Voices & Opinions: Faculty Column
Celebrity infatuation: An exercise in
wasting time
By Greg Hopkins
Copy Editor
I picked up the RedEye
today, Chicago’s favorite
news rag, and upon turning
to the last page I learned
something extremely interesting.
I learned that television
star Spencer Pratt
recently dissed Mary-Kate
Olsen, a high school
acquaintance of his, in the
most recent edition of Us
magazine.
“She’s had to go through
life as the less-cute twin,
which must be tough,” said
Pratt about Olsen.
Can you believe he said
that? Major points go to
Pratt for putting this skinny
bit…
Wait a second… What
am I saying? I’ve never
heard of Spencer Pratt, and I
find Mary-Kate Olsen to be
about as interesting as a roll
of toilet paper. Why would
I, or anyone else for that
matter, care what someone
outside of their personal life
was doing or saying? It has
no effect on them, and the
idea alone is base and
pitiable.
Let’s examine this idea of
celebrity infatuation.
Celebrity infatuation is basically
an interest in the lives of
celebrities, and, celebrities
are, by definition, people who
command a high degree of
media attention. This infatuation
takes on many forms,
from an obsession with athletes,
to an infatuation with
celebrities, and it can vary in
severity, from watching E!
television, to full force stalking.
Now consider the idea that
an obsession with celebrity, or
even a light interest in
celebrities, has absolutely no
benefit. Sure, some may say
there is a psychological benefit,
as it may, for a variety of
reasons, make some feel better
about themselves, or, at
the least, occupy spare time.
However, I say that even this
is not a true benefit. If those
people who use celebrity
news as a psychological boost
would instead use the time
they waste reading tabloids to
take their own life into perspective,
perhaps they could
further their own moral compass,
which would in turn
make them less reliant on others
and less psychologically
dependent on celebrities lives.
When it comes to tabloids,
entertainment news, and so
forth, my feelings are this:
Celebrity itself is extremely
fickle. Many who are not
deserving of any attention
drown in it, and yet others,
whose work and accomplishments
outweigh even the
greatest celebrity, live normal
lives uninterrupted by the
press. With this in mind, people
shouldn’t concern themselves
with the lives of athletes,
celebrities, or musicians.
Instead, their concern
and interest should be
focused much closer to home.
People who actually touch
your life and the lives of those
around you are the people
who are deserving of praise
and attention.
It is a complete shame to
see someone willing to chase
down an athlete on the street
just for the opportunity to be
close to them or get an autograph,
when that same person
isn’t likely to think twice
about the next opportunity
they may have to spend time
with an actual figure in their
life. I am not saying that the
next time you run into your
grandmother at the grocery
store you should chase her
down running and screaming
like a madman. I am, however,
stating that you should
treat people who are deserving
of it, grandparents for
example, with the respect
they deserve. Those outside of
this scope, athletes for
instance, should get the same
amount of attention you
would give to the bagboy at
your local grocery store; that
is to say, none.
I realize that, while it’s
great that there are people in
the world who have devoted
their entire life to swinging a
baseball bat or making films,
their accomplishments pale in
comparison to those of everyday
people.
Personally, you won’t
find this writer waiting in
line to get any mans autograph,
nor are you likely to
hear me rattling on about
celebrity gossip or some athlete’s
prowess. I will be out
there making my own way,
and paying respect to those
who have helped me on the
way. If you are smart, and
you realize that celebrity
infatuation is little more than
wasted time, you will follow
suit.