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"Celebrities"

Celebrities have never had so much influence as they have presently. They're idolised, and many are more respected than the government or the monarchy, although that's not saying much. As the name would suggest, they're 'celebrated people'. It's very strange how people can become famous now, with the likes of Britain's Got Talent and viral videos making people famous for very wrong reasons. You only have to look at the likes of the Numa Numa Guy (many YouTube views, appeared on South Park, cult reference) or Chico (one cheesy music video and he's living quite comfortably off it) to see this.

So, what is it that makes us inspired by a particular person or makes us hate them? What is it that even defines a celebrity? Personally, I don't consider a celebrity to just be someone that is celebrated by others. I think it's a question of scale, or of how well known you are, whether it be for good or bad reasons.

Some celebrities that annoy me are some of the obvious ones, like Justin Beiber (I bet you knew he was going to show up) or Cristiano Ronaldo. Justin Beiber spawns from humble beginnings, playing guitar on the street and uploading YouTube videos, to now releasing movies and songs worldwide. Sounds a nice guy right? Maybe it's the fact that this little gherkin has a lot of money despite being little more than an embryo, whilst there are people out there who have fought for their country, or worked their entire lives without earning anywhere near as much. He's also a warped child too far up his own back passage.

I respect the likes of Evgeni Malkin (ice hockey player) though, and he's done little more than train physically and mentally and play a game he loves. What is it that makes me love Evgeni Malkin more than the likes of Justin Beiber? Some celebrities spawn from humble beginnings, become famous and stay the way they are. Others get sucked into the celebrity world, particularly young celebrities. I don't think anyone can argue that becoming famous at a young age doesn't mentally affect you. I can't think of many famous young people who haven't become somewhat obscure in their later life or have grown up malnourished of a real child hood (Michael Jackson, Justin Beiber).

There are also those celebrities who have become sucked into the bad side of the celebrity life; drugs and alcohol. From Kurt Cobain to Jimi Hendrix to Heath Ledger, drugs and booze have claimed so many promising celebrities. I can't understand what it is that causes celebrities to become drug dependant. Whether it's a stress-related cause or just a fun thing for them, I guess everyone has their own reasons as to why they start on the path to destruction.

Celebrities also seem to become more famous after they die. The day Michael Jackson died was unreal. For around a week, all the crazy fans came out of the cracks. Watching the news on mute, you would have thought with the tears and the number of people and the coverage of it that the second coming had appeared. It's the same with everything, when you lose something, you fully appreciate it because it will never return. A celebrities highest point in life is arguably their death. That is probably the point when the most people will remember and respect that celebrity's life, which is quite a sad prospect really.

Some of my favourite celebrities include Evgeni Malkin (already mentioned), Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson (although oddly enough, I hated the Phantom Menace), Rhys Darby, Bill Bailey, Marc-Andre Fleury (another ice hockey player), Mike Myers and Chris Kamara.

Some of my most hated are/were Justin Beiber, Amy Winehouse, Jedward, Cristiano Ronaldo, Russell Kane, Russell Brand and Wayne Rooney.

So, I put the topic to you. What makes a celebrity? Is it good for a young person to become famous? Who are your favourite celebrities and who are your most hated? If you could choose to be famous, what would you choose to be famous for?

Sonic Chris wrote:
... They're entertainers first and humans later.

Entertainers in the loosest sense of the word, I take it?

pete_21 wrote:
Sonic Chris wrote:
[i]pete_21 wrote:
[i]I agree, regional stereotypes are ridiculous. I'm Welsh and only 5 of mates actually fancy sheep. The rest of us don't find them the least bit attractive...

Unless they're called Brian... ;-)[/i]

Ha ha :)

@pb If people cared as little as I do for celebrities and never bought tabloids or the likes of OK/Hello magazine then the paparazzi would not exist. Unfortunately while there is a demand for a picture of someone like Cheryl Cole walking out of McDonalds wearing a track suit and baseball cap, partnered by a mysterious chaperone then that industry will always exist. I just find it a little strange that so many people actually seem interested in that stuff.[/i]

I think a lot of people who buy those sort of magazines aspire to be the people they read about. It provides a connection with that particular celebrity that can make the person feel like they know said celebrity better. It's still very weird. Personally, I'm not fussed about what a celebrity does with their personal lives. They're entertainers first and humans later.

Sonic Chris wrote:
pete_21 wrote:
[i]I agree, regional stereotypes are ridiculous. I'm Welsh and only 5 of mates actually fancy sheep. The rest of us don't find them the least bit attractive...

Unless they're called Brian... ;-)[/i]

Ha ha :)

@pb If people cared as little as I do for celebrities and never bought tabloids or the likes of OK/Hello magazine then the paparazzi would not exist. Unfortunately while there is a demand for a picture of someone like Cheryl Cole walking out of McDonalds wearing a track suit and baseball cap, partnered by a mysterious chaperone then that industry will always exist. I just find it a little strange that so many people actually seem interested in that stuff.

pete_21 wrote:
I agree, regional stereotypes are ridiculous. I'm Welsh and only 5 of mates actually fancy sheep. The rest of us don't find them the least bit attractive...

Unless they're called Brian... ;-)

@pb I think paparazzi would have existed anyway. They would've found someone's lives to invade regardless of their fame. Maybe we'd know more about the lives of those mysterious MPs if it wasn't for celebrities...

DL wrote:
Novak Djokovic?

Just what variety of celebrity is this one?

Has he been in Essex?

Who said Djokovic was the celebrity from that particular pairing?

Another thought;

Did modern celebrity create the paparazzi or would they have always existed?

Novak Djokovic?

Just what variety of celebrity is this one?

Has he been in Essex?

pete_21 wrote:
I agree, regional stereotypes are ridiculously true.

Agreed.

I'm Irish ... (Southern) ... and I'm tick, KO

Separated at birth?

Roger Federer and Quentin Tarantino

Novak Djokovic and The Count

Andy Murray and Beaker

Anyone else?