by Nancy Boland

Created on: January 25, 2009   Last Updated: April 26, 2009

"There's an insatiable hunger to remain in the public arena resulting in a woman, grotesquely ill-equipped'', releasing music without rhyme or reason. Professor Ellis Cashmore, on Paris Hilton's decision to bring out a CD.

Fascination with fame is nothing new. Celebrity at this moment in Western Society is an epidemic, and it's spreading fast. Television provides celebrity singing competitions, dance competitions, celebrities partake in reality shows and beauty products carry the names not merely of designers but of actors and singers. Without celebrities, whole sections of magazines would be non-existent. So persistent has celebrity become in contemporary living that the phenomenon known as the Culture of Celebrity is more or less considered the norm.

Celebrities are admired for what we assume are purely individual talents and successes. In truth, movies are created by a group production and actors and singers are coached and guided by a surplus of dedicated, willing individuals.

We have all witnessed the award ceremony winner's speech; "I'd like to thank...'' where celebrity royalty meticulously thank a long list of individuals for their unfailing help and guidance. What you do not see, however, is the managing director of Brad Pitt's latest movie venture gracing the covers of your magazine, stumbling out of the supermarket shielding himself with a plethora of orange juice.

All human achievements are at least somewhat collaborative. But celebrities are praised for what they do and say independently, not for leading colleagues and sharing tasks with others.

Now more than ever, media hype is much respected. In theory, a person becomes a celebrity as a consequence of accomplishment. In practice, being a celebrity is commonly seen as a great feat in itself. Value systems have been dismantled. What we deem as significant and what we find trifling are no longer of great magnitude.

So, why are we still interested?

Ingrained in our current culture is a cheap account of fame that not surprisingly gives us, the humdrum, viewing public a cheap thrill. To the "standard'' person a celebrity lifestyle seems extravagant and interesting. You can be famous for a throng of reasons. Singing, dancing, even spending a period of time in a jungle or staying cooped up in a house with strangers for a prolonged period of time is considered satisfactory.

Evolutionary scientists have said it is perfectly natural for human beings to look up to individuals who receive attention because it means they have succeeded in society. In prehistoric times this would have meant respecting capable hunters and inspirational elders. Those perhaps, with a story to tell. Today's equivalents are celebrities whose fame and fortune, to the general public, is deemed desirable.

Celebrities supply a welcome relief of daily stressors. Celebrities are rich. They attract attention because of their consumption, their clothes, houses and travel experiences. Some celebrities are nothing but rich. Nonetheless, central to the definition of "celebrity" is obvious expenditure. We glorify, elevate and worship individuals who lack sufficient talent and celebrate them for much the same reason. We observe, we judge and we criticise their livelihood as a form of escapism from our own, meagre in comparison, daily routines.

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