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Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / Entertainment => Topic started by: motorollin on March 13, 2007, 09:44:44 AM
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What is the appeal of "celebrities"?
I don't mean genuine celebrities who contribute some form of art, culture, good deeds etc to society. I mean the vacuous television/magazine celebrities who seem to do nothing but simply exist. I mean the Paris Hiltons; the "Big Brother" evictees; the footballers wives. What do these people actually *do* to deserve the title of celebrity? Why are the public so obsessed with them?
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moto
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What do these people actually *do* to deserve the title of celebrity?
They pay a lot of money to gossip magazines to print articles about them? :-)
Really, I don't know. Apparently there are people who are interested in their lives for some reason. I guess it's just a matter of being rich and showing up on the right places. As long as those people keep going to parties where a lot of gossip 'journalists' are and as long as they keep doing things that shock or otherwise might be interesting to the Great Consuming Crowd of Dumb People, they print and sell it.
It's just a matter of cooperation between these "celebs" and gossip magazines.
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Disclaimer: Please don't shoot me!
Having worked in the TV industry, I can say with 99% certainty thats it's a "(camp)gay thang".
Just my opinion.
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I disagree. I know loads of straight men and women whose lives revolve around the goings-on in the Big Brother house, the personal lives of footballer's wives and who is in the latest issue of Heat magazine.
I suspect it's because their own lives are so dull that they feel the need to obsess over people who are considered to be celebrities for some reason.
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moto
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I wish I knew...
Once upon a time, you could be an athlete, a gifted artist, an author or even a brilliant wit to get fame and adulation.
Now all you have to do is either sit in front of four record company execs, who decide what the market is going to listen to (not the other way round) and if you've got the right "look" everything else can be worked on (Girls Aloud et al). Or you can go into the Big Brother house, be as thick as pig sh!t and end up a mulit-millionaire (Jade Goody).
Failing the above, you can just be photographed half-cut getting out of a limo sans pants with your skirt round your ears (Paris Hilton, why?).
Society today seems to reward mediocrity or even borderline retardedness at the expense of those who have something interesting to say. Personally, I just turn off my TV set during the endless text-vote-TV shows and ignore the screaming headlines in Nuts magazine showing the latest airbrushed media starlet in her undercrackers. My TV seems to be spending more and more time switched off lately.
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My TV spends quite a lot of time switched on, but only because my boyfriend likes it. The only programme I really pay attention to is Battlestar Galactica. Between the constant flow of "celebrities" making idiots of themselves and marketing during the ad breaks, there's not a lot worth my attention on the TV.
It makes me sad that a lot of great artists, musicians, actors etc are unable to make themselves known because they are lost in the sea of talentless morons :madashell: :madashell: :madashell: :madashell:
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moto
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It makes me sad that a lot of great artists, musicians, actors etc are unable to make themselves known because they are lost in the sea of talentless morons
You could look at it another way:
These artists are known only to those people who deserve to appreciate their talent, leaving the talentless morons to be known en-masse by the other talentless morons. :-D
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motorollin wrote:
I disagree. I know loads of straight men and women whose lives revolve around the goings-on in the Big Brother house, the personal lives of footballer's wives and who is in the latest issue of Heat magazine.
I suspect it's because their own lives are so dull that they feel the need to obsess over people who are considered to be celebrities for some reason.
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moto
"Camp" culture has been absorbed wholesale into popular culture these days though, I believe they call it "Bling" now but it's the same thing.
Also I think the attraction is like this: "I am a talentless waste of oxygen, the 'Celebrities' are talentless morons. If I behave exactly the same way as them, then 'one day'(TM) I too can be a rich talentless moron."
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motorollin wrote:
What is the appeal of "celebrities"?
I don't mean genuine celebrities who contribute some form of art, culture, good deeds etc to society. I mean the vacuous television/magazine celebrities who seem to do nothing but simply exist. I mean the Paris Hiltons; the "Big Brother" evictees; the footballers wives. What do these people actually *do* to deserve the title of celebrity? Why are the public so obsessed with them?
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moto
B4st4rds all.
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Haha, agreed!
All you need to be famous is either a crap singing voice, ridiculous plastic tits, an IQ of seven, a footballing spouse or even a blend of the above (step forward Victoria Beckham, can't sing, thick, a face like a slapped arse and an eating disorder).
But then the majority of the public is obsessed with the above, for the life of me I cannot understand why. Do I care if Paris Hilton's beaver is on show when she gets out of a car? Nope, although it's arguably her most intelligent feature. However, for some reason this constitutes news.
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CannonFodder wrote:
..."Camp" culture has been absorbed wholesale into popular culture these days though, I believe they call it "Bling" now but it's the same thing...
