by Ryan Ariano

Created on: February 16, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

To understand why we care so much about celebrities, we have to first look at why they are celebrities; or, moreover, why they get paid exorbitant sums of money for getting to play pirate or act like they've just found Mr. Right or pretend to save a whole city/country/world/universe from destruction of some sort.

Now I could go into some frightfully long dissertation about human psychology, modern sociology, and box office receipts. But instead, I'll sum it up in one sentence - the average American is bored and apathetic and conditioned to be numb to these feelings of boredom and apathy and for most people, the only time they experience any true adventure, excitement, or even genuine emotion is when they watch somebody else experience it on the screen.

Now this isn't going to be some lecture about how we all need to "get up, live our lives, become real, sentient human beings", all that stuff that active people have been cramming down our throats for years. No, this is just an explanation as to why we are so fascinated by these actors.

How many people know somebody who absolutely must see what's happening on this week's "Lost" or who feels genuine anguish when a nurse or a doctor gets rejected or hurt on "Gray's Anatomy" or "Scrubs"? How many people feel that way themselves - you know, when you plan a night around a new episode of that favorite show and it becomes the highpoint of your day. Yeah, pretty much all of us. Why is that? Because few people's lives are that interesting - even for many people working in Hollywood, it's just another 9-5 (more like 8-8) with a lot more money and exposure. We love the shows because they help us escape our boring routines, our daily lives full of the tedium, complacency, and general melancholy attributed to the "American dream" of finding a comfortable little rut with the spouse, couple kids,and "job you hate" and rolling along somewhat effortlessly in it for 40 years or so.

So what does this have to do with why we're so interested in the lives of stars? Because we feel more emotional, more alive, and more connected on a intimate level while watching these shows than we can in our daily lives, especially with the low amount of brain power it takes to enjoy most entertainment. These strangers penetrate our souls through their art and touch us in a way that very few other people can - and constantly excite us by playing the roles and living the fictional lives, whether on tv or in the theaters, that we wish we could live. And

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