By Patrick Bateman

This post was written on August 23, 2020.

Gluttony = Celebrity Worship

Similar to the previous entry in this series about dating apps, another subject that is no stranger to debate is celebrity worship. It is a term that is even widely used among academic researchers. However, the definitions applied by the academics are on a more extreme level, an example being:

• The entertainment-social dimension relates to attitudes where individuals are attracted to a celebrity because of their perceived ability to entertain and to become a social focus of conversation with likeminded others.

• The intense-personal dimension relates to individuals that have intensive and compulsive feelings about a celebrity.

• The borderline-pathological dimension relates to individuals who display uncontrollable behaviors and fantasies relating to a celebrity.

What I am describing is not akin to The Fan movies, either of them. It cuts much deeper and wider into society. The celebrity stalker trope feels very pre-internet era, but in the age of reality tv, social media and the iPhone this is more about the idea of celebrity. Society today, across the world thanks to globalisation, has become all consumed and divided by celebrity.

We gorge on celebrity so much that it influences how we dress, talk, make life decisions and even think. This can mean elevating an actor or athlete to levels of intellectual and political standards that would be unrealistic for Plato to achieve. It can also mean living our life as though we, as an individual, are a celebrity (or aspire to be). It also applies to what and how we consume products or services, or how we choose to vote. Even our friends or partners can be chosen based on such fatuous links (“she looks like Penelope Cruz”).

When I was growing up there were a lot of tv shows and magazines that described celebrities’ private lives. We all know about the paparazzi and Prince Diana. This is obviously unhealthy, but why did people consume this medium? Mostly, they are getting ideas on what to wear or how to look. Enter the internet and mobile phone and this just got put on steroids. However, 21st Century technology enabled celebrities to gain control over what they share with their fans. The famous discovered they could use social media to increase their profile and income, while giving their audience the idea they are gaining insight into their private lives. At the same time this reduces the market share for paparazzi press! Brilliant for them, not so great for us.

You can see the modern influence yourself through interactions with regular people. Normal people who try to mimic the lives shown on social media of their favourite celebrities. Once we merely had an unhealthy interest in their gossip, now we actively believe we are like them. Their social media profiles were meant to make them seem regular, with terrible outcomes for the mental health of many people in today’s world, desperate to show their lives are just as amazing.

This century is also when TV got dangerous. Reality TV planted the seed in our heads that “anyone can be a celebrity”. Soon enough with YouTube and Social Media it became a reality. Now you have a generation of people getting paid as influencers and the popularity and usage of Instagram means you can become “instafamous“. You too can be just like your idols. You just have to have the right filter, light and take plenty of photos to create the perfect concoction for a viral hit. But what happens when you don’t get any likes?

Then there is the technique, which was around well before this century, of using celebrities to promote social and political action. Spokespeople they were referred to once. Yet the 24/7 nature of news and social media exposed the divisiveness of this approach. The election of Donald Trump can be seen in correlation with a backlash against this sort of celebrity marketing. The party conventions of 2016 were a one-sided affair in terms of which side celebrities were on. That side lost the election. The irony is that a celebrity won the election, who is also very divisive. Once popular Awards shows began to see record declines in viewership as they became increasingly associated by many as forums for political and social messaging, rather than a celebration of talent. The moralising by the famed is often now described as out of touch. This isn’t a right-left talking point either. The corona-virus exposed the privilege of the famous as they painfully clinged to social media for some much needed attention.

The consequences of all of this? People convince themselves they know these famous people, enough to want to emulate them. No longer obsessing over any particular celebrity, instead they obsess over the chase of fame, whether on a small scale of a few thousand followers on Twitter, or a larger scale of becoming an influencer. Anyone who does not achieve this is a failure. Celebrity is now something tangible and within reach of anyone with an iPhone. The actions of famous people has also added to the division we face in society. They all have to weigh in on issues way above their level of comprehension, which then pits them for or against matters that effect everyday people. They aren’t “bringing” us together as their art forms are meant to, they are destroying all of that. The idea of escaping to a ballgame or a movie is quickly evaporating. The idea of celebrity itself has become malignant.

We tend to think of gluttony in terms of wealth and food. However, you can find evidence of such extremes during any period in history. What is unique about the 21st Century is that celebrity worship became an idea turned into a form of consumption that it is now a status symbol. It has also become alienating. Whether you are famous or trying to reach that lofty status, the actions of the anointed and pursuit by the aspirational have become gluttonous.