Looking Up to Celebs Leads to New Talent

Celebrity culture is often viewed as a bad thing — movie stars and those richer–than-you are not decent role models for kids! In many cases, this is true. No one should look at Lindsay Lohan and want to be just like her — that would be wrong. But not all celebrities are the burnt out, self–centered movie stars that claim all the attention.

The truth is, not all celebrities use their power for evil. Some of the wealthiest and most powerful of them are organizing fundraisers to aid victims of natural disasters, or campaigning for political leaders. George Clooney, so–called “Sexiest Man Alive,” spearheaded the Hope For Haiti Now telethon this past year, which raised approximately 60 million dollars for the earthquake victims. Jon Stewart, a TV personality on Comedy Central, organized “The Night of Too Many Stars,” which was a benefit to help fundraise for autism research.

But this merely justifies the argument that not all celebrities are equal — the real question is whether or not it’s healthy to hold celebrities as the demigods of our society. Should a child look up to a famous person merely for being famous?
The answer is: of course not. But you can look up to a famous person for being a good actor, comedian, musician, et cetera. Because of the focus on their fame alone, we tend to forget that most of the people we seem to idolize are artists. One could argue that their jobs are of little consequence; our lives would go on without the movie industry, or without a comedian to make us laugh on television. But the truth is that entertainment is important for human well–being.
The entertainment industry is not the most important in the society — at best, it can show us a perspective on the way society is at the time and attack different issues; at worst, it provides a necessary escape to help relieve the tension of everyday life.

So if the profession is considered legitimate, why should there be a problem with having role models in the places you want to be, to help you set goals for yourself? If you want to be a comedian, there is no shame in having Steve Martin be your role model. He may not be Mother Teresa, but if it’s the direction you’re going, it’s perfectly fine to have someone to idolize to help you out on your journey. If you want to be a musician, take your pick of talented artists that you admire. Just try to pick one as far away from the Keith Richards side of the spectrum as possible.

Celebrity culture may not be completely healthy. We often idolize people for the wrong reason: if an actress played a doctor on TV, and you idolize her for the daring surgeries she performs, what she should be idolized for is her convincing acting. Not everyone should aspire to be something that makes you famous — but for those of you who do, looking up to those people is not such a bad thing.