Brain Droppings: On Celebrity

Edward Norton and Mila Jovovich in the glare of hundreds of flashes. F.LoBuono photo

As those wonderful few who read and still follow this blog may have noticed in previous postings, my job as a cameraman for a large TV news organization gives me access to virtually all NY Red Carpet Movie Premieres. In addition to the video that I shoot, I carry a small, hand-held digital camera with me as well. I've have often posted the candid photos that I make with that camera on Facebook and here. With those photos I have tried to capture the claustrophobic and downright manic feeling of what it is really like to be on that carpet. I have often used the industry insiders word pig fuck to describe them. The reason being is that they resemble one (at least I would imagine): lots of squealing and jostling for position. Photographers are jammed in like sardines, herded like cattle, and generally treated like shit. And all of this is done so we give the celebrated even more celebrity. They are an experience to have, but, for me, I can't honestly say that I actually enjoy them. I was never a star gazer as a kid and have never been overly impressed with so-called celebrity. In fact, my whole family was that way. In our house, it just wasn't a big deal.

But it's more than that, too.

Simply put, people worship celebrity. I have seen it first hand. It makes large masses of people do things that they ordinarily would not do; like stand outside in sub zero temperatures to just get a glimpse of a famous person. Or faint in the presence of one. I have seen these things - often! Why? Because in today's mass media mania- Internet crazed- 24 hour news cycle culture, the very idea of celebrity and the exposure it can bring makes people yearn for it. No, they crave it. Virtually none of us will ever achieve that level of "fame" and the fortune that comes with it. But for most, that's not important. It's enough to be close to it. It's almost as if some of it might rub off.

And it's not just American culture. It's universal. At the RC Premiere ("Just Go For It") that I covered last night, Reuters was on one side of me and the AP on the other. When the network takes surveys of the affiliates and asks what type of news stories would they like to see more of, they almost invariably say entertainment. Siting the proliferation of such stories, one of my co-workers says that, "we don't do news anymore. We do infotainment". On my current shift, I cover more RC's than any other news story - by far! Part of it is the schedule itself, but the greater part is the desire to provide more entertainment news to the public.

A ready example is one of this morning's headline news stories: Linsey Lohan could be indicted today for allegedly stealing a neckless. It was teased as one of the lead stories in virtually every single morning news program. Lindsey Lohan? WTF? Even if mattered more (it doesn't) to me, what has she done lately to warrant such attention?! In fact, what has she done in her life that warrants it?!

And this is not the only case. From Paris Hilton to "Jersey Shore" to the Kardashians, the list of people famous for being famous continues to grow (and putrefy). The proliferation of so-called reality shows is another obvious example of our lust for fame and celebrity. I know many, good people who watch these shows for shits and grins but be careful, they could be damaging your brain.

It also creates in the so-called celebrities themselves, a sense of entitlement that often makes them self-centered, childish, pedantic, sycophantic, and down right boorish! (see West, Kanye and Prince in previous DOTD's for evidence).

Remember, every time you watch one of these programs, "UTube" a clip, buy a fan magazine or stand in line to glimpse a celebrity, you're feeding the beast. And it's a huge, all consuming monster that can eat your very soul. It's a self-serving machine that devours all in a never ending cycle of renewal.

And I'm not without blame. I still take the money they give me to cover these things and help perpetuate something I don't believe in. So, I guess, in a sense, I'm a whore, too. But at least I don't like being one.