Journal by Amanda Regalado
9/22/14
Pedestal
"Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent."
-Emily Dickinson
You have this something. You put this something high above you. You fixate it up on a pedestal. You place this something so high on the pedestal you've created that you begin to idolize it. But, because you've put this something so high, it has nowhere in the world to go but down. Celebrities are mortal, imperfect humans we idolize and create into demigods. We feel we know celebrities. We feel we should follow them. We see them as leaders and hold them to higher standards than we hold ourselves. We expect these demigods to act as perfect examples of character and merit. We disregard any idea of their intelligence, goals, or individuality and remember solely their beauty and talent.
If our demigods acts morally unpleasing to us in any way, we chastise them, claiming they are bad influences on our children, on our young men and women, on our adults.
We hold celebrities to an unfair stander. We expect perfection of them morally and physically. It is not fair to expect so much of a human being and not see to it that we be perfect as well.
Emily Dickenson once said, "Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent." Being chastised for one's actions is unavoidable to a celebrity, as everything they do is under watch by the entire world. The love of singing, acting, performing is taken away and replace by resentment and standardization.
9/22/14
Pedestal
"Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent."
-Emily Dickinson
You have this something. You put this something high above you. You fixate it up on a pedestal. You place this something so high on the pedestal you've created that you begin to idolize it. But, because you've put this something so high, it has nowhere in the world to go but down. Celebrities are mortal, imperfect humans we idolize and create into demigods. We feel we know celebrities. We feel we should follow them. We see them as leaders and hold them to higher standards than we hold ourselves. We expect these demigods to act as perfect examples of character and merit. We disregard any idea of their intelligence, goals, or individuality and remember solely their beauty and talent.
If our demigods acts morally unpleasing to us in any way, we chastise them, claiming they are bad influences on our children, on our young men and women, on our adults.
We hold celebrities to an unfair stander. We expect perfection of them morally and physically. It is not fair to expect so much of a human being and not see to it that we be perfect as well.
Emily Dickenson once said, "Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent." Being chastised for one's actions is unavoidable to a celebrity, as everything they do is under watch by the entire world. The love of singing, acting, performing is taken away and replace by resentment and standardization.
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