MUST READ: Who Exactly Are CELEBRITIES: SUPERHEROS OR GODS? By Raymond Ojeogwu

The world view and picturesque of movie superstars, musicians, fashion designers and models, etc. are held in high esteem, this group of persons are prominent and widely adored by people globally because of their achievement to stardom, thereby leading to a distinction between the idea of a common person and a celebrity, these celebrities spark up a flare that excites their audience (common people) with their various mode or class of entertainment. No doubt the entertainment industry has extreme impact on society,


 it has become a nutrient that is essential to keep society alive, gratitude to our celebrities, individuals of society wish and hope to be like them, they imitate their dress sense, their lifestyle, follow them on social networks in order to keep constant tab on gossips and news about them. The negativity of this, is that the common people as society have made it to be, go too far in worshiping these celebrities, leaving me to ponder and think if this celebrities are extra-ordinary or fictional characters that people of society are so obsessed about, most individuals even throw away their personality to embrace the personalities of these celebrities; like nicknaming themselves after these celebrities, and so on… hence, people destroy their originality and their inherent nature,
 

 in order to sew a new character or nature tailored to suit their favorite celebrity with the mentality that they look more like them. This is pathetic, because celebrities are no different from common persons, the term "celeb" or "celebrity" is nominal, and it is simply a name given to a common person that achieves in entertaining his or her audience in one way or another. Going by this definition, the entertainment world is no better than a market place, where goods and services are traded. Celebrities are like traders and the so-called common people (audience) are the consumers paying them for their services which is mainly to entertain. What then makes them so special? Even, they are like slaves to society whose aim is to satisfy and entertain its individuals and they lose their celebrity status the day they stop entertaining society. Celebrities are therefore not different from the everyday people of society,


 
although people see them as inspiring factors, which is a major reason why they idolize and imitate them, but doctors render inspiring health care services to people, why then are they not idolized and worshipped just like celebrities? Indeed being a doctor is also a promising ambition admired greatly by society, it is one of the top professions globally, but bring a top celebrity for example: Al Pacino and a random qualified doctor to stand side by side, most people will certainly respect and worship Pacino than the doctor who save lives almost every day. A mature mind and a thinking brain would award the doctor a superhero because he renders the service of saving life, and also regard the military personnel and officers as heroes that risk their own lives to defend their various country or state, than a celebrity who merely entertains us for our amusement. In any case celebrities ought to be given some credit and applause for their entertaining services, but it is really irrational to treat them as though they were gods or superheroes of some kind, explicitly differentiating them from individuals of society, furthermore portraying them as if they possess some sort of extra-ordinary powers or supernaturalism. Maybe they feel so because of the appearance or the actions which these celebrities display during their entertaining performance of artistic roles which ends up creating illusory fantasies in the minds of individuals that pay audience to them. They are only human, they die like us, breathe like us, they are also bounded by natural laws of contingency, instinct and behaviorism, therefore they are normal as any normal man can be,

 

so they (celebrities) should be treated as such. Societies are deceived thinking that there exist a separation between celebrities and normal individuals of society because celebrities have actually acquired a lot of public awareness, wealth and probably charisma. These are not sufficient reasons to provoke a separation, because normal individuals of society are also capable of achieving such, if they are determined and zealous, but yet again indigenous people of society prefer putting too much faith and confidence in these celebrities and then so little on themselves. John Rawls, a paramount contemporary western political philosopher postulates that the "ultimate good" is an individual's self-determination, control and reliance.

By

Raymond Ojeogwu.