Explain celebrity obsessions to me

[Scarlett]

I realize a lot of people really really like celebrities. I can never get too wrapped up in a person I don't even actually know.

 

I have this friend.....FB friend from high school. I haven't seen her since high school, but post high school she converted to my religion and looked me up. She lives in AZ now and we have mutual friends that have been around her recently. Oh and she is a Nurse Practioner. She is married, has a grown daughter.....everything about her life seems normal except this one thing....she is OBSESSED with Prince.

 

The day he died she posted, the Earth just stopped rotating.

 

Just now she posted a pic of herself crying.....saying it hits her at weird times....she is crying purple tears. She desperately wanted to go to Paisley Park the weekend he died....asked friends on line to sign her name to a memorial of some kind. She said she is going back to counseling.....between Prince dying and her job being stressful she needs a counselor.

 

I mean......isn't that weird? As far as I know her only semi personal contact with him was when they were both at the same large religious event years ago in NYC.

 

She bought a necklace with the Prince symbol on it.

 

I mean it just goes on and on. It is slightly uncomfortable to me....

[mamiof5]

It's probably one of those things I'll never understand. I'm not into celebrities, at all... I'm kind of on the opposite spectrum? When Prince died I had to Google who he was, the name just rang a bell. Bowie? With him I just didn't have a clue...had never heard of him. Every time a celebrity dies (or I hear they are sick or something) I pray for them, but that's about it. I tell the kids we are all human beings, just with different talents. No reason to cry, faint, scream when we meet someone who can act, sing etc? They are humans as we all are, just different talents, and a bigger bank account that what I'll ever have 😂.

[Scarlett]

It's probably one of those things I'll never understand. I'm not into celebrities, at all... I'm kind of on the opposite spectrum? When Prince died I had to Google who he was, the name just rang a bell. Bowie? With him I just didn't have a clue...had never heard of him. Every time a celebrity dies (or I hear they are sick or something) I pray for them, but that's about it. I tell the kids we are all human beings, just with different talents. No reason to cry, faint, scream when we meet someone who can act, sing etc? They are humans as we all are, just different talents, and a bigger bank account that what I'll ever have 😂.

Yes, I am more like you....and I know that so I've tried to be understanding...but wow it seems off to me.

 

When there are contests to have dinner with some celebrity....I am like um pass....what would we talk about?

[JustEm]

I can't imagine feeling this way about a celebrity or really anyone I don't personally know even if their talents impacted me. So apparently I'm not going to help you understand it.

[QueenCat]

Can't explain it 'cause I really don't get it...... at all....... people know more about celebrities than issues that actually impact them..... sad.

[Guest]

Here is a good article about it.

 

It's nothing new....some people (ahem) are still today worshiping the celebrities of an out-of-the-way Greek hamlet.

[Carol in Cal.]

I avoid all that stuff, I think it's completely boring and quite invasive to follow people's private lives just because they are in movies or play a sport.  It makes it hard to play games though.  I'm so clueless.  The other night I was playing a 5 second Q and A game and couldn't think of the names of three basketball players.

 

 

[Anne in CA]

I have met lots of famous people, I used to work at the only hotel in my home state that had good enough security for the president and other famous people. I still don't get it. I've been in the same room with lots of famous people and I don't view them differently. Of course, some are much more charismatic that others. Bill Clinton has more charisma than any preacher I've ever seen. I once saw Vera Katz stand on a chair (yes she bent it) to cheer for him. It is impossible to listen to him speak when he's on his game and not fall under his spell. But  I see through him when I step back.

 

I really don't get people who "love" their celebrity crush. I have a friend who is still sad that Joan Rivers has passed away. I understand it is a loss to him, but it is not in me to understand why.

[poppy]

Yes it's weird, But to be fair: I'd call Prince an artist, not a celebrity. He's not someone who was in two movies, or sang a couple songs someone else wrote, then spent the rest of his life getting photographed and doing dumb stuff so that paparazzi will follow him around.  

 

He's someone with a large, original, influential body of work and someone who could easily have been a big influence in a young person's emotional life.  Like when Kurt Cobian died.  Or Elvis.  Or John Lennon.   Not saying all 4 are equally talented, but, all four were mourned quite a bit. Probably, people are  partly saying goodbye to the time in their life that was special due to something sparked by that artist.

 

 

[Carol in Cal.]

It's funny that you mention Bill Clinton.

I guess I do follow political figures and also authors more so.  They are just more interesting.  But I don't necessarily follow their personal lives, more things that have historical significance.

 

I do go and see them.  I've seen Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, Warren Burger, Barbara Kingsolver, Cal Thomas, Alice Waters, Alice Walker, Jane Goodall, Jane Dyer, Susan Wise Bauer, and others.  I'm nothing if not eclectic.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Carol in Cal.

