Perhaps people want to be on TV because people go nuts over those who have been on TV or in the movies. Look at the sales of clothes the stars have worn. When my daughter was filiming on location they used a few houses as dressing rooms. The production staff had to schedule a few minutes for the kids to go out and sign autographs for the neighborhood people. People wanted hers, though none of the shows she had done had aired yet, and no one in the world could possible know who she was. It was very disturbing.
I think being on TV makes people seem more important just by virtue of the fact that most people aren’t on TV. I think being on TV is analogous to being up on a stage, or winning an award. It would be nice if everybody could win a trophy, but the truth is, there is a limited selection that only goes to a select few. Likewise, when it comes to television, even now that we’ve got hundreds of channels to choose from, the truth is most of us will never be on TV, let alone have our own show. Theoretically, the people who are investing the money to actually broadcast the TV signal are going to be picky about who gets on TV, so they don’t waste their time and effort with someone who isn’t interesting enough to be on TV. As a result, there is a lot of competition for air time, and ideally the content that “wins” and gets aired is the stuff that’s worth watching. We know this isn’t the case (take the WB, for instance ;)) but I think the presumption is that people on TV are more important just because there is so much percieved competition to get on.
I think it’s a matter of people having been on TV or in movies being “special” in a way. The movie and television industry are considered glamourous and therefore, you have to be special to succeed in either or both venues. Humans want to be accepted, down to our very core. It’s an animalistic instinct, for most. We want to be the alpha or at least be accepted by the alpha. Most people know they’re not going to be movie or television stars. Therefore, the closest they can get to being alpha or being accepted by the alpha is to develop a closeness with that person, either in actuality (becoming a screaming fan in hopes of an autograph) or constructively (worshiping from afar, forgiving even the most henious acts).
The theory also explains the whole “willing to humilate yourself for 2 minutes of fame/reality show” fascination. For the participants, it’s the closest they’ll most likely get to that level they’re stiving for. For the fans, it’s the sheer joy of seeing an “ordinary” person getting that close to fame.
According to “Faces”, a science mini-series narrated by John Cleese, the fan urge is an evolutionary holdover. Previously, in order to be famous, a person had to be powerful or influential. An urge to move toward fame resulted in a move toward power and influence. That’s previously as in before marketing. Now the faces you see most often are the faces that can sell the most to the most people, through attractiveness, entertainment, fitting your dysfunction, whatever.
Now that fame and power are no longer coincident, moving toward fame has no value for the mover. It’s like a hen going broody over white stones, or being used to hatch out duck eggs. It’s an instinct being used for someone else’s benefit.
