Why do people go crazy over celebrities or the royal family etc?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rozellelily
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rozellelily

Guest
Recently some members of the British Royal family visited here,and while I like them,I dont really understand the appeal why some people would line up for hours just to see them or get a handshake.
I understand to a degree if someone has English background they might find some affinity with them or if the royal family had gave them money or something (not likely).

I’ve never really understood either why some people go crazy trying to get celebrities autographs.
I understand lining up for a concert because it is worth the money and produces memories but a signature on a piece of paper is just a meaningless piece of paper as I see it.
To me everyone is created equal.
 
Last edited:
I used to have a great interest in the British Royal family, but anymore I see them as very coddled and spoiled and flawed like the rest of us. For example, Harry’s new wife claims to be a feminist and was very happy Ireland finaly repealed the ban on abortions.
To me being a feminist and being a member of the royal family, just don’t mix.
 
Some people do the same thing for the pope.

When Pope Francis came to Philadelphia, I met a Jewish man who spent all day Saturday waiting for the pope to come by in the PopeMobile. He said it was a historic moment to see the pope, one he did not want to miss.

My Jewish sister-in-Law did the same thing when Pope Francis was in New York. She stood on the sidewalk waiting for him to drive past in his Fiat - video taped him speeding by.

I think the reason people do that is because whether it’s the pope, royalty, or celebrities, people want to emulate the famous person they are waiting to see, one way or another.

While I would wait all day to see a pope, I doubt I would ever do so to see royalty and surely I would not do so to see a celebrity.

God Bless
 
Last edited:
Rozellelily said:
I understand lining up for a concert because it is worth the money and produces memories but a signature on a piece of paper is just a meaningless piece of paper as I see it.
Click to expand...
A lot of people could not care less about concerts, but they enjoy following the royals. To each his own fun. Also I’ve seen people go nuts lining up to meet their favorite musicians and get an autograph or a photo taken with them.

Sometimes people just admire a celeb or want to emulate their public image. Some people also are drawn by the fact that a person is a celebrity and want to say they met a famous person. Some re-sell the autographs on ebay, and some have a romantic crush on the celeb, often because it’s less stressful to crush on an unobtainable person than deal with a real life relationship.

I think most of us would queue up to meet the Pope, and most of us probably also have a famous person or two we wouldn’t mind meeting though we might not do an hours-long line stand to meet them.
 
Last edited:
For somewhat the same reason that some people go bonkers over mindless, insipid, dumbed down television shows.
 
As Tis_Bearself said, “To each his own fun.”

There’s no harm done in admiring a celeb and trying to keep up with their professional career and personal life (as much as they allow their personal life to be made public).

I love my favorite actor, and follow his Twitter account. He is a Christian and regularly posts Bible verses and photos of his church, his priest, etc. It sounds like his wife is the reason he became a Christian, and that’s cool to me. Even his children seem to live out a Christian life. He’s family-oriented and is always talking about the good projects his children are involved with. He not only acts, but owns a business (a Harley-Davidson shop) and he is always talking about his love for motorcycles and his motorcycle club. He is extremely active with the USO and has been on several tours into some of the most dangerous countries in the world. He’s into helping animals and has several dogs and cats (all adoptions) of his own.

And he’s a darn fine actor who works very hard and is liked by many people in the entertainment world! He seems to have a very good memory–I’ve read several accounts by fans of how they met him in an autograph line, and saw him a year later, and he remembered their name and was able to ask them about various situations in their lives!

It’s fun. It helps me to enjoy my rather typical life here in the Midwest.
 
The royals, and celebrities especially, hold no interest for me whatever. The insanely zealous crowds and the frothing fanatics are fulfilling a need for self importance, in my opinion. They are somehow more important if they can tell all their friends they have met or seen or glimpsed at a distance through binoculars some important person.

The Queen and Prince Philip visited my city in 1978. The only way it affected me was that my route out of town to get away for the weekend was blocked by the motorcade, which brought forth a string of curses on the lineage of the House of Windsor. In a similar incident some years before and in another city, an older brother, then about six years of age, reported throwing a rock into the limo that was carrying them. 3 cheers, I say!

-CW; indifferent Canadian
 
Last edited:
It’s a combination of our being hardwired to worship and to jockey for position in the social heirarchy.
 
I’ve noticed that people who identify in some way with celebrities are fans. With the royal family some people seem to see them as doyens of class and sophistication and these are attributes which they themselves aspire to have or think they already have. Others might feel that the royal family, especially the Queen, are upholding values of decency and politeness which have waned in British society and should be supported. It’s probably a mixture of those things including the simple novelty of seeing someone famous in real life.

I expect a similar thing is going on with celebrities in that people see qualities in them that they themselves either think they have or would like to have and admire. The celebrity may somehow be viewed as representitive of an individuals character traits and personality. Maybe even representing the values of that individual and so an example of how such a person can become famous and rich by exhibiting those traits, which are just like me, etc, a way of seeing yourself validated.

