Name a person who doesn’t love to glance at the occasional people magazine or quickly click on a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow’s most recent red carpet ‘do’ or ‘don’t?’ You can’t do it can you. Everyone does it, (except maybe my dad, who is probably reading this now and laughing in agreement. Hi Dad.) I’m definitely guilty of a peek once in a while. It’s part of pop culture right? The things that make our society what it is. Recently though, articles such as where Kimye went on their vacation and what hot movie stars looked like during their awkward adolescence are taking over the internet. They take away from ‘real’ entertainment and world news and bring focus to, a) celebrities who are famous for being famous, which is a completely different issue that we don’t have time to delve into now, and b) famous people who are famous for being smart and talented, who’s achievements are overshadowed by their personal lives.
I’ve never been one to obsess over the rich and famous but I do consider myself well versed on the who’s who list of current celebrities and pop culture. Also, and this is just me bragging now, I’m the master of spotting celebrities out and about. Even if they are in a car, 2 lanes over, I will see them. But, that’s neither here nor there so I digress.
I’m a huge film nerd and I love this wacky industry and the land of lala, (I really, really love it!) so when I see an actor in a movie who catches my eye, I quickly IMDB them for the scoop on who they are, what else they’ve been in and what they look like when they aren’t playing a character, (don’t judge. I told you I’m a nerd.) I mention this about myself to show you that I’m not claiming total innocence in this matter. I, Rachel Levine admit to partaking in the guilty pleasure of peeking into the lives of the famous. I wonder though, when it became the social norm to act as the up-most authorities on our favorite celebs. How did we slip into this habit of believing that we know these people, because we follow them on Instagram? We don’t know them, they don’t know us. Their personal lives should not be of any interest to us. We are strangers. End of story.
Let’s make a pact. You and me, here and now. The next articles we see about Oscar nominated actresses who have had Botox or what your favorite actor was spotted buying at Whole Foods we will pass over it. Instead let’s read about how a writer got inspiration for their most recent script or listen to an actor speak about their process. And if we are really feeling ambitious, let’s soak up some world current events.