Celebrity worship

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He invented loads of stuff, most notably Alternating Current.

I sorta idolise John Lennon (there was a period where I thought I was his reincarnation) and I often compare my life to his (ATM I'm winning, I haven't failed at school and my parents are still here, but I'm not about to join the biggest rock band ever any time soon), but overall I don't understand obsession with celebrities. Justin Bieber or Tom Cruise or Cheyl Cole haven't achieved anything like Tesla or Lennon.

Ahh, don't bring up JB! I've heard enough about him.

I don't care either way for him, I find the furour (both love and hate) rather amusing.

He didn't invent alternating current, he discovered it. Sorry, I just had to point that out.

Years ago there was a Leonardo di Caprio Worshipping Cult.
I couldn't understand for the life of me why the girls liked him. I couldn't understand why they would worship someone who seemed incredibly boring and unfunny to me. The man didn't even crack a smile or tell jokes, so I personally couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

I tried to have a sensible friendly conversation with these girls, but this was impossible.
They'd scream out "Leo!" every two seconds, which made me feel left out and excluded.

I couldn't understand why they would idolise a man who resembled a living incarnation of a Ken Barbie Doll. A man who didn't write/create his own material and seemed to be like a plastic puppet dangling on the strings of Hollywood. He didn't enrich my world view or make me think as much as I would've liked. There seemed to be something missing. I wasn't inspired or "blown way" by him.

Sadly, I think that the media exploits teenage girl's loneliness and insecurities. I believe that teenage girls falling in love with men who live thousands of miles away is symptomatic of a bigger problem: these girl's psychological needs are not being met by their local communities.

That said, I think that parasocial relationships can be beneficial if the celebrity provides the public with a service and teaches a skill set that might not be available to learn in the local community.

In my country, creative "local hero" celebrities are really popular on TV. They teach viewers about wildlife, cooking, crafts, antique collecting, gardening and other lifestyle hobbies.

One inspired me to draw. Another was a brilliant historical satirist who has produced some fantastically hilarious edutainment for children and adults.

I only worship celebrities if they make me feel better about myself or provide me with a skill set that's underserved by my local community.

There's also the phenomenon of the "Internet celebrity". People can make short films on a "shoe-string budget" and distribute these films world wide at the click of a button. I think that these unmanicured amateur producers and creators are refreshing. I think that many people are getting tired of being force fed by the "Read Only" consumer culture of Hollywood. They want to interact with the content and produce "fan films" themselves. Hence, the emergence of a "Read Write" Culture.

When it comes to celebrity worship, I guess that people have different tastes and preferences.