Celebrities are better than you. This issue has come to my attention recently due to Justin Timberlake’s and Jessica Biel’s ridiculous wedding coverage that has plastered magazine covers and made headlines on the Internet for about a week straight, and do you know what’s been covered?
Nothing spectacular, unless you think a wedding, complete with a People Magazine cover, a video of homeless people sending the couple their regrets for being unable to attend the wedding and multiple stops at Frankfurt, to Naples and then from there to Puglia, where the actual beach wedding took place, is spectacular.
Not only was no one told where they were going, but the guests had to abide by two rules in order to come, namely, that no kids were allowed and that they had to be able to stay a full week or not come at all. Yes! This sounds exactly like my cousin’s wedding, minus the plane flights, Europe and millions of dollars!
This just continues to further the illusion that celebrities are regular folks, like you and me. Magazines devote entire sections to pictures of famous stars and starlets doing all sorts of ordinary activities, such as Ben Affleck walking his dog, or Jennifer Aniston purchasing mangoes.
This causes some people to believe the line between real people and famous people is perhaps not so distinct after all. “Look, Daniel Craig is drinking coffee from Starbucks! I guess he’s not so different from the rest of us after all!” This is preposterous. The man plays James Bond, for Pete’s sake. He and his $20 million estimated net worth are not even in the same ball park as the rest of us bargain-store-clad average Joe’s.
The man probably sprinkles gold flakes on his imported Belgian waffles in the morning, and I guarantee he does not want to hit up a fast food place with you later.
We are a culture obsessed with celebrities, actors, actresses, singers-we love fame. It’s the bread and butter of our culture and, even with countless magazines (Star, People, Us, Entertainment Weekly, etc.), a television channel (E!) and other outlets (gossip sites, celebrity books, etc.) we can’t get enough. People feel a pressing need – not a want, a need – to have their 15 minutes of fame, too.
Some become so desperate they will do anything for it, leading to a deluge of reality TV shows and magazine coverage.
Those who are sane enough to want to avoid appearing on a trashy reality TV show (*cough* “Toddlers and Tiaras” *cough*) but still desire to at least have something in common with their glamorous idols instead focus on how the famous are not so different than you or me. Sure, they make loads of money, are stalked by paparazzi and are literally in the spotlight all of the time, but there really aren’t that many differences. Right?
Wrong.
No matter how down-to-earth someone appears on “The Late Show with Dave Letterman” or “Conan,” all one has to do is actually listen to what they are saying to realize there is a gap between real people and famous people that is almost impossible to be bridged.
Need an example? Gwyneth Paltrow, an actress, owns a company called Goop which sells a plain white shirt, similar to one that can be found at any reasonably-priced store, for $90. I can think of no other explanation for this pricing other than it must be made with some incredibly rare material, such as phoenix feathers or dragon tears. Celebrities are not real people, and it’s unrealistic for both sides to try to pretend they’re something they’re not.
Paltrow puts it best herself, with this gem of a quote from Elle UK in 2009: “I am who I am. I can’t pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year.” Granted, that was something most of us gathered after seeing the $90 shirt being sold on your website.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some bargain store shopping to get done.