I had a thought provoking conversation with a friend this weekend. He is going to be meeting with a very famous person from the movie industry this week, and I commented on how cool that is. He was very nonchalant, “He’s just a guy, like anyone else, doing his job.” I had a hard time accepting that response, “But, but, he’s that guy!” This is a guy who’s contributed to many great movies in a very major way. I would have a hard time keeping my cool. But my friend was totally chill about it.
It got me thinking. Why do we care so much about celebrity? Why do I? Because despite my best efforts, I do care. It’s not a rational thing. I know that celebrities are just people, no better or worse than the rest of us. Most of them have a lot more time to spend on their appearance, since it’s a huge part of their job. But other than being prettier than the average person, why do we really care?
With these thoughts a-churning in my mind, I had a brief run-in with a celebrity myself. It was just a brief moment where I walked by this actor who’d been in several episodes of one of my favorite tv shows, but I found myself slightly tongue-tied and unstable. Come on, now! This is silly. I knew he was just a guy, and there was no reason to be at all in awe. But there’s something about the mystery of the entertainment industry that gets me.
Sometimes, when I walk by the ILM offices at work and remember all the work they do, I get that same awed feeling. I talk to some of these people on a regular basis - I know they’re just smart folks that come to work everyday and get their jobs done. Yet because their job is creating the magic of the movies, I get a little bit of a wow feeling.
Hey, who knows, maybe some people out there feel the same way about us geeks that work in the game industry? Hahaha. Nah.
5 Responses to “Impressed with celebrity”
For me, it’d depend on who I met. The likes of Paul Greengrass, who I admire, would probably make me go mental, but if I met Michael Bay, I’d probably just laugh in his face about Pearl Harbour.
This last weekend’s Belsize Park grocery run saw Helena Bonham Carter in line to checkout next to us. She was With Toddler, and looking a bit frazzled. Very normal, in that kooky London thrift store sense.
It’s weird. I never see celebrities, I apparently passed by Sean Connery on Michigan Ave once and didn’t notice until a stranger asked me if that was him. I either need to pay more attention or get my priorities checked. Fifteen issues of US weekly stat! I do get nervous around Ben though, does that count?
Oh- who did you see!?!?!!?
I totally agree with you that I’m like, “why do I care that Brittany shaved her head?!?!?” But, embarassingly, I do. And I’m even more pathetic because I feel this way about DC politicos. I ran into Dennis Kucinich while waiting in line for a burrito last year and I was speachless. Like, who am I kidding??!??! He’s Dennis Kucinich! He’s not George Clooney or anything
Hehe, I’m not telling! That wouldn’t be right.
Yeah, I have some lines, I don’t care too much about Britney Spears. But I like celebrities and tend to pay just a bit too much attention to people with any degree of fame.