An audience creates a celebrity. Many individuals have starred in movies or performed at concerts without gaining celebrity status. It is only when the world begins to sit up and take notice of an individual that true star status is obtained. This is how stars are born overnight. If people care about the comings and goings of an individual and the media picks up on this interest, news and tabloid coverage will increase. This creates a celebrity. If nobody cares about a singer’s shopping trips or political message, it is a safe bet that individual will not be stalked by paparazzi and won’t be gracing the covers of magazines. Simply, celebrities are selected.
Certain websites have constructed an algorithm to demonstrate the popularity of celebrities. This algorithm and the celebrity’s popularity equate to a market price, much like a stock price. Members of the site are able to buy and sell celebrities for their personal portfolios and if the celebrity increases in value – both popularity and price, the portfolio value increases. If a celebrity begins to lose value, he is undesirable and dumped.
There can be no clearer message about not only the value of celebrities, but also the ownership of celebrities. Just as celebrities in a portfolio can create a return for investors, those same investors take the time to research the celebrities in forums, news articles, and blogs. This research and drive for information increases the celebrity’s popularity and price. When a celebrity fails to generate news, or generates too much bad publicity, the public will simply lose interest, the celebrity loses value, and stardom begins to fade.
Celebrity obsession is certainly nothing new. If anything you would have figured we as a society would have become more accustomed to and quite bored with celebrities by now. As far back as you can go in history you will see that we have made celebrities almost royalty in the sense that not only does our society need to hear and see their every move and action of these celebrities but large corporations are aware of the fact that we trust the opinions and endorsement of these celebrities more then we trust our own. Turn on your television and you will be bombarded with celebrities selling you everything from fast food to weight loss pills. Can you believe the irony of all of this? We as a society support these celebrities to such and extent that they are now millionaires yet we now put them in a position to make even more money by us purchasing the products they promote.
Do we all really want to be celebrities? Well, the answer is yes and no. The fact of the matter is not many of us are talented enough to excel in sports or the entertainment world and a lot of us would not care to be bothered with the burdens that come with the lives of celebrities. However, each and every one of us, whether it is at work or in our homes, do contribute and would love to feel appreciated for what it is we do on a daily basis.