As Catholics we should see things differently.
 
Harry was here for the Invictus Games. I believe that should be the focus of his visit. They were having a honeymoon too. The pace they have kept up is quite difficult. they put meaning into the word ‘work’
 
Roseeurekacross said:
they put meaning into the word ‘work’
Click to expand...
LOL I wouldn’t feel too bad for them.
They might have to attend many fun events at a breakneck speed, but they don’t have any real responsibilities.

I doubt Megan is rushing desperately to finish the laundry and the dishes and the food shopping and the dusting and cleaning the cat box and…
 
She had to kick the pace back because of her pregnancy, I couldn’t do it, meet and greet day and night and make small talk, travel . do the same. And everything they do, wear, say , eat is analysed minutely. Many of those events don’t look like fun, they look like work.
I see a lot of potential in Harry and Megan in bringing publicity to a lot of issues, Megan gave a speech in the Pacific on how she struggled to fund her education.

The Invictus Games is Harry’s own personal creation. If something like that can help returned service men and women with their issues, its so worth it.
 
Envy and Jealousy - Two of the Seven Deadly sins

We need to be careful not to fall into these, and go to confession if we do.
 
With respect to royals, many little girls are raised on fairy tales and Disney movies of princes and princesses, kings and queens. Many of the stories involve ordinary girls who because of their great beauty and sweetness, are chosen by a handsome prince to be his princess, or a king to be his queen. We even get some of this in the Bible ( Esther). There are also stories of common men or low-level knights who through their bravery, strength, or cleverness end up marrying beautiful princesses.

Many children read these stories or watch the movies and are entertained and then forget about it, or even laugh at the idea when they get older or think it promotes an unhealthy stereotype. But some women and even some men take fairy tale romance to heart.

In the West, the last real-life example of this we have is the British royal family. Kate and Meghan were ordinary commoners so it’s like the whole Disney-princess business come to life.
 
Last edited:
It is because man naturally realizes a hierarchy of being. It is true that all men have a certain dignity, but radical equality isn’t true or good. We naturally look for guidance and leadership. In the absence of a good system that provides men who are worthy of emulation and being followed man invents his own. His own system tends to be entertainers who are typically only an example of what not to do.
 
As far as the Royals go, they mostly act as British ambassadors. We might have some sarcasm about their lives being difficult, but they are in a different way. Their jobs are basically assigned at birth and the media scrutiny is intense. The women especially are scrutinized for what they wear. There’s no going out in public in yoga pants. I’d bet a good number of them would love to be anonymous for at least a while, something they’ll never really get.

Why do people like them? Well, they represent a millennia of history Americans are sort of connected to. They are Disney, but real. They make history and tons of palaces real. They contribute to the UK’s tourism appeal. Really they and the other non royals are living history.
 
PJH_74 said:
We might have some sarcasm about their lives being difficult, but they are in a different way. Their jobs are basically assigned at birth and the media scrutiny is intense. The women especially are scrutinized for what they wear. There’s no going out in public in yoga pants. I’d bet a good number of them would love to be anonymous for at least a while, something they’ll never really get.
Click to expand...
I think people are not fair when it comes to accessing the life of the rich and privileged. Yes, material wealth is nice, but it isn’t everything. It is isn’t the most important thing. We Catholics should definitely understand this.

Rich people have to worry about people wanting to use them for their money. They have to worry about people being friendly only to get something. They live under a spotlight as you mention. There are a lot of negatives.

The old idea was the aristocracy lived a life that served as an example for others. This is a duty that the average person doesn’t have.
 
I agree. Being a member of the British royals is especially tricky because a whole lot of people in their own country don’t favor having them, they didn’t choose their position or get there on their own merits but simply through an accident of birth, yet they are still very much in the public eye and expected to set an example for the public and not mess up.
 
Yeah none of us, rich or poor, chose our parents. In the case of Princes William and Henry they’ve had to endure a very public divorce and death of their mom. That is tough on any kid. I don’t think wealth makes up for those losses.
 
exnihilo said:
Rich people have to worry about people wanting to use them for their money.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I think that is the opposite. There has been a long standing trend, at least since the 70s, towards the rich having vastly more resources than the “average” person. One common measure is the CEO to average employee income ratio in a company. We’ve seen things the multiples of low 10s go to multiples in the 100s. I mean no political debate here, it has happened through both Democratic and Republican control and has been a trend in the wider world. This needs to change for a more equitable society. Unfortunately I’ve seen many things done (political and not) in my lifetime to continue this trend and somehow convince “average” Americans that they have a seat at this table or at least a one legged stool with a 3" seat. We need to look at what is really happening rather than the “red meat” thrown out for us to fight over while powerful interests get their way while they drastically divide and loosen the bonds of our society. Again, no debate intended and I know it’s veering a bit off them main topic, but that is some of what celebrity culture is doing to us.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top