Celebrity culture plays a huge role in American society today. People are fascinated by the lavish lifestyles of celebrities and enjoy following their latest drama through social media and tabloid news. This obsession is fueled by the paparazzi who go to extreme lengths to capture scandalous photos of celebrities for profit. Some people even experience celebrity worship syndrome where their lives revolve around their favorite stars. The rise of reality television has also created new "celebrities" overnight and further driven society's unhealthy fixation on fame.

1. Present Day Celebrity Culture
Joseph Quevedo

2. Thesis/Introduction
elebrity culture is a huge part of American Society, it doesn’t matter
who you are, you can’t deny that you are not interested in what
celebrities are up to.

3. Why are Celebrities Highly sought after in Today’s Society?
n today’s time, everyone is interested about celebrities’ latest breakups, what clothing
they wear, where they go out on the weekends, and the products they are using. The list
can go on forever.
hy do we idolize these “gods”? Why do we care about people we never have met
before?
ell, it is pretty easy. One of the reasons is that celebrities are so wealthy. Many people in
our society idolize the worth of a celebrity. As a whole, we are so interested in the
lavish life these celebrities lead (mansions, foreign cars, shopping sprees, yachts, etc). If
one goes on the website, www.celebritynetworth.com, one can see any celebrity’s net
worth.

4. continued
nother reason why society is attracted to celebrities is that their life is more
interesting than the average person’s life. Some people tend to escape from their
reality to see what their favorite celebrity is doing, hence why celebrity blogs like
TMZ are viewed thousands and thousands of times a day and even have their
own TV show dedicated to just celebrity gossip.

5. continued
eeing drama in other people’s lives, especially celebrities’, is a form of entertainment.
People in society like to watch the downward spiral of celebrities. Whenever a celebrity
divorces, uses drugs or alcohol, cheats, or has economic problems in their life, this news
spreads like wildfire, more so than even real news. For example, there was even a
Maury-like TV show, the Trisha Goddard show that dedicated a whole episode on the
father of Lindsey Lohan, Mike Lohan, getting a paternity test to see if his mistress’s
daughter was his. Everyone loves to see this type of drama.

6. technology is essential in celebrity culture.
ow more than ever, society gets to gossip and find news about celebrities via
social networking sites like Twitter and Instagram with just a click of a button.
ith Twitter, people get to see what certain celebrities are doing; with Instagram,
a photo-like version of twitter, people can get to see pictures of what a
celebrity is doing.
From these sites, celebrities can stay connected with their fans. On rare
occasions, some celebrities tweet back to their fans like on twitter.

7. continued
Technology can be also be a curse, since there are so many websites,
people can create rumors which can ultimately ruin a celebrity’s
reputation.
here is such a thing where celebrities get into fights with other
celebrities on twitter. Society obsesses over this to the max, people
love to see how crazy celebrities really are. One of this year’s culprit
of twitter fights is Donald Trump.

8. The Paparazzi is obsessed with getting that one picture
he paparazzi is completely obsessed with getting that one picture, they will do
anything, even if it causes danger.
or example, back in January, a twenty nine year old paparazzi was killed after
trying to photograph Justin Bieber’s white Ferrari, an on coming car killed him.
nother example is the death of Princess Diana. In essence, the reason for her
death was because of a car crash that the paparazzi caused. The harsh flash from
the paparazzi's camera blinded the driver.

9. Continued
he paparazzi can wait for hours outside of stores, celebrities’ homes, etc., waiting
for a celebrity.
he paparazzi could make thousands of dollars on one picture if its scandalous
enough, which they then will sell to magazines to publish a story.
hen people hear about these scandals, the magazines make so much profit from
it because many people want to be updated on celebrities and their misfortunes.

10. News Channels and Newspapers
hows like the Today Show and Good Morning America harbor
many gossip stories of today’s celebrities. These shows were made
to talk about worldly events but now this has changed.
Major newspapers like the New York Times and the NY Post
print cover stories of not just huge current events anymore, but
the misfortunes of Celebrities. Page 6 in the New York Post is the
“bible” of celebrity gossip.

11. Celebrity Worship Syndrome
es, there is such a thing…
elebrity worship syndrome is when a person becomes overly obsessed
with a celebrity; their life is affected whenever a celebrity does
something.

12. Continued
ome indicators of Celebrity Worship Syndrome:
A person may feel a special bond with a celebrity or believe that their life is
affected by whatever happens to their favorite celebrity” (thenational.ae).
“A person may experience uncontrollable behaviors and fantasies regarding
their favorite celebrity. They feel angry and frustrated if the star does not
respond to messages or calls” (thenational.ae).

13. Another psychological aspect that celebrity culture has on Society
ome people even go to the extent of looking like their favorite
celebrity. This can cause psychological problems because these
people aren’t comfortable with the way they look so they get
surgery. They aren’t fixing their low self-esteem problem, just
burying it.
lso, if one types celebrity makeover, or celebrity tutorials on
YouTube, one can find thousands upon thousands of videos.

14. TV Channels & New “Celebrities”
V channels like TLC, E! Network and Bravo capitalize off of random crazy
people who they manufacture into celebrities to gain ratings. These people
become instant stars.
or example, on TLC, one of the most popular name in 2012/2013 is “Honey
Boo Boo”. Overnight she rose to stardom for being no one, just a crazy
outspoken child. The list can go on and on for many up and coming
“celebrities” just like her. She is a testament to the fact that people enjoy
watching other people’s misfortunes and the craziness in other people’s lives.

15. Conclusion
t is safe to say that our Society has a unhealthy relationship with obsessing
with Celebrities. Many people believe that America’s obsession with
celebrities and fame gives our country a bad reputation versus others.
Anywhere you go nowadays, one will hear the latest drama of these
celebrities. Celebrity Culture and societies obsession with it is very
damaging to our society.

18. he movie trailer for Sellebrity:
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_qcOuE50Io
aparazzi Video:
risha Goddard show on Michael Lohan:
oney Boo Boo:
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9nbhzKaqvA