Friday, March 31, 2006

Celebrity - a hijacked concept

We're all well aware that we live in a celebrity-obsessed culture. But perhaps it is so much part of the wallpaper of our lives that we are blind to its profound influence in the shaping of our culture.

This has struck me twice in the last couple of days. Once, when the word celebrity was used entirely unnecessarily - tautologically, almost - in the description of a television programme, presumably in order to boost its appeal.

And again, when reading an article by Nicky Campbell about footballers, lamenting the way in which these highly paid, over-privileged young men can become self-absorbed and lose any sense of responsibility, other than that of carrying the hopes of the nation.

But before we start to criticise, let's think again.

What does celebrity mean? 'Celebrity' is what we 'celebrate'. And a quick inspection of the media tells us that the things we celebrate are good looks, wealth, talent, fame in and of itself(!), youth, success - not kindness, selflessness, humility, wisdom or integrity.

To borrow Campbell's closing words, perhaps we should ask ourselves this: do we want well-rounded men, or do we want to win the World Cup?

2 Comments:


Blogger John Maiden said...

Interesting, thanks.

Tue Apr 04, 08:48:00 am  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

a very well thought out insight paul . i am glad to see the sight is still up and running . look forward to speaking to you soon .

Tue Apr 04, 11:24:00 pm  

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