Red Room Where the Writers Are

August 23, 2009

Why the Obsession with Celebrity Status?

Written by Alberta Parish

I think the obsession with celebrity status is partly due to the fact that our culture has greatly romanticized celebrities. Most people want to be like them, have the things they have, obtain the respect they obtain, and have the fat bank accounts they have. However, many people fail to also realize there’s a dark side to being a celebrity. There’s a terrible price that many celebrities pay on a regular basis. They always have people suing them for this, that, and the other. Because of their status and money, they attract many of the wrong type of people who never had their best interest at heart from the very beginning. There are people that prey on celebrities. They leech off celebrities. Because the paparazzi are often more brutal than not in their reporting of celebrities, this too causes a lot of problems. Sometimes, celebrities want to be left alone and don’t want every little thing they do and say to be highly publicized, but this is almost impossible and has been since the mid-1970s.

As much as I admire some celebrities, I’m not one for completely freaking out or falling head over heels when I see a celebrity out and about because they are humans like me. They feel physical pain like I do, love like I do, and are emotional beings like me. Some days they want to be left alone just like I want to be left alone. When they read some of the tabloid stories about them, I’m sure they must feel embarrassed and even hurt by what media people have said about them. I’d feel bad if I’d also read negative and distastefully untrue stories on me in tabloid or non-tabloid newspapers/magazines.

I think when fans learn to see their favorite celebrities as human beings first instead of an image, they’ll probably inadvertently cause many celebrities to open up to them even more. As it stands now, many celebrities are not willingly able to open up to their fans because they fear that someone is going to take advantage of them or cause unnecessary hardship for them. In the 1980s and even early 1990s, many celebrities (at least, those that were down to earth) were more open to fans, and were very accessible to their fans. Today, things are hugely different between celebrities and fans. Unless you’re at one of their staged events whether it’s online chatting in an effort to promote their new CD, movie, show, or you’re at a store buying their latest album or book, this is as close as you will ever get to most celebrities. Not many (if any at all) will invite fans to dine with them, and you definitely will never set foot on their property unless you’re there for some kinky activities. Not many will personally return your online messages, or personally answer your fan letters, or even speak to you over the telephone, especially if you happen to be a writer like me (NOT a tabloid reporter or a newspaper writer) because they probably feel that you may take what they’ve stated and sell the conversation to a tabloid magazine/newspaper for financial gain. And many people will do this. I won’t. If anything, I’d love for celebrities to read my blogs and to maybe get some much needed advice for themselves. From the way things are looking in Hollywood these days, it seems we need to be giving celebrities including reality TV stars constructive counsel because many are drowning in alcoholism and drug addiction (whether medical or illegal), or they’re killing people and then mutilating them like TV star Ryan Jenkins did to ex-wife Jasmine Fiore. Domestic violence, alcoholism and drug addiction are only symptoms to much bigger problems. Sometimes, the best advice a person can get often comes from complete strangers. Many celebrities, surrounded by people who are their employees or advisers, often reject sound advice from these individuals and do exactly what they want to do. These people don’t even listen to their own family members many times. But, sometimes a complete stranger or a fan may send a message to them, not a message of flattery or praise, but a message of encouragement, a message of hope. Even this simple gesture may actually do them a world of good.

There’s power in words, whether in a song or in the pages of a book. Sometimes, one book, one essay, one poem, or one album can change a person’s life. I mean, literally turn a person’s life around for the better. You never know who you’ll end up helping by just a few simple words. And even though your words may sometimes be critical, even this serves a major purpose for those that need constructive criticism at the right time.

Only within the last few years of my life have I learned to not kiss buttocks. I don’t care who you are, more than likely I’ll treat you the same way I treat everybody else. I am not one who believes that somebody is above me, and neither do I believe that people are below me, even though I say some pretty harsh things about people sometimes. However, the caste system in American culture dictates that some people are far more important or valuable than others, because of status and financial standing. The caste system dictates that a famous person’s life or death is far more important than your life or your death. I will always retain my honor and self-respect, even if I don’t have a dime in my pocket. Society is really incapable of making me feel like I’m less of a human being than somebody who is wealthy. Now, you may read this and think differently, but if you take the time to read some of my past blogs, then you’ll know that I’m dead serious about what I’ve just said. Furthermore, respect for yourself, and an honor code for yourself have to really be instilled in you from a very young age. A lot of teenagers don’t have much self-esteem and honor for themselves, because they weren’t taught how to honor themselves. They weren’t taught that they’re much more than what society dictates that they are.

Society loves to put groups of people in a certain category, and tell you what you are instead of you defining who you are yourself.

Don’t allow society to put you in a box. Just because you’re a black woman, it doesn’t mean that you’re confined only to black culture. It’s alright to do things other than what you’ve been doing, or have been conditioned and programmed to do all of your life. Many times, the things that many people see as being strange, weird, odd are really considered normal to others and are attributed to being just another extension of someone’s personality. Also, if you know where you come from and know your history, you won’t allow society as well as the caste system that is in place to dictate who you are as a human being. You have to possess a sense of pride for yourself. See, without honor and respect for yourself, you’re going to project to the world just how ignorant you are as a human being. Now, a person can be educated, wealthy, etc., and still act ignorant. But when the ignorance then carries over into violence, this is when you really show the world that you completely lack honor and dignity for yourself. This is when you make yourself look like a fool. You embarrass yourself when you go to jail or prison. You’re an embarrassment to yourself when you’d rather sell dope than go to college and get a legitimate job or start your own legitimate business. Selling dope is an entrepreneurial effort. So you can do the same thing selling a book. In fact, you can take the money you got from selling dope and use it toward publishing your book. In the meantime, you can establish your own publishing label, so that way you get proceeds from not only being the author but also the publisher. With a lot of money at your disposal from your dope sales, it’ll be easier for you to produce a book, and then market it. You got the money to travel all across the country to promote the book, and not have to worry about travel expenses. If only I could be so lucky to be in this financial position, my publishing label would be up and running by now.

Author’s Note:

If there’s anybody currently reading this article who can find it in their hearts (whether celebrities or businesspeople) to sponsor me in providing the funds needed to republish all of my books so that I could get my home-based self-publishing business off the ground, it would be greatly appreciated and I would be eternally thankful to you. Consider your giving an investment in a venture that will help mentor many individuals around the world. This is what I do best; mentor people through my writing, even though I’ve been known to also crack down on people. I love you all. You can reach me by e-mail me at parishalberta74@yahoo.com.