Why do we care so much about celebrities?

[Joe the Liberal]

Am I the only one who does NOT care about the lives of celebrities? This is one problem with our media, half of their news stories are nothing but celebrity gossip and the rest is just spin, lies, distractions, distortions and pointless garbage that actually gets presented as news.

I see no reason why I or anyone else should care about Tiger Woods or his marriage, it's just another distraction imo. The lives of celebrities are NOT news worthy period. Their lives affect me in no way what-so-ever, they have zero impact on my life and my family/friends lives and yet they get presented as though they somehow do and that I should care and show concern over it.

There are already separate avenues for all this celebrity "news", there is no reason it should ever make it on the actual news. If you care about celebrity lives then there are tons of magazines you can read, a bunch of TV channels and millions of websites/forums that focus on that kind of thing.

It is profoundly sad that our society places such a high value on these people and showers them with attention while tens of millions of people live in poverty, are without health care, and can barely make ends meet. Everything is so backwards in this country and our priorities are so messed up that it is sickening. Things that don't matter get all attention while the things that DO matter get ignored. Anyone else feel the same?

[FiveGoodMen]

1. I'm right there with ya!

It's bullshit.

It's boring.

It has nothing to do with the important function of news, which is to tell us things we need to know in order to make decisions in our daily lives and in elections.

This type of 'reporting' is clearly done to distract us (and to get ratings). I think they just found out that gossip is an incredibly easy way to derail all real discussion.

[elocs]

2. Probably the need to live vicariously through others whose lives are more exciting

than the great mass of us who live lives of quiet desperation just figuring out how we are going to get from day to day, week to week, month to month.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. + 1

America became intoxicated with the cult of celebrity at the turn of the 20th Century with Alice Roosevelt. She was the wild child of the President, smoked in public, carried a snake in her purse, and made notable verbal barbs. She had a color named after her, songs written about her, she invited publicity as if vying for the public's adoration with her father.

It's gone downhill ever since.

[The Straight Story]

3. Here is what I think is a decent reason

When Paul Lynde died (Was on Bewitched and other shows) and Lucille Ball died I was sad. I had met Paul one time (I also met the Skipper from Gilligan's Island once) but these people meant something to me.

They came into my home via TV - I knew them, my friends knew them, and in some way or other they were a part of our 'family'.

We had something in common because of these famous people. They were, in their own way, a part of our family.

Not role models per se (although their roles in TV might have been) but we spent a lot of time with them, talking about them, laughing about them, and reading stories about them.

Yes, we had a whole life outside of them, but we were familiar with them.

So people care because there is, even if small to others, a connection.

Some of us grew up with these folks (Like Archie Bunker, Mel Brooks, Sports folks like Archie Griffin and Woody Hayes, etc) and they were a part of our life and dreams.

Seeing them pass on, 'fall', etc, has an emotional impact at times.

[onehandle]

7. I had dinner with Jonathan Harris once.

Don't ask.

[RufusTFirefly]

21. Abe Vigoda is still alive. That's really all that matters

Check Abe's status

[RufusTFirefly]

22. All true, but we weren't bombarded with stories about Samantha or the Skipper on network news

Uncle Walter (and any legitimate news anchor from his era) would've said, "I'm not reading this fluff."

[hfojvt]

4. I think it builds on itself, plus it is so easy

You don't need to understand history or economics or foreign policy to have an opinion about Tiger Woods. Thus making it easier to discuss. Second, because there is so much information out there it's fairly easy to build up both a lot of information and also a lot of interest. Lots of people actually watch golf and root for Tiger Woods. Well, when you are or become a fan, then it also feels like Woods is a friend. You care about him, and you believe that not only is he a talented athlete, but also courageous and kind and decent and honorable. Or, if you are an anti-fan, then you might believe he is arrogant and cruel and dishonorable and thus revel in his troubles, not because you are happy to see him suffer but because it proves you were right all along!!

[onehandle]

5. What the Hell does this have to do with Tiger Woods!?

I come to Democratic Underground to find out what's happening with Lindsay, Britney and now... Tiger.

U R taking up valuable news space!

Totally.

Fer suure...

On edit: I misspelled the great Miss Lohan's first name. We can't have that!

[PeaceNikki]

8. Why do you care why others care about stuff you don't care about?

Seriously. Everyone's reason for giving a shit varies. Who cares why they care and who cares why you don't? Just ignore the stuff you don't care about.

[FiveGoodMen]

10. People only have so much attention to give

and they're not giving that attention to the decline and fall of our nation.

[applegrove]

24. Sometimes you need a little mindless brain candy to rest your mind...so you will be there to fight

another day.

[JVS]

9. Because they put their pee pees where they aren't allowed to because of their magic finger rings

[Gregorian]

11. The media.

These things, just like the Iraq invasion, are being pushed on us. Or some of us.

My 80's mom and dad spend every morning reading the New York Times in their kitchen. How many Americans do that?

When I grew up tv was a minimal daily experience. And every night at 5 Walter Cronkite came on to discuss the NEWS.

Now it's all different. News is propaganda. You have to hunt for actual news. Even what passes as actual news is bullshit in this country. I have to run over to Linktv or the BBC. And even now the BBC is turning thin on honest news.

People believe their tv's. And people do what they are told when they believe the source. And I would say that for some reason Americans are prone to following orders from their tv overlords.

I've discovered TCM. And it is revealing just how fine those old movies are in comparison to the flashy crap that is being produced today. And I feel the same for just about everything else in this latest generation of broadcasting. And that goes for Twittering too. Haha. Oh yeah, I hear there's some Google Wave thing. Right.

[Thickasabrick]

12. Because our own lives are so pathetic. nt

[RufusTFirefly]

13. More opiates for the masses

Celebrity news provides a convenient diversion from reality. It's a kind of junk-food news. A lot of people consume it compulsively even though they know it has no redeeming value.

Some people insist that it's simply an escape, much like seeing a movie or reading a book. That's fine for them, I guess. To a certain extent, people have always been titillated by celebrity gossip. The difference is that whereas once you had to pick up a copy of a movie magazine to read about your favorite idol, now this non-news news has taken over a space that was once the domain of information that had more relevance to day-to-day reality.

[Capt. America]

17. +100! Info-tainment has replaced news and it is easier than real journalism, and it does not create

controversy with the broadcast media's corporate masters.

[soleft]

14. There's a reason why there's a Mount Olympus in Hollywood

Its a primitive need to see immortals. James Dean and Marilyn Monroe will live forever as beautiful gods. The universe is always trying to grow and perfect itself, so it would make sense that we seek images of what we believe are our ideal selves. The irony is that so many who are idolized are hopelessly flawed - I guess that's what a tragic hero is.

[Atticus]

15. I don't. nt.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[notesdev]

18. What's this "we" stuff? n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Small things amuse small minds.

[Hannah Bell]

20. we don't. i don't know anyone who cares about that crap.

[applegrove]

23. I'll buy a celebrity magazine to look at the clothes, to hear all about brangelina's kids,

to basically zone out to another world. But I'll only buy said magazines when I'm tired.

[classysassy]

25. Could it be

that we care so little of ourselves that we need someone to love?.