# Why are we so fascinated with the rich and famous? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 13, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897 "2005-08-13T21:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/1 "2005-08-13T21:08:21Z")
Honestly, why are we? Why do we have to know if a high and mighty couple separated just because they’re in the movies? Why are paparazzo so keen on getting their pictures? Don’t we see them enough on TV/movies/ads? Celebrities are humans, to, so why do we get so hung up when we see pictures of them doing their shopping? The reason I’m asking is because I saw a segment of “20/20” last night on paparazzo. They interviewed a paparazzi photographer and they asked him if he honestly thought that he was doing something wrong. The guy said, “No. We don’t murder people; we don’t steal; we don’t molest children; we’re not rapists.” Okay, maybe he interpreted “wrong” as “illegal”. But how would he like it if some idiot chased after him 24/7 to get a picture of him while he was trying to enjoy his vacation in peace? Why does it matter as long as the celebrities keep making their movies/TV shows for our enjoyment? It’s their job, isn’t it? So why can’t we just leave them alone and let them do their job in peace? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/2 "2005-08-13T21:29:27Z")
Speak for yourself, homes. I couldn’t give two shits in a hurricane. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/3 "2005-08-13T21:35:36Z")
A couple months ago I read a small article about a new study that claimed an interest in celebrities serves some evolutionary process. We are wired to be fascinated in these people, it would seem. I looked for a link, and couldn’t find one. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/4 "2005-08-13T21:38:49Z")
As our society has become more secular, I wonder whether celebrity-worship may be filling the place that the adoration of saints used to occupy in many people’s hearts. There does seem to be a nearly religious fervor attached to celebrity encounters. Meeting a movie star, for some folks, seems to be a spiritual experience. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/5 "2005-08-13T21:44:28Z")
\If celebrities want to be left alone, they shouldn’t have tried to express themselves creatively.\ ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/6 "2005-08-13T23:47:50Z")
I agree with **friedo** (love the expression, I’m stealing it!). Neither I nor any of my circle of friends care overmuch about celebrities or watch their “reality” shows or the “news” magazines dedicated to their worship, or partake in the “rich and famous” genre of shows that that dreadful Robin Leach started with his “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”, though we have speculated on their popularity, and hopefully, their peak and decline. The (read: our) prevailing theory is that the attraction stems from: 1. middle/lower class people needing a reminder and an incentive to keep showing up for work every morning 2. the ability to live vicariously through the seemingly carefree and financially secure 3. simple attraction, be it physical or otherwise Personally, I frown upon the papparazzi and their tactics, though seemingly hypocritically, I also believe that any celebrity who goes out of their way to become a celebrity, really has no right to complain if people pore over their every word and action. It isn’t like they didn’t know what they were getting into when they signed that movie deal. Also, not all celebrities are hounded and a great many maintain fairly private lives. It seems to me that only the one’s that pimp themselves mercilessly, striving for constant media attention, or that are just hot for the moment are actually covered by the weekly rags and fashion mags. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/7 "2005-08-13T23:50:29Z")
I’ve also wondered if the public’s fascination with celebrities isn’t a “chicken or the egg” scenario. Are there so many shows and whatnot about celebrities because there was a demand for them, or do they exist to create the hype and demand? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/8 "2005-08-14T00:09:54Z")
Natural disasters, murders, political struggles; there’s a lot of new in the world that we _should_ follow. But, there are only so many murders you can read and care about, or political scandals that you can stay focused on to keep the country moving the “right” direction. Watching celebrities gives a lot of people the ability to have news that doesn’t cause their head to ache. They can freely gossip about the size of Brad Pitt’s shlong and it doesn’t matter a single whit. And yet they were able to spend a perfectly enjoyable 10-15 minutes socialising with their friends and never needing to come up with, nor be burdened with a serious topic that required serious consideration. 90% of the time, people probably are reading the news so they can chat with everyone they know and not much else. Silly at first blush perhaps, but Dopers are just as guilty–even if their celebrity of choice is GW Bush/Michael Schiavo/France/etc. instead of Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise/etc. Being more passionate than the issue deserves just allows you to break down personal barriers and open up to more people who appreciate the sentiment. Etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/9 "2005-08-14T07:37:09Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > Are there so many shows and whatnot about celebrities because there was a demand for them, or do they exist to create the hype and demand? Yeah, I think that may be the case as well. I think that there’s some sort of “socialisation” going on - to be accepted into society, you have to modify your behaviour in many ways, one of which is to know the gossip, the pop culture references, etc. Celebrities are part of that. Personally, I feel that: There’s way too much money running around Hollywood that should be redirected elsewhere. Becoming an “A-Lister” is more a matter of appearance and luck than acting chops. Most celelbrities are actually as boring as batshit. Britney Spears? Meh. Brad Pitt? Lovely to look at, but meh. Keira Knightley? seems a nice girl, but so does the chick who works at my newsagent’s. Steve Buscemi and Uma Thurman aside, you could meet more interesting people at the local shops. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/10 "2005-08-14T07:39:36Z")
