The Attraction of Celebrities

Why are people so interested in the lives of movie stars and recording artists?
Especially in Western culture, people become so infatuated with the happenings in the celebrity world that they spend money on magazines just to read that Jake Gyllenhaal is dating Taylor Swift or that Christina Aguilera has been arrested. It seems as though fame separates celebrities from "normal" people and their lives outside of the industry only further isolate them from real day-to-day life. It's somewhat dehumanizing to have their social lives poked through as entertainment. Years ago, celebrities were known for the one thing they should be known for: their talent. But now there are people like the Kardashian sisters who leave me wondering, "what are they even famous for?" I think that reality television has definitely played a huge part in the surge of talentless celebrities. Now anybody can be famous because America loves to see these "real" characters. But on these so called reality shows, how much of the stars' actions are influenced by the producer? Certainly most people's daily lives aren't worthy of a whole film crew. And the theory that any publicity is good publicity? Is that really true? I find it hard to believe that every celebrity out there wants their flaws displayed to the critical eye of the public. And it's really unfortunate that those talented and hardworking actors, actresses, and musicians, not to mention the writers and crew that work to make great films or music, get less attention because they don't have a drug addiction. It's almost as if celebrities get to a point in their career where they have to make one of two choices: stay in the business and work hard to gain your fans, or go completely off the deep end so everybody waits to see what you'll do next. It is difficult to imagine a world filtered of the untalented "fluff" in film and music. If only we could return to a world where all of these celebrities could truly be considered artists who do what they do driven by passion, not fame.