“Most people think that being famous is heaven, but in fact it is more like hell”

Why do people want to be famous? You look at all those glossy magazines featuring some people in their drunk state or just during a “bad hair” day saying terrible, and more than often, insulting things. Isn`t it ironic? They wanted to be famous, so people would read about them. They wanted to be rich, so they could go to clubs and buy big yachts. They wanted to “rock the world”. But all we, “ordinary people”, see are drunk or drug parties, “big boy toys”, tones of make-up to cover “oh-not-so-beautifully-idealistic” faces, and designed labeled clothes (each day a new outfit) covering the lack of identity, taste and even more: Talent.

Who are celebrities? How does modern society define them? More than often, it`s a person who did or said something outrageous. Something that evoked discussion and divided the society(and here I must point out, that when I use a term “society” in present context – I mean people who interest themselves in this kind of “entertainment”) into two debating parts. Or, it is a persona who did a film or a song, which due to it`s controversial content or well organized marketing and promotion campaign, became known worldwide, recognized and talked about during “five o`clock” tea-parties.

But what about real artists? I mean actors, musicians, artists, authors and so on, who have THE TALENT, but not recognized or just underestimated for some reason. I can name a dozen of them straight away! The reasons for ignorance towards them are vast, different and not dependent on each other. For example: talented people are more interested in independent works, because Hollywood these days has became such a cliché, or they do not have good agents, or they are from “non-popular” countries, or because they do not speak English, or because they are more than happy where they already are. Nowadays, interest in theaters is slipping. More and more plays are set in adaptation, the majority of which are not “very socially” accepted, though there are still wonderful Actors and Authors. Unfortunately, now every aspect of Art is commercialized, i.e. the only way to keep the audience`s attention – is to SHOCK them…

For me, there lies the Grand Canyon between celebrities and Artists. They have different life-goals, expectations, ambitions, life-priorities and the ways of fulfilling their lives. Celebrities want, NO, desire Fame and Money and those “little” attributes, which come inside the package. The problem is they do not really know: what for? What to do with it when they got it? How to spent those enormous sums of money? So they are buying mansions and castles, cars and the latest computer gadgets, clothes and cosmetics. The list is endless. Artists do not usually have as much money as celebrities, so instead of indulging themselves, they try to invest in another project or simply to support their families.

…Then there is a matter of attention, which includes the need of hiring 24/7 bodyguards, and leads to issue of trust and therefore the whole process of “making new friends” or simply staying in touch it old ones…That’s not hard. It’s simple matter of mature and activation of grey-matter.
There is a “bigger” matter, and it is about ambition. We all want to find our own niche and place in life, so our years on Mother-Earth would not be spent in vain. How does one do it? We try to express ourselves as best we can and, at the same time, to “make the world a better place”. Unfortunately, the majority keep in their mind only self-indulgence and self-pleasuring. The other, naturally lesser, part is desperately struggling with global problems and concerns, trying to chase two rabbits at the same time: to cure and to raise awareness to the majority. Yes, here we are speaking about charities…There are celebrities, who yes, donate thousands and millions, or simply become a “face” of a charity…To me it sounds very much like one of those cosmetic campaigns…

That is a very good example for explaining terms “do-er” and “say-er”. The latter one would be just babbling non-stop about the issue, but would not do a thing about it. The interesting part here is that he/she would actually believe that he is doing something. The most funny thing about it, though, is that society reacts! Fans of celebrities always support the charities their “stars” are “presenting”.
The “do-er”, on the other (and better) hand, would not talk much, but try to change the present and oh-not-so-pleasant situation. Would you like an example? Easily: Jamie Oliver! For years parents and medics have been complaining about poor and unhealthy food in schools. Mr. Oliver went to schools and taught pupils how to prepare a healthy and balanced food easily. That is a difference, isn’t it?

I cannot say for sure whether the life of a celebrity is heaven or hell, not only because I do not know much about it, but because you cannot be so minimalistic about something. It is a Life after all. I cannot be good or bad. We all have our expectations and images. But it is pretty much like “neighbor’s grass is greener ”… We do want something when we do not have it, and the moment we become proud owners – we lose interest in it completely! That is a human nature – that is how our world spins. Everything has it`s own advantages and disadvantages, the real difference and significance, though, is the opportunities to make use of them.

by Anastasia Povazhnaya, an Advanced student at Languages International