[Scarlett]

Yes it's weird, But to be fair: I'd call Prince an artist, not a celebrity. He's not someone who was in two movies, or sang a couple songs someone else wrote, then spent the rest of his life getting photographed and doing dumb stuff so that paparazzi will follow him around.

 

He's someone with a large, original, influential body of work and someone who could easily have been a big influence in a young person's emotional life. Like when Kurt Cobian died. Or Elvis. Or John Lennon. Not saying all 4 are equally talented, but, all four were mourned quite a bit. Probably, people are partly saying goodbye to the time in their life that was special due to something sparked by that artist.

Ah. Ok. This I can understand.

[catz]

Wow.  I totally think that is off.  I am local to Prince and have always liked him and know friends of friends kind of thing and I'm still enjoying life!  I did go see some of the memorials and shed a few tears.  He was the sound of my adolescence in a big way and I can totally relate to the thoughts that he is an actual artist. But I also wet my pants laughing at the mom in the Chewbacca mask and am otherwise very much happy and enjoying life.  :D

 

My sibling used to be a news personality in a small town.  When we'd go out people would totally stalk him.  It was creepy and weird and gross!  Especially since actually knowing personally a couple minor celebrities, I really don't get the star struck thing at all.  

 

I think it's really good she recognizes she needs a professional to deal because that is pretty over the top.

Edited May 24, 2016 by WoolySocks

[Scarlett]

I do agree that some people are very charismatic.....I am politically neutral but Bill Clinton really is mesmerizing.....then I step back and look at the big picture and he is just as human as the rest of us.

 

 

But back to Prince....I read a quote....something about....we mourn their ( artists) passing not because we knew them but because they helped us know ourselves.

[Farrar]

An old friend wrote her dis on fan mail and fan culture (more or less) from the 19th century, so definitely nothing new.

 

I admit that I don't relate to the whole tearful mourning of celebs. I get sad about some of them, but not like that. But the whole lighter, fun "I'm totally into" sort of fan worship... it's escapism, like fantasy and soap operas and so forth. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I've often wondered the same thing.  I never went cuckoo for cocoa puffs over any celebrity. 

 

 

[creekland]

Can't explain it 'cause I really don't get it...... at all....... people know more about celebrities than issues that actually impact them..... sad.

 

Same here.  The closest I get is when an actor dies from an older show we watch(ed) and it makes me feel old, but it's hardly a life changing event (for me).

 

The other night I was playing a 5 second Q and A game and couldn't think of the names of three basketball players.

 

You could give me all day and I wouldn't be able to name three.  I couldn't for football or baseball either.

 

I can name three (or more) Triple Crown winners though as long as we're talking Thoroughbred racing.   :coolgleamA: 

 

I don't fawn over political figures or others either.

[Garga]

Magic Johnson

Wilt Chamberlain

That guy with the dyed blonde hair who hangs out in North Korea and everyone finds really offensive. What's his name?

 

I can almost name 3 basketball players.

 

Football:

Joe Montana....

There's a guy with a last name of Falco, but I only remember him because his name is close to my own.

Just the two.

 

Baseball:

Cal Ripkin

Babe Ruth

That's it.

 

Wow. Naming three players in those sports is hard. As you can see, I have no celebrity crushes on sports figures. Or anyone else. I think it's weird and immature. The article someone linked was very interesting, though, and helped me to understand why some people get really caught up in it.

[creekland]

Magic Johnson

Wilt Chamberlain

That guy with the dyed blonde hair who hangs out in North Korea and everyone finds really offensive. What's his name?

 

I can almost name 3 basketball players.

 

Football:

Joe Montana....

There's a guy with a last name of Falco, but I only remember him because his name is close to my own.

Just the two.

 

Baseball:

Cal Ripkin

Babe Ruth

That's it.

 

Wow. Naming three players in those sports is hard. As you can see, I have no celebrity crushes on sports figures. Or anyone else. I think it's weird and immature. The article someone linked was very interesting, though, and helped me to understand why some people get really caught up in it.

 

You beat me.  You're the pro on this subject if we ever team up for Trivial Pursuit. 

 

I can recognize some names, but I can't come up with them and sure wouldn't be able to pick any out in a lineup.

 

I've recently learned to recognize Kardashian as a name, but definitely couldn't identify anyone with that name nor tell what their "specialty" is.

 

Hubby and I could both relate on one of the recent Big Bang Theory shows when Sheldon and Penny were learning from flash cards.  The cards Sheldon made for Penny to learn from were ridiculously easy.   :coolgleamA:

[kewb]

 

But back to Prince....I read a quote....something about....we mourn their ( artists) passing not because we knew them but because they helped us know ourselves.

This. 

 

That said, I am not one for over the top grieving for celebrities or people I know.  We all process grief in different ways.  If Prince's work helped your friend know herself then it is like mourning a close friend.

[Carrie12345]

I can't imagine being THAT emotionally... tied to? invested in? a celebrity, but I certainly do have my favorites.

