Space For God

Celebrity and Identity

Posted: 02/03/2009

 

Many celebrities complain about the lack of privacy they endure 24/7. Everywhere they turn they must face obnoxious and arrogant paparazzi that will stop at nothing to get their scoop. Nothing these celebrities do remains in secret. 

As someone who has never (and is never likely to) experienced such treatment, I can only imagine how distressing this must be. To be treated like a circus attraction every day of your life must be extremely frustrating and ultimately soul-destroying. 

However, being constantly exposed by a rabid media is only half of the problem. Not only does constant media pressure destroy any semblance of privacy, it also destroys the avenues toward healthy self expression. In a paparazzi world, everything is sensational and larger than life. Celebrities become subhuman representations of what we wish for ourselves. In such a context celebrities are denied the subtleties and ordinariness of self-identity and relationship.  

One way in which this manifests itself is in the celebrity interview. In the interview, whatever the celebrity says is pounced upon, given an instant weight and credibility and relayed around the world. The celebrity is hereby denied the option of throwaway, lighthearted talk and speculation that is a staple of human interaction. We would be wrong if we thought that this is an enviable position. Far from being glamorous, ask yourself how you would feel if everything you said was beamed around the world for the superficial entertainment of others? It would become depressing rather quickly. No wonder many celebrities find such destructive ways to handle the pressure.        

Here we see that it's the stuff that's not made public that causes frustration. The celebrity is painfully aware of the state of his or her profile, and cannot help but comply. If they retreat and speak out against such treatment they are quickly demonized (see: Britney Spears). Heaven forbid that the celebrity be allowed the privileges of ordinary, run-of-the-mill expression!

 

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