Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous

Why do people care about celebrities so much? It baffles me to think that someone would dedicate time from their life to read a magazine article about someone else's day to day motions. 

Now I'm not talking about reading biographies or other personal accounts- often they are inspirational and fulfilling. 

I am squarely looking at media which aims to spread gossip, rumours and mind-numbing facts and pictures about famous people that we are supposed to care about.

Why do people give a moment’s thought to whether American Talk Show Host XYZ took his dog to the park? Or that Busty Movie Star A ordered a pizza and got it delivered? Or that Photogenic Celebrity Child B can now put her shoes on unassisted? Do people legitimately care?

I do not understand why movie stars, actors and actresses are held so high. I respect that they work very hard and have a lot of outside influences which can make their job difficult. But at the end of day, they are people whose particular talent and calling in life is absorbing another character. Other people have talents too- psychologists are good listeners, nurses are good at taking care of people and builders are good planners. And each of them have chosen to embrace their talent as their profession. Good for them. But why do people care so much when someone is in a movie?

Is it because deep down we all wish we were rich and famous and drove 10 cars and had photographers follow us around 24/7? So much so that we fantasize what our life would be like if only we were rich and famous and needing the media to remind us what could have been.

 Maybe people read these articles because they want to remind themselves that celebrities are just normal people. Why! Celebrities are no different from you or I here just trying to pay the phone bill, mop the floor and put dinner on the table!  How very inspiring -.-

I suppose that celebrities donate to charity, become ambassadors for worthy causes and give humanitarian aid. This is honourable and I can see why people would appreciate these efforts.

But does that mean we need to follow their every move, imitate their fashion choices and buy the same products as them? I certainly don’t think so.

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The Golden Ticket

As incredibly thrilling as my casual job in retail is, I often find myself day dreaming when I am supposed to be organizing shelves and tidying products. Like when I was in our toy department today, I was arranging the stock when a certain product caught my eye. That product was a set of Pokémon Trading Cards. Each set boasting the potential of an extremely rare card with amazing powers inside. My mind instantly threw me back to my childhood were my primary school classmates traded the cards during break time. There was always such excitement when opening a new pack- would the extremely rare card with amazing powers be in your set?? The chances were slim but it was possible. Then when you were lucky enough to acquire a special card, normally signalled by a shiny border or sparkly background, imaginations would run wild as to what this extremely rare card with amazing powers could achieve- what would your jealous classmates give for this card?!

The desire to get lucky and posses something special is an intense and addictive emotion for humans (not to mention marketing genius as children relentlessly pester their parents to buy the products). But this rush isn't just limited to Pokemon Cards. There were Footy Tazos in chip packets, exclusive toys in cereal boxes and of course the chance to instantly win another Mars Bar if your wrapper revealed a winning code. 

Charlie's freaking out
Image Credit: http://i50.tinypic.com/2rr8lra.gif

It reminds me of the Golden Ticket in Willy Wonka. The thrill and anticipation of watching them open each chocolate bar, hoping to see that golden shimmer was excruciating. But the winning feeling! The winning feeling is so euphoric you can't help pin your hopes onto the dream.

Whilst many of the above listed promotions and gimmicks are targeted at children, it occurred to me that there are just as many ways that adults seek this rush. For example, buying a scratchie. The chances of substantially gaining from a scratchie are very slim, but the rush and anticipation of revealing the winning panels is addictive. All the while dreaming of what you would do if you were so lucky to win. 

I love a scratchie as much as the next person- it is exciting to allow yourself to unashamedly hope for a few moments. But usually reality steps in, ending your daydream. In my case- a customer asking for directions to the hair dryers….