Rhetoric of Celebrity - Spring 2011: Post #1

I’ve been on both the giving and receiving end of gossip. I’ve knowingly divulged secrets and cast judgment, but I have also been the one someone else has gossiped about. Being a girl, and especially after having attended an all-girls’ high school, it is obvious to me how frequently girls gossip, judge one another and strive to emulate others they deem prettier, cooler, etc. I see society’s obsession with celebrities as an opportunity for people to judge another with no fear of retaliation. Even a socially awkward, friendless nerd can pick up a copy of People Magazine and converse with someone else on the latest celebrity drama or bit of gossip among the Hollywood elite. Though this interaction may only last a minute, celebrity gossip provides a nerd with some common ground. So while the article claims that we admire—or really obsess—over celebrities because we see them as our friends, I feel that society often sees them as easy targets to judge or use as a means of making ourselves feel better. Yes, we certainly fawn over star’s wardrobes, cars and vacations, but we spend plenty of time scrutinizing how fat someone looks in a shirt or how ignorant they sounded in an interview.

To be perfectly honest, I have very little sympathy for Lindsey Lohan. While the Vanity Fair article was quite interesting, it did not the change my opinion of the Hollywood train-wreck. I was pretty shocked by her seemingly indifferent attitude, especially since Vanity Fair is such a well-reputed magazine and she supposedly wants to improve her image in the public eye. There is a lot of talent in Hollywood, but the fact that Lindsay claims she doesn’t “care what anyone says” because she is such a talented actress indicates that she does not fully understand her reputation. Who cares that she was good in the Parent Trap, when she obviously does not take acting seriously at all. I find her constant self-pity to be an easy excuse that less and less people actually take seriously. While it is sad that she has a mentally unstable father, among other issues in her personal life, the extent of Lohan’s encounters with the law, unprofessional work habits and undeniable partying behavior are all inexcusable. The article carefully tries to pity Lohan without going over-the-top with sympathy. It seemed to me that Sales struggles to take some of Lohan’s comments seriously considering her past.