Loving Glamour

I love celebrity. It sounds whorish, but I really do, I think it’s great. When I was in middle school I read People magazine religiously. There’s something about it that, as the entertainment industry indicates, is addicting. But it’s dangerous too. It’s really, really dangerous. People build up these images of people who always look fabulous and always do cool things. When these celebrities unavoidably fail to match the image that has been created for them the fallout is terrible. I wonder if that that’s one of the hidden blessings of the tabloids. They show all the screwed up, potentially fictional, aspects of these people. It’s like they’re say, “Look, fuck off! These people aren’t special, they’re just as screwed up as you.”

But now it sounds like I’m saying that we shouldn’t create celebrities and I don’t think that’s true at all. I love that I have people like Meryl Streep and Bogie and Kate Winslet in my life to be fabulous and glamorous. I know there’s more to them then glamour. They’re imperfect and have their faults, but that’s part of them. They’re people I can adore. I know that sounds unhealthy. Maybe it is. I don’t need to know them, they don’t need to be wrapped up in my life drama, I don’t need to be wrapped in theirs, they can just be shading in my life that is always a bit of brightness and light. And I can love them for fulfilling that role in my life.

Sometimes I’m okay with people not quite being what I thought they were. Take James Dean, for example, no matter what I learn about his life, I don’t care. He’s still interesting and I like having him around. It’s the same with Marilyn Monroe, it doesn’t matter how screwed up she was, I still think she’s enchanting.

But it’s still dangerous loving the celebrity. As much as I love them, they’re still people. I know that. I really do, just sometimes I forget. They can’t always live up to the expectations I set for them. And that’s what I’m going through right now. I thought I could overlook everything that wasn’t quite wonderful, but of course they weren’t And when they’re not as wonderful as I thought, they kind of break my heart.

Side note: It would appear that during the school year, this blog is on hiatus.