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There is no doubt that celebrities, whether they are sports figures, politicians, actors/actresses, or anyone who have been set on a pedestal as an icon of pop culture. To understand why this cult is so deeply ingrained in the human consciousness might go back to the human need for entertainment. While most people are going to read the article on Brittany Spears or Paris Hilton and not on the thousands affected by Hurricane Katrina, they will sure go see a movie about the hurricane, starring, perhaps Will Smith, Brad Pitt, or Sharon Stone.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:off ice:office" /

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Entertainment has always been the cornerstone of the human existence throughout written history. It has taken on interesting forms of the Roman Coliseum events in ancient times, or the joust of the middle ages, the plays of Shakespeare, which were just, the news on stage, opera, theatre, and eventually the motion picture. For many years people have found fiction more interesting than real life, until recently, the birth of the reality show. Now it has come full circle as human begin to realize that fiction is just a reflection of real life. How many movies inspired by true stories have you seen? So why not make it 100% real. Heck with going through the trouble of writing a script.

The concept of entertainment maybe to just poke fun and horrible realities we all face. It's a way of human beings to find comfort and happiness, and God knows how many of us want those. As a result of our desires as a people, we look to celebrities to fill whatever voids or imbalances that challenge us along our hopelessly long and convoluted journey to that guarantee of perpetual happiness.

Celebrities give us one of two things. The illusion of hope that our lives can be like theirs since we often see their lives as better than ours, or the drive and ambition that will make us act as such to pursue the lives they enjoy. Unfortunately, most people are going to sit in front of the television, hypnotized waiting for Law and Order to bring them drama or Seinfeld to make them laugh. Maybe focusing on someone else's drama my take our minds off our own.

Having said that, I think when I get back home, I will relieve all the stresses that I experience daily by watching Family Guy a couple of shows on network television, the news at eleven, and fall to sleep while watching Jay Leno on the Tonight Show while in a state of euphoria, then wake up the next morning in hell.

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