It’s Just Entertainment…Right?

Posted by Saluki in Stray Thoughts with Saluki | 0 comments

I’ve always considered myself to be pretty level headed when it comes to my attitude towards celebrities. I enjoy looking at celebrity magazines as much as the next person. I’ve watched videos on TMZ or YouTube and laughed or gasped along with millions of other people. But, my attitude has generally been that it’s all in the name of entertaiment, so it’s okay.

That all changed one day when I was looking at a popular celebrity/gossip focused website. I clicked on a link and stumbled upon a video that made my stomach turn. In it, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are enjoying a night off work in Vancouver eating out. From the moment they left the restaurant to the moment they dashed into the hotel, they were chased by the paparazzi. Scenes like this are not uncommon. Paparazzi follow celebrities every single day. However, I had never gotten such an up close and personal view of just what it’s like to have your privacy ruthlessly invaded, all in the name of entertainment.

The paparazzi woudln’t be so aggressive in taking video and pictures if celebrity focused magazines and other news outlets didn’t pay good money for them. And, magazines wouldn’t pay good money for these images if they didn’t sell magazines. But they do, because we as fans buy them, all in the name of entertainment.

Is our entertainment worth the price we are exacting on celebrities? Sure, they make millions of dollars that allow them to live the type of lifestyles that most of us could only dream of. However, when the camera stops rolling, they have regular lives like you and me. They go grocery shopping, take their kids to school, and do all manner of “normal” things. Should this normal side of their lives serve as a form of entertainment for the general public? Okay, got your answer? Watch the video below – and see if your answer stays the same – I know mine didn’t.

Yeah, all of that to feed our celebrity obsession…all in the name of entertainment. I don’t know about you, but watching this video made me physically ill. I don’t care how rich and famous a person is, they should be able to enjoy living their life without this type of invasion. I know that scenes like this aren’t the norm, but I guess it took watching Rob and Kristen get tracked like dogs to change my perspective on looking at magazines and websites that feature paparazzi photographs.

For instance, I subscribe to People magazine. Most of the pictures within the magazine seem to be tastefully taken. However, even when the photographer is polite and the celebrity seems to be smiling, I can’t seem to justify my need to look at the picture in the first place. Lately, I’ve found myself embarassed that I’ve spent so much of my time looking at pictures of people trying to live their private lives. Why should I care if Britney shopped at Target, or if Nicole and Keith grabbed a coffee at Starbucks? When it comes right down to it, the answer is there is no reason. Just because a person is a celebrity, doesn’t mean their every day actions are any more exciting that anyone else on the planet.

Sure, if a celebrity is at a movie premier, the opening of a club, or attending a charity event, the paps have every right to click away. There is a time and a place for a celebrity to be photographed, and that is when they are going out in public for an official event, whether related to a project they are working on or not. There are times they have an obligation to be photographed – but they are aware and prepared for the onslaught. In those cases, it is part of the price of celebrity.

Celebrities do what they do on screen for our entertainment. However, when the camera stops rolling, that’s when their obligation to entertain us ends. To put it in perspective, in the December issue of Vanity Fair, the author states, “Pattinson, who’s been living out of three suitcases for the past year, has been feeling overwhelmed, self-conscious, and guilty. ‘I’m trying not to drown, he says’”. While I know this whole statement has more to do than just one side of fame, it shows that fame isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

Next time you go to pick up your favorite celebrity magazine or visit the newest online gossip site, think for a minute what it would feel like if you were the one being photographed. Doesn’t seem very entertaining does it?
Do you agree with me, or think I am totally off base? Let me know in the Lair.