first of all, i have to clarify that fame itself is not the culprit here. most of the time, especially so in the past, fame is really just an avoidable side-effect of something else, like being a singer or actor or inventor. but that's the point: in the past, you were famous as a consequence of being good at something else; you were talented, therefore you were famous. nowadays, the reverse trend seems to be true: you get famous first, and then you get showbiz opportunities because of that. why not look at my first example, paris hilton. officially, she's a hotel heiress, which, in case you haven't noticed, isn't an actual job. her job literally entails whiling her time away until someone kicks the bucket and she gets a wad of cash. and yet it was precisely because of her notoriously decadent lifestyle (and of course that infamous sex tape...) that she managed to get into starring in reality tv shows , acting in movies, recording an album and designing perfume scents. the disturbing thing isn't merely that she became successful purely from fame, but that she became famous in the first place by emphasising the fact that she can't do anything else. there's even a wikipedia article about this bizzare phenomenon: famous for being famous. but do keep in mind that this isn't a personal attack on paris alone; i'm just using her to illustrate how some people who wander into the spotlight will do all they can to milk it for all it's worth and extend it for as long as possible - people like nicole richie, jon gosselin, ris low, focye le xuan, etc. etc.
but let's say that, by a huge stretch of the imagination, you somehow consider it a talent to be able to foresee what controversy will appeal to the masses and subsequently cater to the paparazzi's every demand. is it then a good talent to have? personally i feel that a talent like that is like being talented at pickpocketing, or swindling, or drug trafficking: acknowledgeable, but undesirable. reading through the article, i finally see the ugly epitome of the term "camwhore", stretched beyond the usual definition of "likes to take pictures of him/herself, often in funny poses and multiple shots per pose". some of these people will do practically anything to get noticed, resorting to baring fangs and skin alike to bask in the limelight. they are literally seducing the camera with cheap and dirty methods, selling themselves for screentime, just like the term suggests. they have become desperate for attention. it's disgusting and disturbing at the same time.
ok, i have to admit that i've been a bit harsh so far. but it's not even all of the above that completely pisses me off, but the attitude that some of these people have. honestly, some of them have their heads so inflated from their unearned fame that it's scary. some of them might be surprised if you told them that the earth actually revolves around something other than them. here are actual quotes from some of them taken from the articles:
I don't really care. Besides, hating me won't make you any prettier.
Hopefully, the reality show will be good for me as I can't hold down a real job. It might open doors for me to do nothing but still make a living.
Those who call me names are just jealous. They're not that pretty and nobody wants to make a show about them. And I don't care about ugly people's opinions.
Detest ugly, mean, fat humans.this is too much. if you show some skin or start a flame war to earn your paycheck or boob job (this isn't hyperbole; some of them really do receive their payment partially in breast enhancement surgery), i have a personal opinion against it, but it's admittedly still a job. hate the job, not the worker, i will think to myself. but when you start judging people based on outward appearances just because you look good, and attribute all negative attitudes towards you to jealousy (after all, who wouldn't love you?), it's a vice that goes way beyond your occupation. if this plastic-fantastic-or-die attitude is due to the cut-throat rush for fame, then something is seriously wrong here. there are a lot of names i want to call people like that, but unfortunately they're all synonyms for "harlot" or "female dog".
and just to clarify, there were people who were interviewed by Urban who were not completely thoughtless, and i don't have anything against them. if GP has taught me anything, it's that taking an extreme stand on anything is a sucker's bet.
but at the end of the day, who's to blame for this fame craze? it can't be the fame-crazed people themselves, because they're just playing the game that has been set up for them. it isn't the first few "role models" either, because thy're just going along with a formula that they stumbled upon and discovered to work. personally, i think it's us. if you say that these people are selling their souls to the devil for fame, then we are the devil that they are feeding. who else would pay any heed to their crazed shenanigans, let alone reward them with even more attention, but the public themselves? why else would they continue acting out their play unless there was still an audience to act for? sadly, as long as people are attracted to the seedy, the sensual and the scandalous, there will be individuals who will have to step up and deliver it all. there will be people who want to do so. there will be people who want the fame.
