by Donna Alexandria

Created on: April 20, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

The main reason we like watching celebrities crash and burn is largely because of the role celebrities play in our society. Celebrities are the privilege class who regulates cultural, social, and economic trends in our country. Often times us regular folks witness how the laws of the land differ for celebrities. They have their own set of rules, and they live by them as well. We aren't privy to this special treatment, and frankly we don't like it one bit.

So, when we see celebrities suffer, when we see them fall off that throne (even though we are partially responsible for putting them there), we celebrate cause for once they are just like us-human beings; not infallible species. We crave to see their bubbles burst, and believe in a small, insignificant way that they deserved it.

The world of celebrity-hood is a place of wealth, fame, and the finer things life offers. Because celebrities have access to these things, we've made them into gods and goddess, and fantasize that their world is the essence of our beloved "American Dream." No one cares about who these people really are behind the masks, or behind the costumes. We only care about who we see in front of us on television. We hold that image firmly in our minds, and actually expect them to behave accordingly to our expectations.

People are often surprise when celebrities crash and burn. They wonder, "how could they be so stupid?" They laugh and make jokes about Brittany Spears like there's some kind of twisted punch line in a human being have a mental breakdown. And, they wonder how in the world could Dave Chappelle turn away from millions of dollars cause he needed a break? In both of these cases, American people believe that the plight of these celebrities is good dinner conversation because they have been afforded certain opportunities that the average person can only dream of, and somehow they blew it. They blew it because they gave into the pressure, showed human qualities that we do not expect from them nor do we want to see in them. We are disappointed because they did not live up to our expectation, and in their demise we laugh, and say, "so what". Let them crash and burn. Let them come back to our everyday, mundane world.

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