 

This morning, I watched the video of P!nk (one of my favs) being ambushed by Johnny Depp (another of my favs) on Jimmy Kimmel.  Her reaction kind of makes her seem like a %&($!, but I think it's exactly how my brain would respond to having my inexplicable fandom exposed to the real life human being.  "No!  This sucks!  This is the worst day ever!"  It doesn't make reasonable sense, it's just there.

[J-rap]

I love the movies, and have been fleetingly sad at an actor passing (Jimmy Stewart  :)), it's more about the idea or ideals they stood for passing or holding a special place for me, not really them personally -- because I don't know them personally.   Or maybe just the tragedy in general, whoever it may be.  (Even if it's just a stranger I happen to hear about.)

 

But yeah, people who are so wrapped up in a celebrity death because of an actual obsession they had with them, I don't get that either. Maybe the celebrity takes the place of someone or something they are missing in real life?  I don't know.

[Bluegoat]

That sounds really weird to me.

 

I can think of people who I am interested in their work.  Especially if they seem like nice people, I find it sad when they die, or I think it's nice when they have some good luck. But it is a bit like hearing about a relative of my cousins that I have never met.

 

I do occasionally read interviews with someone I find interesting, so sometimes I end up hearing something about their personal lives.  Some of those people can be really interesting, either that is why they end up being well known, or maybe being famous it has given them an interesting life. 

 

I do tend to remember these things about people that may seem silly, such and such an actor was a gardener before, or a singer worked on a tobacco farm, a pianist really liked cheese sandwiches.  Sometimes they are just appealing personalities that come across in tv interviews and such. And  I think that when people do that a lot, read that stuff, watch the interviews, they sometimes start to feel like they really know that person.  A lot of it is IMO illusory, though I can think of people I believe have a very genuine public personal that is not a lot different from their personal one - just more limited.  But I don't know that it is healthy to get that way about people, and I often feel like it is a little invasive too, almost kind of like feeding off them. 

 

As for the reason people start to "get into" celebraties in the first place, I think that some interest in other people is just normal - that is why we gossip sometimes, almost everyone has some interest in other people.  With the famous it takes on a social aspect, and for "fans" it can become a group or personal identification.  As it does I think with people who really identify as fans of shows or books to the point where it becomes a major part of self-image.  (Like the guys on Big Bang Theory,  they don't just enjoy Star Trek or comic books - being a fan becomes a significant focus of their social lives and activities and even what they buy.)  I tend to think of it as being in part a product of consumerism - what we consume defines who we are - but also just a desire for group identification.

 

Edited May 25, 2016 by Bluegoat

[gypsymama]

I can't understand being that distraught over a celebrity. Then again I can't imagine being that distraught over people that I know IRL that I'm not close to.... Oh So-n-so-from-10th-grade died? That sucks. I feel awful for their family. ..... that's it. End of reaction. If I'm close to the person I may mourn a little more but not that drastically. The only person I truly mourned and still miss are my two grandmothers and my cousin. I don't even miss my grandfathers to that extent. Sounds odd to me but then again I know I have issues with emotional disconnect so maybe I'm way off base? 

 

I could see the emotional impact though. A lot of people, especially in their teens, become attached to celebrities because they relate to them or something in their work. I'm thinking here of a teen with no/bad parents that relates to Eminem because of his songs. If these people don't have enough IRL connection or allow a celebrity fandom to elevate to IRL connection status it could be detrimental if the person dies... almost like a part of their own life or self dying off. Maybe?

 

I'm not personally connected to celebrities though. I have met quite a few well known people before mostly in the rap world because of my bartending years or those that are from the area I use to live in. (Britney Spears, Brandy, Juvenile, Snoop Dogg, etc. just to name a few plus others I've met at their events like Keith Urban or Jason Aldean; also football players Glover Quin, Brett Favre, the Mannings) I haven't been impressed. Some have good personalities but no more so than other people IRL just because of their career. Some were atrocious people I hope never to have to cross again. 

[goldberry]

That sounds a little over the top to me.  I don't know if I would consider that healthy.

 

A girl I went to middle school with loved Ozzy Osbourn and was going to name her first baby after his daughter.  Years later we reconnected... and she actually did.  I remember being totally shocked that an adult would do that. (not just liking the name, but specifically after a celebrity).  

[Bluegoat]

That sounds a little over the top to me.  I don't know if I would consider that healthy.

 

A girl I went to middle school with loved Ozzy Osbourn and was going to name her first baby after his daughter.  Years later we reconnected... and she actually did.  I remember being totally shocked that an adult would do that. (not just liking the name, but specifically after a celebrity).  

 

The name thing seems weird to me as well, but OTOH I wonder if it is partly bias?  My dd11 is named after a person in a novel, and my ds6 has the name of my favorite author as one of his middle names.

 

Neither of those seem weird to me.  I feel like maybe it is a snobby thing on my part?