ANSWERS: 18
  • With tongue firmly in cheek: Typically, celebrities are not "just normal people;" they are more celebrated and famous than normal people. Normal people do not get feted by the press, mobbed by groupies, or excoriated from the pulpit. Celebrity writers tend to write in a manner that gets published more. Stage actors tend to be more articulate than normal people. Intellectuals tend to be more thoughtful and adept at expressing elegant lines of thought than others. Celebrity musicians tend to get their noodlings played on the airwaves, while I plunk my guitar and people run away. Sports celebrities have had their sports worth validated by competing and winning at that sport. And so forth. Even movie actors tend to be prettier or more handsome than the regular run-of-the mill person. So just normal people get excited about seeing celebrities because they're just normal, while celebrities are--not.
  • It's the excitement of seeing or being around someone that you spend most of your time accepting that you will never see that person outside of TV or on stage the same way that we get excited when we witness things that we wouldnt normally see on a regular basis- Like a low flying plane when it crosses the highway. Or when we get rewarded for simply being in the right place at the right time.
  • Celebrities are just normal people in the sense that outsized talent or exceptional beauty does not make one god-like. With the exception of those who are famous just for being famous, celebrities work just like anyone else. It's just that they have really great jobs. Is that a reason to go ga-ga over them? Those who get excited about celebrities tend to objectify their fellow humans. http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/empathy_object.htm "When we objectify others, we strip them of their humanity and their individuality..." Objectifying a celebrity lets the worshipper feel entitled to harrass or even stalk the object of their rapture. To the worshipper, it's not harrassment, it's a heartfelt show of adoration. The celebrity should be grateful for the attention. From http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2004/06/20040607_b_main.asp "Anthropologists suggest that our love affair with luminaries is just an extension of a centuries' old instinct to imitate successful people. If our prehistoric predecessors worshipped the hunters, today's celebrity seekers hunt the worshipped." http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/14/1060588497208.html "A third of people reportedly suffer from Celebrity Worship Syndrome, a fascination in the lives of the rich and famous that can become a dangerous addiction. "[University] psychologists...interviewed more than 600 people about their personality and interest in celebrities. "They were asked to rate statements such as: - I am obsessed by details of my favourite celebrity's life. - I consider my favourite celebrity to be my soul mate. - If he/she asked me to do something illegal as a favour, I would probably do it. "The responses cast doubt on the conventional view that celebrity worship is categorised into pathological and non-pathological cases -- in other words, harmless fun and obsession. "Instead, the replies pointed to a "sliding scale" in which the celebrity devotee becomes progressively more fascinated with his or her idol. "In addition, celebrity fans are significantly likelier to suffer from anxiety, depression and social dysfunction than non-worshippers." The proliferation of tabloid TV shows and scandal sheets has brought about a golden age of celebrity worship. Or, as social critic Bill McKibben puts it, "The Age of Living Vicariously." Worshippers offset the emptiness of their lives by living vicariously (substituting secondhand experience for actual living) through their idols. "The TV, and the consumer society it anchors," McKibben says, "constantly teach us not to look to the simple, the easy, the obvious sources of pleasure." http://www.urielw.com/mckibben.htm http://www.billmckibben.com/books.html
  • Firstly, I think there are two types of celebrities. Ones who are real people, and those who think they can walk on water. I've meet Kylie Minogue quite a number of times as she used to live in Melbourne. She was a very "down to earth" kind of person who enjoys who she is and the person she plays out to be in front of the camera or in concert. Celebrities are often living the life you want to live. The fast cars, the boyfriends/girlfriends, the money. The thing they have to remember is one day the lights are going to go out for the last time, and then they are well and truly normal people. Celebrities are also storytellers. I find Tom Hanks fascinating as he brings characters to life. Of what I have seen, Hanks is a very "normal" person and if he where to stop doing movies today, would happily slip back into a comfortable life. Watching Robbie William’s, he's a "walk on water" person. He craves attention and at his "Live Summer, 2003" show said the most amazing statement I've ever heard which just shows the level of his ego. "I'm growing older, please, please don't leave me." William’s is the centre of attention. I'm not sure how he will cope with a normal lifestyle after the people either tier of his music or lung cancer gets the better of him. Madonna is the same. The latest video clip is a hopeless effort to capture the scene, but in my view makes her look old and out of shape. I thing Madonna has shocked us with about everything she can throw at us, and now there's nothing left. I think her popularity will slowly drop to the point very few will take any interest in her and all you will see of her is photos in people magazine walking in or out of a restaurant or whatever.
  • Because they are easily manipulated by Media...So since EVERYONE says celebrities are better than usual person, people believe in that, so they try to be like them...
  • They have the lives we mistakenly think we want.
  • I know for me if it's someone that I personally like I might look up to them and be excited to meet them. You've been excited to meet someone before, right? How about one of your friends that havn't seen in a while? I think it's somewhat similar, except for people who go nuts over people they don't like. I'm not too sure about that one.
  • So are you saying that it's normal for Brad Pitt to go to Taco Bell without being mobbed, yelled and gawked at? They are far from the norm of a normal person. People get excited because here's a person who's achieved something that they'll never be able to. That could be fame, money, relationships and the freedom of basically doing anything they want except for anonymity.
  • These people lack leadership in their lives and the celebrities fill that void.
  • Sometimes they are role models... i went haywire when i saw Muhammad Ali in Miami once. He was with his son, i walked upto them & blurted out a buncha shit. I was so excited i didnt have a clue what i was saying. Then i made him sign my new sneakers & i havent worm em yet.
  • no kidding. they're just people with money or have KNOWN talents. there's lots of people out there who can do stuff really good but no one goes crazy over them.
  • 9/10 times celebraties are something we are not. They might have the perfect body, a attractive face or a hot partner. Because people want what they have got - they look up to them ! :)
  • Talent. Charisma. And beauty. Well, not all celebrities have those. But generally, a celebrity has plenty of each. The rest of us are just moderately, at best. ...And maybe somewhat because of overexposure.
  • Go figure. I could care less about celebrities. Make the damned movie. I have no interest in thier political opinion, sexual orientation, likes and dislikes, who they slept with last night or where they were last seen. I don't understand why people are so obsessed with that crap. I guess people are looking for some excitement in thier lives and are borrowing some from the celebrities.
  • I don't know, but for some reason I felt that same way when I saw George Parros. I've seen other celebrities, but for some reason when I met George Parros I had no freakin clue what to say + I freakin half stalked him from the parking lot. I'm not sure what the hell I was thinking.
  • Interestingly, I met and talked with two different celebrities at two different times - - without my realizing they were celebrities. I didn't recognize them, that is for sure. They both, indeed, came across as typical people. They spoke with me as any other person would. And I, with them. Afterward, when people excitedly told me who they were, my reaction remained the same -- I had a pleasant time briefly talking with both of the guys. Would I have interacted with them differently if I had known who they were? +5
  • Their own desire to be important or famous

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