Celebrity gossip obsession distracts from important issues
By: Cari Radford
Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Features
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Learn more about people's obsession with gossip using our Flash presentation.
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Whether they are out clubbing pantyless or fighting for the environment, society just can't get enough of celebrities.
Hollywood has become an obsession. Is it the glitz and glamour, or is it the gossip that's intriguing?
Dan Pence, a sociology professor, compares society's current obsession with celebrity gossip to the age of Marilyn Monroe but at a more intense level, he said.
Americans were obsessed with Monroe in the 1950s and 1960s, he said. But people weren't totally "dogging" her or other celebrities outside the grocery store like they do today.
"We want incredibly minute details," Pence said.
Anna Nicole Smith's death is an example of how "minute" the details society craves, he said. Everyone wanted to know what was in her refrigerator after she died, and they couldn't leave it alone.
Pence provided a political interpretation of why American culture has become so obsessed with celebrity gossip.
Gossip magazines distract society from the more important things going on such as the war in Iraq and global warming, he said. So people focus on the trivial things instead.
Senior Alissa Hawkins, a communication design major, is curious about celebrity gossip, she said.
"It's interesting, and it takes you away from your own drama," she said.
Hawkins enjoys reading People magazine more than other gossip magazines because it has more interesting stories, she said. The other magazines such as Us Weekly and In Touch Weekly tend to exaggerate and focus more on the drama.
The drama and celebrity gossip obsession is tied to the fact that American culture is very competitive, Pence said.
There is a lot of pressure and stress on how people look, what they wear and what they do, he said.
So why does it matter who the best or worst dressed at the Emmy Awards was or which starlet will or will not wear underwear this weekend?
Senior Melanie Watkins, an interior design major, used to read celebrity gossip magazines in high school to keep up with what she thought were the latest fashion trends. But she has since lost interest, she said.
The magazines used to be a form of entertainment, but she has found more interesting reading material, material with substance, she said.
Celebrities have access to worldwide media, Pence said. But not all of them know exactly how it should be used.
Angelina Jolie may be known as the evil homewrecker who broke up America's "golden couple," Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, but she has used her celebrity status for good more than evil, he said.
Even though she uses her media power for good, she loses credibility in the United States because she is an actress, Pence said. But when she goes somewhere else she is seen as credible and articulate.
Young stars such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears all have access to a worldwide media but don't use it for the greater good, he said. There are people who are literally dying to get the kind of media access these starlets have.
Instead, people read about how Lohan is back in rehab and Spears forgot to wear underwear again.
"The only way they get into the public eye is to take their underwear off and get into a limo slowly," Pence said.
After flashing the world, they have our undivided attention, he said.
With that power, the least they could do is talk about something important.
In many cultures, the average person is intrigued by people with some kind of power, Pence said. And when someone of power humiliates himself or herself, everyone loves to watch.
"We gossip to bring them off their pedestals," he said.
People don't focus on celebrities when they are successful or happy, Pence said.
"It's only when they screw up that our obsession grows," he said.
Cari Radford can be reached at cradford@theorion.com
Learn more about people's obsession with gossip using our Flash presentation.
-----
Whether they are out clubbing pantyless or fighting for the environment, society just can't get enough of celebrities.
Hollywood has become an obsession. Is it the glitz and glamour, or is it the gossip that's intriguing?
Dan Pence, a sociology professor, compares society's current obsession with celebrity gossip to the age of Marilyn Monroe but at a more intense level, he said.
Americans were obsessed with Monroe in the 1950s and 1960s, he said. But people weren't totally "dogging" her or other celebrities outside the grocery store like they do today.
"We want incredibly minute details," Pence said.
Anna Nicole Smith's death is an example of how "minute" the details society craves, he said. Everyone wanted to know what was in her refrigerator after she died, and they couldn't leave it alone.
Pence provided a political interpretation of why American culture has become so obsessed with celebrity gossip.
Gossip magazines distract society from the more important things going on such as the war in Iraq and global warming, he said. So people focus on the trivial things instead.
Senior Alissa Hawkins, a communication design major, is curious about celebrity gossip, she said.
"It's interesting, and it takes you away from your own drama," she said.
Hawkins enjoys reading People magazine more than other gossip magazines because it has more interesting stories, she said. The other magazines such as Us Weekly and In Touch Weekly tend to exaggerate and focus more on the drama.
The drama and celebrity gossip obsession is tied to the fact that American culture is very competitive, Pence said.
There is a lot of pressure and stress on how people look, what they wear and what they do, he said.
So why does it matter who the best or worst dressed at the Emmy Awards was or which starlet will or will not wear underwear this weekend?
Senior Melanie Watkins, an interior design major, used to read celebrity gossip magazines in high school to keep up with what she thought were the latest fashion trends. But she has since lost interest, she said.
The magazines used to be a form of entertainment, but she has found more interesting reading material, material with substance, she said.
Celebrities have access to worldwide media, Pence said. But not all of them know exactly how it should be used.
Angelina Jolie may be known as the evil homewrecker who broke up America's "golden couple," Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, but she has used her celebrity status for good more than evil, he said.
Even though she uses her media power for good, she loses credibility in the United States because she is an actress, Pence said. But when she goes somewhere else she is seen as credible and articulate.
Young stars such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears all have access to a worldwide media but don't use it for the greater good, he said. There are people who are literally dying to get the kind of media access these starlets have.
Instead, people read about how Lohan is back in rehab and Spears forgot to wear underwear again.
"The only way they get into the public eye is to take their underwear off and get into a limo slowly," Pence said.
After flashing the world, they have our undivided attention, he said.
With that power, the least they could do is talk about something important.
In many cultures, the average person is intrigued by people with some kind of power, Pence said. And when someone of power humiliates himself or herself, everyone loves to watch.
"We gossip to bring them off their pedestals," he said.
People don't focus on celebrities when they are successful or happy, Pence said.
"It's only when they screw up that our obsession grows," he said.
Cari Radford can be reached at cradford@theorion.com
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