Really? I can't say I've thought about it a great deal, but I had assumed the 'bling' thing to be related to US ghetto gangster culture, and a desire to demonstrate one's success and street credibility. The prodigious display of jewellery, and wearing of ordinary clothing in alternative style, have been observed long before 'bling' was pretending to be a word. How exactly did you draw the connection with a culture amongst homosexual men?
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Oliver wrote:
CannonFodder wrote:
..."Camp" culture has been absorbed wholesale into popular culture these days though, I believe they call it "Bling" now but it's the same thing...
Really? I can't say I've thought about it a great deal, but I had assumed the 'bling' thing to be related to US ghetto gangster culture, and a desire to demonstrate one's success and street credibility. The prodigious display of jewellery, and wearing of ordinary clothing in alternative style, have been observed long before 'bling' was pretending to be a word. How exactly did you draw the connection with a culture amongst homosexual men?
Note that I said "(Camp) gay" men. Big difference.
What is the difference between an celebrity obsessed attention seeking "queen" wearing expensive/outlandish clothing/jewelry and an celebrity obsessed attention seeking "chav" wearing expensive/outlandish clothing/jewelry? (Other than sexual orientation, though there may be many gay chavs I would guess)
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It's best expressed thus:
I have no problem with anyone who happens to be gay on my TV, I also have no problem with anyone who finds camp humour funny.
But I do have an issue with folk who behave like they're the only people ever to have exited the closet and act faux camp because they think it's outrageous (think early Graham Norton, Alan Carr). It isn't, it gets right up my nose. Both Paul O'Grady and Julian Clary incorporated campness into their acts a decade ago and were a damn sight funnier. In the case of the latter, he's got a very finely honed wit which is used to devastating effect and obv an intellectual. No problem here.
Matt Lucas (who's gay himself) satirises the above bad examples perfectly with his OTT Dafyd character.
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motorollin wrote:
It makes me sad that a lot of great artists, musicians, actors etc are unable to make themselves known because they are lost in the sea of talentless morons :madashell: :madashell: :madashell: :madashell:
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moto
Men, do I agree!!
But luckily, my tv is for gameconsoles only :-D
And so every now and then for Dutch or British comedy:
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/wallpaper//images/roylefamily640.jpg)
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"People are dumb" is the answer to most of life's questions.
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@CannonFodder
I don't quite agree with your comment that choice of clothing can make one either a "queen" or a "chav". Personally, I sometimes wear a heavy silver chain and a matching bracelet, and I also have my left ear pierced, but this makes me neither a "queen" nor a "chav". I also wear baseball caps, hoodies and rugby shirts, but this doesn't make me a thug. I may talk with an Essex accent, but that doesn't mean I'm dodgy.
I was really referring to the everyday people who seem to live their lives vicariously through so-called "celebrities" rather than the extreme examples of "queen-" or "chav-ism".
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moto
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"...Personally, I sometimes wear a heavy silver chain and a matching bracelet, and I also have my left ear pierced, but this makes me neither a "queen" nor a "chav". I also wear baseball caps, hoodies and rugby shirts, but this doesn't make me a thug. I may talk with an Essex accent, but that doesn't mean I'm dodgy..."
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You is well dodgy, innit! :-P
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People probably look at me and form an opinon about the type of person I am. They might see a lad in a baseball cap with an earring and think he's no good. They might see him open his mouth and hear an Essex accent come out and think he's a chav.
But honestly, I don't care what those people think.
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moto
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motorollin wrote:
But honestly, I don't care what those people think.
The people you describe have the same outlook as you. They don't care what you think. ;-)
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motorollin wrote:
@CannonFodder
I don't quite agree with your comment that choice of clothing can make one either a "queen" or a "chav". Personally, I sometimes wear a heavy silver chain and a matching bracelet, and I also have my left ear pierced, but this makes me neither a "queen" nor a "chav". I also wear baseball caps, hoodies and rugby shirts, but this doesn't make me a thug. I may talk with an Essex accent, but that doesn't mean I'm dodgy.
I have six piercings in my left ear, one in the cartilage at the top of my right ear, and one in my tongue. I also have a skin head.
I wear clothes from Matalan and George these days as they are cheap.
WTF am I? ;-)
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Beyond help? ;-).
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odin wrote:
Beyond help? ;-).
:-D
Now, I never said I still wear the piercings.
Age and all that.......... ;-)
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CannonFodder wrote:
motorollin wrote:
@CannonFodder
I don't quite agree with your comment that choice of clothing can make one either a "queen" or a "chav". Personally, I sometimes wear a heavy silver chain and a matching bracelet, and I also have my left ear pierced, but this makes me neither a "queen" nor a "chav". I also wear baseball caps, hoodies and rugby shirts, but this doesn't make me a thug. I may talk with an Essex accent, but that doesn't mean I'm dodgy.
