Let's stop idolizing celebirties: the unhealthy obsession of the rich & famous
Hello to all my readers and welcome back to Takeaway! Today, we will be talking about a widely discussed topic that I wanted to weigh in on: the idolization of celebirties. What is the pull of these illustrious figures? And when does it get to a point where it is unhealthy? I'm going to be starting a segment called The Unhealthy Obsession of the Rich & Famous. It's going to have three parts where we talk about stan culture, cancel culture and much more. Stay tuned!
What is idolization though? Idolization is according to vocabulary.com, it means: the act of admiring strongly.
Let's take it and apply it to celebirties. What is the idolization of celebirties? Glorifying celebirties and viewing them as above yourself, so much where people begin to become obsessed with a celebirties every move, or obsessed with replicating their aura.
When does this idolization become problematic and unhealthy? Let's get into it.
Celebirties all have a brand. We are meant to see that brand, so the more that we feed into their content, they can get into our pockets whether it's buying tickets to their tour, watching their movie or supporting other endeavors of the celebirty.
However, sometimes fans get so involved in a brand that it becomes an obsession. The appeal of seeing someone living a greater life than us, a life that we all wish to live, is undeniable. But wanting to BE that celebirty and discredit the value of your own existence is simply not positive. We forget that celebirties, no matter who they are, all have superficial aspects of their brand. Us seeing celebirties as these divine figures who have unattainable wealth, talent and living conditions can father a type of resentment or jealousy.
Or. . .We connect to these celebirties or see them as so untouchable on such a deep level that we blindly support them in everything that we do, and we ignore their shortcomings.
Blindly idolizing celebirties and putting them on that pedestal allows celebirties to do whatever they want. Having a fanbase that has unwavering support for you is toxic in many ways. You can never learn from your mistakes, and you are trained to believe that you cannot make any. You are shackled, and are constantly pressured into trying to fit the image that your fans have cultivated which dehumanizes celebirties on a huge level. I just wanna take a second and say that someone' s paycheck or the platform that they have doesn't make them better than anyone in any way. Celebirties are just humans. Humans who have gotten a platform.
The idolization of celebirties leads to obsession, and having an obsession with always getting the celebirties' new content or hearing all about their personal life is sickening. There are already enough media news outlets that report on celebirties' private lives and invade their privacy, and there are plenty of critics of this. . .so why should we engage in that type of content?
Well, according to TIME, " 'There's an intimacy' to sharing experiences and feeling like you're on the same page about others, she points out. Torres' research has found that gossip can stave off loneliness, while other studies have found it can facilitate bonding and closeness and serve as a form of entertainment. . ." We already have a sense of connection with the celebirties' content and we are putting money in their pockets, right? Why shouldn't we know everything about them?
NO. You really shouldn't. It's very much none of your business, and every human deserves their privacy.
It is okay to support a celebirty, I support tons of them. But support these people in a certain capacity without dehumanizing them and reducing your own value. Or a way that doesn't seem like you're a part of a cult, which brings me to my next point.
Celebirties also shouldn't be glorified. Just because these humans have a platform, doesn't mean that they are of a godly/godess status. They are not imperial figures by no means, and shouldn't have people on social media defending and fighting other people on their behalf. Experience says, "The keyword here being things, not people. When you turn people into figures, literally numbers, you essentially start marketing human beings as a product or brand. We have to sell perfection, because if celebrities where perceived as normal regular people then we would have only ourselves and our life experiences to shape what constitutes awe and wonderment." Experience goes on to say that, "I think that our culture has passed the line for idolization of celebrities, and it’s becoming detrimental. It always been pointless and ridiculous but it has now become down right creepy and pathetic. We see their lifestyles, there insane pay checks, their influence and access, their talent, and their beauty, and somewhere along the line they stop being like us, they stop being real, and they start being better."
I absolutely agree with this article. Celebirties do not deserve these cultish like followings. You might think you know them, but you don't! Why are people willing to send death threats to celebirties who are involved in drama with our faves? It's unneccessary how entitled these fans are, and how they are constantly in celebirties' business. The point is: connect with the content, not the person. Don't get so involved in a celebirties' content that your admiration of them becomes unhealthy. And PLEASE, let's stop hating on other celebirties who may be opposed to your favorite celebirty. It's not right how some people are getting involved and sending hate to people who are in a situation that doesn't even concern them. The Selena Gomez stans, be for real.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post and were able to maybe take away something from this. If you are interested (or want to), make sure to share this post or follow me (if you have a blog). Sending everyone well wishes!
Ciao,
Miki ✌🏾
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