When we moved to an ethical monotheism, they took the place of the far more funloving pagan gods that we lost. They’re the figures in our standardized mythology, and a great thing about them is that unlike the pagan gods you can reasonably hope to meet one or two of them at some point. And some of htem are really hot. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/11 "2005-08-14T12:16:30Z")
The fluff magazine I buy every week costs bugger all. It lives in my bag and gives me something (not work related) to read during my 30 min lunch break. Celebrities are just something inane to read over lunch. Yes I could take a book, but the frequent interuptions make “Brad hits back, Jen was unbearable” (the headline for tomorrow lunch) easier. Shit I have no actual interest in these people…by the end of the week I read the Feng Shui advice. I read crap to fill my time. End of story. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/12 "2005-08-14T12:26:07Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > A couple months ago I read a small article about a new study that claimed an interest in celebrities serves some evolutionary process. We are wired to be fascinated in these people, it would seem. I looked for a link, and couldn’t find one. Sorry. This always made sense to me. It’s an advantage to study the most successful members of the tribe and see what they are doing and how they do it, to emulate them and hopefully also become successful. This maybe made more sense when it was watching Og’s hunting techniques, but seeing how George Clooney dresses might serve a similar purpose. ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/13 "2005-08-14T15:48:29Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > The fluff magazine I buy every week costs bugger all. It lives in my bag and gives me something (not work related) to read during my 30 min lunch break. Celebrities are just something inane to read over lunch. Yes I could take a book, but the frequent interuptions make “Brad hits back, Jen was unbearable” (the headline for tomorrow lunch) easier. > > Shit I have no actual interest in these people…by the end of the week I read the Feng Shui advice. I read crap to fill my time. End of story. This is what I do. I don’t really have an interest in them. But, I’m always reading a book for English class and my textbooks and “heavy” literature. So, it’s always nice to read something that’s half-meaningless to me. Everything else mentioned also makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![mrunlucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/14 "2005-08-14T20:16:37Z")
I’m only fascinated by the rich and famous so I can have things to discuss with other people. If I can’t talk about other people, what is there to talk about? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/15 "2005-08-15T12:06:10Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > _snip_I also believe that any celebrity who goes out of their way to become a celebrity, really has no right to complain if people \*\*pore over \*\* their every word and action. _snip_ I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen this spelled correctly. Thank you. I was afraid “pour over” had already won. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/16 "2005-08-15T12:22:17Z")
In addition to the reasons given above, I think that the unwashed masses get a sense of smug satisfaction from reading about unhappy rich people. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/17 "2005-08-15T12:34:23Z")
I haven’t a clue. I don’t care about what’s going on between Jenifer Anison and Brad Pitt… unless it involve nude photographs of Jenifer. I also can’t fathom the fascination with reality TV programs, why should I care what happens to a bunch of strangers or care who wins? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/18 "2005-08-15T13:04:39Z")
I posited this question in GD over a year ago, and I got some interesting responses. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=264289](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=264289) I like **Lissa’s** response: > [@](#): > > Before that, it was the nobility who were the “stars” that everyone was talking about. Rumors and gossip about the court and who was sleeping with whom were as rampant as they are today. People would line the streets to cheer the Duke of Such-And-Such as he rode by in his fancy clothes, much as we cheer celebrities at a premier. (Autographs seem to have become popular around the Victorian era, from what I can gather-- probably due to low literacy rates previously.) Sometimes, at a royal wedding, the crowd would be allowed to cut up the carpet that the nobles had walked on to have pieces as souvineers. (Henry VIII once famously allowed the crowd to cut his clothes off of him.) > > I love the old English gossip columns. They reported their items thusly: “The D\_\_\_\_\_ss of D\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_e has done this and that with L\_\_\_\_y H\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_e.” Of course, back then, everyone knew who’s name fit the blank, but it makes a little puzzle for the modern reader. The summer after my college freshman year, I was home with my parents during a town festival. During that festival, singer Doug Supernaw was playing live, and my dad introduced him to us. I remember shaking his hand, smiling politely, and going to find my boyfriend. But my roommate, she was freaking out. It was crazy. Here was a two-bit country singer with a modest career playing in a small NE Texas town, but by her reaction, you’d think she was meeting Jesus Christ himself. I still think part of our fascination is the belief (conscious or unconscious) that celebrities live more charmed lives than the rest of us. When we’re cleaning the cat puke out of the carpet for the third time in a week, washing all the dishes yet again, and wishing the spouse wouldn’t make, you know, _those_ noises, we have this idea that celebrities live a life that’s all flowers and puppy dogs. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-so-fascinated-with-the-rich-and-famous/316897/19 "2005-08-15T13:09:51Z")
Because the homes and yachts owned by the poor and obscure aren’t anywhere near as interesting.