Heather Havrilesky’s “The Triumph of the Uncelebrity” seems to be a cry for answers as to why we are more interested in what she deems “uncelebrity’s” than real celebrities. This really got me thinking about what makes someone into an uncelebrity and in turn, what makes someone into a “real” celebrity. I cam to the conclusion that in my own humble opinion, there is no real need for a distinction between the two. Havrilesky asks “As unsavory and omnipresent as the uncelebrity circus might be, is it really any mystery why the incoherent,self-involved ramblings of a freak show like Octo-Mom would capture our interest far more than an up-close and personal interview with Mariska Hargitay in her four-bedroom Hollywood Hills bungalow?” (2009), and I think to myself, wait…I would rather see neither of those things! It seems to me that if we are going to attack the “uncelebrity,” my question is why do you care so much about the lives of those you deem “real” celebrities? Sure, you may say they have some sort of skill, usually acting, but these people are obviously doing some acting in front of the cameras themselves to keep the camera on them, so what makes them any worse than “real” celebrity’s who we shouldn’t care about anyways.
Look at some of the things we will pay to read about what we consider “real” celebrities:
I don’t know about you guys, but I could not care less about the financial argument of two washed up twin actresses, stolen personal thoughts of an aging pop “star”, or the eating patterns of people I’ll never know. I feel like Havrilesky was on the right track, asking us why we care about “uncelebrities,” but I feel like it leads to a deeper questioning of why do we care about any celebrity at all?
Do you care about celebrities? Do you think they are worthy of being obsessed over? Are celebrities and uncelebrities the same? different? Let me know what you think.
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Havrilesky, H. (2009). “The Triumph of the Uncelebrity.” Salon. <http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/2009/06/04/uncelebrity_scandal/print.html>
