15 Minutes of Fame

I recently read a newspaper article that featured all the ways that everybody and anybody is now a celebrity. Though I failed to realize this, over the past decade, there have been countless ways that celebrity culture has penetrated reality. The obvious cause is of course reality TV - that did not go by me. But after reading this article I realized that there has been a long string of events, that began with reality TV which have spurred this 'everyone is a celebrity' culture in which we live.

One thing I never thought of was the blogosphere. Blogs have created celebrities worldwide. Take Perez Hilton for example, a blogger who gossips about celebrities. He himself has now become one of them. We see him at award shows sitting among celebrities, and getting celebrity treatment. Blogs allow people to voice their opinion to the world, and a lot of the time, they get recognized for it. Similar to the blogosphere, YouTube has made celebrities out of just about anyone who wants attention. People who have become famous from YouTube videos have been featured on high profile talks shows and interviewed. A certain instance I think of when I think of YouTube celebrities is the YouTube wedding clip that gained so many views, that the TV show 'The Office' recreated the clip for a major episode this season.
The last thing is the immense popularity of games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band that virtually turn individuals into rock stars in their living room. Though, these games aren't necessarily turning everyone into a celebrity, they give the illusion that they are.

I don't necessarily believe that this occurrence in popular culture is a horrible thing, however it does take away from those celebrities who are known for their talents, and brings people into the spotlight who merely live their lives on camera. What I'm referring to here is the popular show 'The Hills' which has made its cast members into major celebrities. What I don't understand about this is how people with no visible talent have become celebrities and have been given a major platform, simply for being a part of a reality show, meanwhile talented actors, actresses, musicians and artists are not as recognized, as say Heidi and Spencer.

The question remains as to whether or not this trend will live on, or whether the rise of the TV drama this year, and the major box office hits as of late, will bring the talented celebrities back into the spotlight.