Heroes and the cult of celebrity

[dArKeR]

From Buddha to Beckham, from Reagan to Arnie, throughout the ages we have always got the heroes we deserve

By Karen Armstrong
THE GUARDIAN , LONDON

Tom and Nicole are getting married again; Michael Jackson fends off child abuse allegations and we are regularly regaled with reality TV programs that scrutinize the behavior of minor celebrities in jungles and kitchens.

For many, these events are of more immediate interest than the catastrophically unfolding drama in Iraq. Is this simply harmless fun, a light-hearted diversion from the grim headlines? Or does it reveal a serious flaw in our culture?

Celebrity has political importance in the West. With immense pomp and pageantry, the US has just mourned former president Ronald Reagan, a B-movie actor who became the most powerful man in the world. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose film career exalted the values of brawn over brains, has become governor of California.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/06/20/2003175842

[Miss Authoritiva]

1. I'm insulted and I have more than the basic necessities.

"The lifestyle of celebrities, proudly flaunted on Web sites and in celebrity-driven magazines, must seem cruel and insulting in countries where people lack the basic necessities of life."

The psychology (or should that be psychopathology) of celebrity fixation is beyond me. The best I can work out is that whatever its cause, it is being binge-fed by endless cheap programming.