I have six piercings in my left ear, one in the cartilage at the top of my right ear, and one in my tongue. I also have a skin head.
I wear clothes from Matalan and George these days as they are cheap.
WTF am I? ;-)
I have two in me left ear, a beard you could lose a hamster in (provided it was black!) and a hair nearly down to me 4r5e (see pic) - I agree, Matalan's prices are great ! unfortunately I hate going there with a vengeance (must be the way me wife shops there !)
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Agafaster wrote:
CannonFodder wrote:
motorollin wrote:
@CannonFodder
I don't quite agree with your comment that choice of clothing can make one either a "queen" or a "chav". Personally, I sometimes wear a heavy silver chain and a matching bracelet, and I also have my left ear pierced, but this makes me neither a "queen" nor a "chav". I also wear baseball caps, hoodies and rugby shirts, but this doesn't make me a thug. I may talk with an Essex accent, but that doesn't mean I'm dodgy.
I have six piercings in my left ear, one in the cartilage at the top of my right ear, and one in my tongue. I also have a skin head.
I wear clothes from Matalan and George these days as they are cheap.
WTF am I? ;-)
I have two in me left ear, a beard you could lose a hamster in (provided it was black!) and a hair nearly down to me 4r5e (see pic) - I agree, Matalan's prices are great ! unfortunately I hate going there with a vengeance (must be the way me wife shops there !)
Ooops I forgot my beard. It is tres-grande, but covers my chops too. :-)
Funny how we blokes who wear Matalan clothes never seem to visit the place eh? :-)
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So is that you in your avatar pic then? :-P
[EDIT]
Not sure why I capitalised "avatar"
[/EDIT]
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moto
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motorollin wrote:
So is that you in your avatar pic then? :-P
Nah, it's of a late family friend.
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I may talk with an Essex accent, but that doesn't mean I'm dodgy.
Yes it does...
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@Karlos
So I guess that means you like putting people's cars on bricks and trying to stab em if they attempt to stop you :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P
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moto
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motorollin wrote:
@Karlos
So I guess that means you like putting people's cars on bricks and trying to stab em if they attempt to stop you :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P
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moto
Isn't that Scousers? ;-)
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and trying to stab em if they attempt to stop you
Only ropey southern geezers...
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The problem is that we live in an age where we celebrate idiocy, greed, shallowness and so on. It's not cool to be intelligent or have depth and you don't warrant respect if you don't have cash to squander on meaningless tat.
It wasn't always so.
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Thanks Karlos for bringing us back on topic :-)
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moto
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What is the appeal of "celebrities"?
I've asked myself this many times and I get worked up everytime I do. Personally, I think it has something to do with "fans" living what they deem a boring life, so they attempt to thrive on the "excitment" of someone else's. I guess it's a kind of escape mechanism. Personally, I don't give a hoot about any "celebrity".
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I think you've hit the nail on the head Adz. Compared to the lives of "celebrities", those of "normal" people seem mundane. So people concern themselves with the lives of famous people in an attempt to make their own lives more exciting.
It's sad really :roll:
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moto
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Personally, I love the life I live, despite the fact that I'm a tad down at the moment, guess thats why I have no interest in celebrities. Its amazing how interesting life can be if you actually go out and live it instead of reading about someone else's in a magazine.
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Karlos wrote:
The problem is that we live in an age where we celebrate idiocy, greed, shallowness and so on. It's not cool to be intelligent or have depth and you don't warrant respect if you don't have cash to squander on meaningless tat.
It wasn't always so.
Amen to that! It's so true.
That's why we have Now magazine full of Jade Goody, Paris Hilton, Victoria Beckham and other wastes of carbon.
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@PMC
Quite so.
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PMC wrote:
Karlos wrote:
The problem is that we live in an age where we celebrate idiocy, greed, shallowness and so on. It's not cool to be intelligent or have depth and you don't warrant respect if you don't have cash to squander on meaningless tat.
It wasn't always so.
Amen to that! It's so true.
That's why we have Now magazine full of Jade Goody, Paris Hilton, Victoria Beckham and other wastes of carbon.
Hmmm now theres an idea... Reducing the "carbon footprint" by killing moron celebrities. Morons who car about such people will watch less TV and less inane magazines will printed.
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Turambar wrote:
Hmmm now theres an idea... Reducing the "carbon footprint" by killing moron celebrities. Morons who car about such people will watch less TV and less inane magazines will printed.
That won't work. The bodies will decompose, their carbon content will be returned to the earth, and eventually harvested and burned as fuel. Far better to keep the carbon surplus contained within those useless bodies :-) They just need to be removed from public view.
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moto