Celebrities

[Shaka_Khan]

Do you know any personally?

I wonder how it feels to be a friend, relative or work for a celebrity? Would the feeling of awe still be there? Would it be interesting to know one?

I don't know anyone personally who is as successful as Michael Jordon, as attractive as Heidi Klum or as notorious as Lindsay Lohan (and yet still attractive). My relative who's the closest to being our black sheep is very tame when compared to the most notorious celebrities. I know some attractive people and a few have good figures, but they'd be considered to be below average if they managed to be part of Hollywood. They'd probably be extras in the far background. My wealthiest relative just owns enough property for her and her husband, their 3 offsprings and their grandchildren to live comfortably. The range of my friends and relatives are very average.

Most of all, how does one get to befriend someone like Heidi Klum if one doesn't know her?

[Lemur]

I personally know some minor celebs, nobody who is huge. Also, when I was dating my fiancee, she Google stalked me, saw that I had some listings for books I'd written and a major film I had a bit role in, some news clippings, articles I'd written,and she asked me, dripping with distaste, "You're not some sort of celebrity, are you?" I had to reassure her that I was not, in any meaningful sense, a celeb.

Also, true story: Interviewing for a writing job with a magazine. Editor takes me to a bistro for lunch. It's crowded and noisy. I'm focused on impressing her and getting the position. A couple sits down next to us; the dude is completely in my space, his elbow up against me as he eats. I do my best to ignore them; I'm here to get a job. Finally the couple gets up and leaves, and the editor says, "You are so cool."

Why, I ask?

"Brad Pitt and Gwynneth Paltrow sit next to you for lunch, and you don't even blink about it. You are seriously cool."

Um, sure, I said, it's not as though I could be phased by Brad and Gwynneth. I'm, um, too cool for that. (Dunno if she ever figured out I was just ignoring my environment or not.)

Most of all, how does one get to befriend someone like Heidi Klum if one doesn't know her?

Move to New York, get a job at a modeling agency. Not as a model, mind you; just sign up to be an office drone of some sort. You'll be around more shockingly good-looking women than you can count, and there will be very few men to compete for attention. Or, if you don't like those odds, sharpen up your portfolio and seek employment in New York as a video director.

Or, alternatively, move to LA and become a cocaine dealer.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

A celebrity is someone who is famous for being famous, as the saying goes. Needless to say, being in awe of them is profoundly un-American.

[Lemur]

Needless to say, being in awe of them is profoundly un-American.

I dunno, I have a working theory that celebrity worship replaces royalty worship in some peoples' brains. There's something primal about wanting to have a Very Important Someone whom you can obsess over. I don't empathize, but I kinda understand it.

So in a way, worshiping the Kardashians replaces worshiping the Queen Mum for a certain kind of person. Which makes it eminently American.

[a completely inoffensive name]

I do not know any celebrities except for a girl who starred on a very popular ABC sitcom for a while.

I don't particularly care for celebrities though. Fame is fleeting the applause dies forever after so many years. It is not something to be envious over.

[Tuuvi]

My barber says he knows Travis Barker and has his number. I don't know any celebrities and I don't care about them either, but it would be interesting to talk to one.

[SwordsMaster]

I dunno, I have a working theory that celebrity worship replaces royalty worship in some peoples' brains. There's something primal about wanting to have a Very Important Someone whom you can obsess over. I don't empathize, but I kinda understand it.

So in a way, worshiping the Kardashians replaces worshiping the Queen Mum for a certain kind of person. Which makes it eminently American.

Tis actually psychologically true with other primates also. In a study, monkeys would forego food to have the opportunity of staring at a picture of the dominant monkey. Something to do with the primal belief that the most important person in a group was the strongest or best provider, and therefore security was guaranteed in their presence.... Also shadenfreude.

[Vuk]

I had a one-night-stand with Russell Crowe. It was sweaty, intense, and over very fast.

[The Stranger]

I dunno, I have a working theory that celebrity worship replaces royalty worship in some peoples' brains. There's something primal about wanting to have a Very Important Someone whom you can obsess over. I don't empathize, but I kinda understand it.

So in a way, worshiping the Kardashians replaces worshiping the Queen Mum for a certain kind of person. Which makes it eminently American.

why would you worship any kind of person... respect i get, but only if earned. celebs usually are just beautiful or succesfull in something and that turns on all kinds of instincts in people. and i think half of it is envy.

[Lemur]

why would you worship any kind of person... respect i get, but only if earned.

I don't think celebrities, Royals, sports stars or any of them should be worshiped. But it's naive to pretend people don't do it. As I said, it's for "a certain kind of person." I think it's a throwback to something primal, the need to have a strongman in the village who will protect us all from those horrible people in the other village over there. (Also, not going to bother looking it up, but there was a study done that showed chimps would forgo food to look at pictures of high-status chimps. Same principle.)