with each and every gorgeous celebrity that is impossible to fulfill, with the result that the everyday person often doesn’t think twice about spending an hour scrolling through photos of celebrities on private vacations, or on a mundane trip to the grocery store. People have become immune to the gross invasions of privacy that take place on a daily basis in the name of continuing the soap opera story of Hollywood, and celebrities are no longer seen as regular, though incredibly wealthy, human beings. Due to this mindset, it is very rare for paparazzi to be persecuted in courts of law, and indeed the public is more likely to turn against the famous person in question if they react negatively to the photographer hounding them, labeling this celebrity as having a nasty temper.
But the issues with invasions of privacy don’t stop at what amounts to stalking around the neighborhoods in which celebrities lives. No, there are much worse incidents. Take for example the recent case of the hacking of nude iCloud photos taken by over a hundred celebrities, photos that were subsequently released online. Jennifer Lawrence, arguably the most prominent of the figures hacked, expressed in an interview she recently gave to Vanity Fair her intense embarrassment and anger due to the photos, saying that she felt she had been completely “violated” and that she had been treated like “a piece of meat.” Had she not been in the public spotlight, her pictures would have been worth nothing, and she would never have been hacked.
Other pitfalls that result of from celebrity are simply the inability to ever go out in public without being recognized again. No meal, even at a low-key drive through, will ever be free of interruptions from adoring fans who “just want a quick picture” and who “love you so much.” Paparazzi will stalk your house, and no matter how secret you try to keep major events, there will be a helicopter, boat, bus, or plane following you to get low-key, but profitable, photos. Every ounce of weight gain is analyzed, and if you are a woman, the cover of every magazine will instantly claim you’re pregnant. If it is simply a little extra fat, the public will shame you, and if you look older due to a lack of Botox and a personal trainer, you’ll be out of the industry and labeled as washed up. So it goes in this fickle culture, one in which stories about thousands starving in the third world are seen as less important as a story on the marriage of a major star who could have spent the cost of his or her wedding on relieving the hunger instead.
Ultimately, celebrities live in a gilded cage. Maybe they have every luxury they could ever want, and millions profess to adore them, with the potential of their names going in the history books, but they are ultimately trapped but the overwhelming burden of the entire world’s perception of them. They live their lives under a microscope. Thus, it seems that a life lived according to your own standards and wishes, not those of a cruel public, would be much more rewarding. In this way, and ordinary life, one that makes a true, rewarding difference in the lives of at least one person in a lasting way, not the famous one, is the life that should be glorified. Fame is simply overrated and out of style.