Published on 12, July, 2020
I don't think I 'get' celebrity culture.
I can think of some actors who are (fairly) consistently good at playing a diverse range of characters, if I hear they're in a movie I might consider watching it for that reason, but I don't think I'd be particularly interested in meeting them / having something signed by them / owning something they once did, or any of the other things I hear of people doing re. celebrities. Similarly singers / musicians, authors, scientists, or any others.
I would be interested to speak to some authors about a book of theirs I might have read, or scientists about their work, but I think only if I happened to meet them. I cannot imagine travelling across the country specifically for that purpose! Most of the people I would REALLY like to talk to about their field of work are historical figures anyway. I just have no interest in them as generalised people, it's their work / whatever they're probably famous for, that I'd be interested to talk to them about and I can't understand why I would be interested in a 'selfie' with them!
Do others here feel like that?
I have met some famous people and ... they were just people, of course. With some, not all, it was a surprise to see them but I didn't think of stopping to chat with them or anything. Seeing them was an interesting aside to the day but I felt the exact same thing when I took my daughter to see 'Santa Claus'. I do admire certain people for the things they have done but, again, the same can be said for many of the people I see on a regular basis and they're not famous at all. I'd go to a concert to hear someone I admire but I wouldn't think to hang around after on the off chance I might see them - what for? It puzzles me.
There's celebrities, and then there's celebrities. It's the people who are famous for simply being famous who really get me. The kind who have to revitalise their ailing career by going on stupid reality shows and submitting themselves to indignities. Much of this 'famous for the sake of it' thing came about as a result of things like Big Brother, where totally useless egotists made pratts of themselves because it was the only thing they could do to get their stupid faces on the telly.
But then there are the people who are rightly famous for doing interesting and valuable things. Artists, actors, writers, scientists. And people who dedicate their lives to important causes, such as famine relief (though not Mother Teresa, who was an awful woman). I'd like to meet people like Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther King, Dickens, Shakespeare. Those kinds of people. Informally, too, like over a drink in a bar (Gandhi probably would have been a problem there!). These are people whose lives mean something in the grander scheme, and who make a difference. They leave their mark on the world and leave it maybe a better place.
But Katie Price? Kim Kardashian? All that lot? Forget it. Dross.
I wish there was another word than 'celebrity' for the reality TV type. Rather than 'famous' I'd assert 'infamous' but what is the equivalent for celebrity?
I think the word has been debauched by these vacuous types. That happens such a lot. Words get overused and misapplied, and become almost meaningless. 'Devastated' is one that gets me. Everyone and everything is devastated. The lads were devastated because their team lost, the mother was devastated when she lost her phone, the couple were devastated when their son became ill, the country was devastated by famine, the earth was devastated by a nuclear attack, and so on.
As a general rule, I do like to blame Disney for things whenever I can. Haha
Such as, to name just a few of Disney’s crimes:
‘Unrealistic expectations:’ Um…no, if your living room becomes filled with wild animals and birds flying around it too, you probably won't feel like singing, and instead you will need wellies, a change of clothes and probably a Carpet Washer too at the very least.
(And if said animals are singing back to you; um…no, you are in fact Tripping and I will do my best to talk you down, maaaan.)
Not to mention cruelty to vegetables (Cinderella’s coach.)
So I can definitely squeeze blame onto Disney for the demise of language too, fantastic!
Day well spent!
Blame it all on Disney and Hollywood!
This is so true!!
Dumbing down..... Dumb and Dumber......!
This (Bicycles 'words and their meanings) is hilarious! but actually, the systemic 'desecration' of words and language really genuinely worries me too.
I think, if our (any) language is robbed of its richness this will, in turn, rob us of the opportunity to 'think' richly.
1984 anyone?
Hilarious! Glad I wasn't drinking my tea when I read this, it could have been catastrophic!
This is like literally AWESOME, I mean literally well wicked, I like literally laughed cos it's so sick. It could literally have been awks as I'm like sat on a bus but it's like empty like there's literally just me on it. That was literally legit, really really.
I hear Legit being used a lot with really, as in true, honest, truth.
It's at this point that I have to admit that my own use of the English language is far from perfect, but your examples are hilarious nonetheless - LOL and ROFL and if I knew any others at this point I'd add them :) Well done!