The Cult of Celebrity - Heroes & Celebrity - Assignment Example

The Cult of Celebrity - Heroes & Celebrity For many individuals throughout the course of their lives, they seek to gravitate towards those who, in whatever way, stand out to them as being heroic and deserving of praise. From a definition standpoint, a hero is defined in more than one way, such as, “A person noted for special achievement in a particular field,” (“Definition”, para. 1, n.d.). These individuals may be athletes, educators, medical professionals, or celebrities, to name a few. As it comes to celebrities, as seen in the definition taken from the plural form of celebrity, they are defined as, “a famous or well-publicized person,” (“celebrity”, para. 1, n.d.). Whether it be a hero, or a celebrity, each posses the ability to draw intense loyalty from those who feel they are deserving of it. In most cases, celebrities garner far greater attention through media coverage but as is the case with hero's, each through action taken, have the chance to make an impact on those around them. The similarity between celebrities and heroes, would be the faithfulness they would draw from the general populous. A stark contrast between the two, would be the underlying presence of garnering fame and attention, that many of those people labeled celebrities, seek to bring to themselves. For those in more of a hero position, they often times tend to do that which they do, from a standpoint of doing what's right verus what's wrong, instead of doing what may be socially acceptable and something that would give them great fame and power. In regards to an example of heroes, one that would come to mind, would be the men and women of the military that day in and day out, place themselves in harms way for the greater good of all men. They seek to do so to assist others and not so that they'd be able to bring undo attention to themselves. With regards to the world of celebrity, those examples would include George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Individuals that place themselves in the public eye and are attention grabbers. The individuals who grace the covers of magazines and newspaper advertisements. Especially in the era after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, when millions were left scared and bewildered, the need for heroes became far greater than it had beforehand. The need to have those individuals that seek to fight and defeat any foe that may cross their path. Whether it be a physical oponent, or an inadimant object, a hero is someone that many seek refuge with when it comes to regaining a sense of security and normalcy. Heroes truly give society the option of regaining a semblance of what it once was. For millions of Americans, that would have been the ability to be comforted by the inner strength of the American will and the sense that, despite the attack that occurred, things could and in fact would, get better. The cult of celebrity would be influenced, in part, by the drive of the modern media. With the increase in advertising options available, more and more celebrities can be found on magazines, newspapers and even be seen marketed through products found at Target. With such availability of information, good and bad, the cult mentality leads those followers to gather as much information as possible on the specific celebrity they want to know about. These celebrities often times become the topic of public conversation for more than just their professional accomplishments but also, for what may be going on when they are engaged in their personal lives. The draw towards following celebrities is not that hard to understand. It ultimately comes down to an ability to break away from normalcy and however brief, live vicariously through the actions of someone else. To imagine the life of someone so rich and famous, that they can afford million dollar homes and private jets. As more and more people continue to be entangled with the daily stresses of their own lives, the fascination towards celebrities and everything about them, becomes even more powerful as a result. The culture itself reaches out to those who are classified as heroes because, in the end, they are seen as those who do great work. With celebrities, they are seen as the grouping of individual human beings that, for appearances sake, seem to live grand lives of luxury and appear to be immune to the hardships of the rest of the world. As it stands, from a consideration of gain through means of reaching out to heroes or celebrities, most likely, the greatest gain to be had, would be from those who would be called heroes. Those individuals that seek to make things better, even for one person and many times, wish to do so without the pomp and circumstance of public praise. The type of individual(s), that wish to do the best they can and help as many as they possibly can in the process. The growth of reality television shows, such as 'Survivor', would come to be in large part, due to the public's affinity for those who they see as being identifyable. The average, everyday person that, through the situations they would be placed in, go about a solution(s), that would seem plausible to the viewing public. In that respect, another aspect of reality television that would seek to explain the draw of the consumer, would be its ability to enact the gotchya mentality of many who watch it. In terms of the gotchya factor, that would be the ability for these programs, to move in such a manner that the audience member cannot help but maintain their viewing position. Those very actions that catch the eye of the individual and due to that, enable them to keep watching what is infront of them on their tv's. With shows like "The Apprentice", that seek to eliminate a person after each episode, that would fall within the notion of eliminating what may be seen as the weakest link of the greater opperation. For "The Swan", the show would delve into the societal facination with outer beauty and the lack of consideration given to inner beauty in its own right. Celebrities are those who gain fame through action. Heroes are those who continue to act, even without the fame. References "Definition of hero". (n.d.). Yahoo! Education. Para. 1. Retrieved from http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/hero "celebrity". (n.d.). Your Dictionary.com. Para. 1. Retrieved from http://www.yourdictionary.com/celebrity Read More