Try Caring About the Film, not the Person

By Grace Green

Since the beginning of film-making and music industries, stars have been followed and adored by many; however, with readily available paparazzi and the heavy usage of social media, people can seemingly find out anything they want to know about their favorite celeb. The obsession is only driven further because people believe they know these celebrities on a personal level. Unfortunately, this also means they believe that everything they hear is true.

Everyone has a celebrity crush, but at the press of the button we can learn about everything a celebrity has ever done and see photographs of their private family outing thanks to Perez Hilton whose website provides photos and articles regarding stars. For example, there are twitter accounts giving live updates on the boys of bands like One Direction (even though they’re on hiatus). An hour long episode of E!News runs every night and on Sundays the Kardashians entertain around 3.2 millions viewers from 9-10pm. All of these TV shows and appearances makes us feel “close” to these people as we pick up on all of the little things they do and say. We talk with our (actual) friends about them like we spent last weekend at one of the Kardashian mansions in California. We don’t need to know all of this information and having it constantly fed to us is the worst part of it all. We read and hear about celebrities without having to look for any of it, so we feel like it’s okay. It isn’t hard to find out anything and it becomes a part of our day to hear about what everyone was up to as if it’s like catching up with our friends.   

Sometimes it’s nice to hear what Ashton Kutcher did over the weekend, but in general, it’s not benefitting us or him. We become engrossed in this fame culture and unknowingly support violations of privacy by looking at paparazzi pictures. I don’t think the issue is necessarily caused by the fans, but rather the people who stalk and harass the celebrities. Keep in mind, paparazzi follow them around (with no permission) for a living. The “get a real job” joke towards the paparazzi never gets old; but then again, is it really a joke?

The celebrities also lose their minds because people are constantly acting like they know them. Most recently, Justin Bieber called out people on the issue and took to Instagram to say that he feels “like a zoo animal” and added the comment “I realize people will be disappointed but I don’t owe anybody a picture”. Bieber isn’t the first to do this. We’ve seen fame suffocate stars so that they are forced to take a step back and leave us wondering where they went. Paparazzi have been trouble for years; Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car accident following a Paparazzi chase in 1997.

But is it really the “fame” at fault here? Or are people and their natural instinct to cling and endless curiosity the things that kill celebs? It doesn’t matter exactly whose fault it is and that idea will always be debated. All I want to say is that celebrities are just trying to do their job. They don’t owe anyone information or pictures, and especially when they are just taken without asking. I think it’s time society took a step back and began to pay attention to artists work, films, songs, and shows while leaving out any personal opinions they have based on information that may or may not be true. Think about all the works you would have liked if you didn’t care about who was in it. It’s time to start disconnecting from the lives of icons and start connecting to the work they produce.

 

Sources: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/04/28/e-april-ratings-grow-29-percent-year-to-year-in-adults-18-49/

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