Spigot Lips

Aydan Corkern asked:


How exciting it can be for those of us who have never experienced even the slightest bit of popularity or recognition to have our name in the paper for some minor thing. We will usually buy up several copies of the paper and carefully clip it out to frame or put in a scrapbook. It might be the only moment of fame that we ever have and we want to be able to go back and remember it fondly. Everyone wants to have a little recognition or fame in their life for something, but there are others who might tell you that there can definitely be too much of a good thing like recognition.

Our society idolizes our celebrities. Many of us will buy a magazine or newspaper simply because it has some captivating picture or headline about one of our favorite stars. Celebrity pictures and stories are one of the hottest selling commodities on the market today and you better believe that reporters and photographers take every opportunity they can to get these stories and pictures because they know how much money can be made by having and releasing them first.

Celebrities know the moment that something in their lives happens that it will be of public interest and there is going to be a flood of reporters and photographers following them around trying to get as many pictures and as much information about the issue as they can as quickly as they can. What is news today will be history tomorrow and time is of the essence. The honest reporters and photographers are usually not rejected by celebrities. When their personal privacy is respected, celebrities will usually cooperate with news people and give them as much information as they want revealed, but much of the paparazzi that seem to show them no respect for privacy can become a thorn in their side.

When we buy the magazines and tabloids newspapers that use unscrupulous tactics to obtain their stories and photographs, we are only helping these news people to become even more annoying to the celebrities we love. In recent years some celebrities have been caught losing their patience with the paparazzi because they can never make a move without having microphones of cameras shoved in their faces. Some celebrities have resorted to suing certain paparazzi members, not for the money, but because of the invasion of privacy.

If we want to continue to be able to get the latest true information about popular people, maybe we should be a little more discriminating about what news material we buy. By supporting those news sources that embellish the truth, just make it up, or touch up photos to make them look like something they are not, we are only helping to annoy celebrities even further. Why do we want to pay good money for trashy articles and pictures that probably are not even half true to begin with?

Jon Caldwell asked:


Despite the pleas on some tearful celebrities, the answer is the people. The same individuals who made ordinary actors, singers, and politicians into celebrities in the first place actually hold the deed on celebrities. So long as celebrities stay in favor with the public, they continue to live a blessed existence of fame and fortune. But if a celebrity loses favor and begins to fade away, they simply cease to exist for much of the world. In some cases they might retain some of the fortune, but the fame is certainly gone.

An audience creates a celebrity. Many individuals have starred in movies or performed at concerts without gaining celebrity status. It is only when the world begins to sit up and take notice of an individual that true star status is obtained. This is how stars are born overnight. If people care about the comings and goings of an individual and the media picks up on this interest, news and tabloid coverage will increase. This creates a celebrity. If nobody cares about a singer’s shopping trips or political message, it is a safe bet that individual will not be stalked by paparazzi and won’t be gracing the covers of magazines. Simply, celebrities are selected.

Certain websites have constructed an algorithm to demonstrate the popularity of celebrities. This algorithm and the celebrity’s popularity equate to a market price, much like a stock price. Members of the site are able to buy and sell celebrities for their personal portfolios and if the celebrity increases in value - both popularity and price, the portfolio value increases. If a celebrity begins to lose value, he is undesirable and dumped.

There can be no clearer message about not only the value of celebrities, but also the ownership of celebrities. Just as celebrities in a portfolio can create a return for investors, those same investors take the time to research the celebrities in forums, news articles, and blogs. This research and drive for information increases the celebrity’s popularity and price. When a celebrity fails to generate news, or generates too much bad publicity, the public will simply lose interest, the celebrity loses value, and stardom begins to fade.

Celebrity obsession is certainly nothing new. If anything you would have figured we as a society would have become more accustomed to and quite bored with celebrities by now. As far back as you can go in history you will see that we have made celebrities almost royalty in the sense that not only does our society need to hear and see their every move and action of these celebrities but large corporations are aware of the fact that we trust the opinions and endorsement of these celebrities more then we trust our own. Turn on your television and you will be bombarded with celebrities selling you everything from fast food to weight loss pills. Can you believe the irony of all of this? We as a society support these celebrities to such and extent that they are now millionaires yet we now put them in a position to make even more money by us purchasing the products they promote.

Do we all really want to be celebrities? Well, the answer is yes and no. The fact of the matter is not many of us are talented enough to excel in sports or the entertainment world and a lot of us would not care to be bothered with the burdens that come with the lives of celebrities. However, each and every one of us, whether it is at work or in our homes, do contribute and would love to feel appreciated for what it is we do on a daily basis.

mishmallow8 asked:


Or is it the other way around?