Do you ever wonder why Americans are so preoccupied with the life and times of celebrities? This list includes actors, actresses, heiresses, athletes, and even reality TV show "stars." Why should we care who lost or gained weight, who is pregnant, who just hooked up, broke up, got divorced, or has once again landed themselves in rehab? The amount of celebrity-obsessed trashy magazines out there is astonishing--People, US Weekly, Star, OK!, In Touch, National Enquirer, etc. Even mainstream newspapers and other magazines for women like Cosmopolitan and Glamour feature the latest pieces on celebrities. America's obsession with celebrities must have something to do with our own desire for fame--why else would American Idol still air after 9 seasons, unless kareoke were the great American pasttime, not baseball? We gossip and dish on celebs just as much as the UK loves to keep up with their Royals.Are our own lives so humdrum that we must live vicariously through the idealized lives of the rich and famous? Notice that the "rich and famous" tagline includes neither "content," "healthy," nor "at peace." I cannot say that I am not guilty of perusing these magazines when I am bored out of my mind and do not want to use more brain power than it takes to flip through a pretty picture book like US Weekly or People. I'm just saying that we should all realize that it's all a fantasy--these celebrities live charmed lives and nobody could look the way they do without personal trainers, boatloads of cash, personal cooks and nutritionists, plastic surgery, and lots and lots of airbrushing. So instead of envying them, I would rather be content living my own normal life!
