A hero, according to Rosenberg Javors (2008), is “a mythological figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength and ability; one who shows great courage.”
A celebrity, in other hand, is someone famous, someone that you talk about, someone that you want to see. Someone that you want to emulate, affirms Sharon, J (USA TODAY, 2011) in an article titled Celebrities: Modern heroes or just famous?
This table shows some differences between a hero and a celebrity. Let’s look at it:
| HERO | CELEBRITY |
| Often Famous, but not always | Always famous |
| Always do heroic actions | Not all are doing heroic actions |
| A hero is self-sacrificing. He put the others first. | He/she is ego focused; a celebrity thinks about himself only |
| To be a hero, you need to have some discipline | To be a celebrity, you need some luck. |
| Don’t think about richness | Have money |
It is important to have hero, for the simple reason that hero remind us that everything is possible. Humans, in general, do not like to fail. We try not to fail; we always try to do things perfectly. So even if there is a problem, someone, a hero, will show us that even within the difficulty, we do not fail. Hero may be an example too. In our days, we associate this concept with morality. Every people refer to heroes that he/her admires. If a hero can do this, I can too. In addition, according to the here that you choose, you adopt the character that the hero possesses.
A Hero may have many functions. Heroes are those who are courageous when others are not. Heroes are those who save us when there is a danger. Heroes can sacrifice themselves for others life. Heroes give us the example to follow. However, generally, heroes did not follow most of the time the rules established by the society. I mean that they react according to their convictions, experiences and knowledge. In a situation where the logic wants you to adopt a certain way of thinking, a hero will think outside the box. However, I believe that heroes are good for the society. All recognize them because their heroism may be used for others as moral examples.
A cult, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is defines as a great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book). The cult of celebrity refers to the attention that fans have toward the celebrities. This importance may take a big place in their life. The cult of celebrity is a kind of obsession I believe so. Media, Television and Internet for most of the cases and magazines, mainly emphasize this obsession. The cult of celebrity is very complex. It may be considered as idolatry if the level of fascination to the celebrity is exaggerated.
Fascination of fans for celebrities is something that I have never understood totally, maybe because I have never been into a celebrity before. This fascination is something unique and weird at the same time, especially the fascination that people have toward dead celebrities.
I believe that this is kind of a morbid situation, but this is my own opinion. People are fascinated about living celebrities because the media make them believe that our life is not as interesting as the celebrity’s life. There is always something to say about celebrities. Almost all their doing are followed by paparazzi’s; and this is ad the advantage of their fan, who can know what their favorite celebrities are doing all the time. Why does our culture reach out for heroes and celebrities? What do we gain in our lives because of this interaction?
Our community sees any heroes and celebrities the same ways as we, humans do. Celebrities and heroes are popular and attractive. For those heroes and celebrities who follow the rules of the community, who promote the good, who are examples to others, it is normal that the community rewards them.
Personally, I like reality TV shows especially because I am looking for something different, something real, and there is no other thing as interesting as looking at people being mad, happy or eating insects on TV for example. There is an inner desire in all human being: the envy to know what the other is doing, how he/her does it, and how he/her feels. Reality TV shows you that. For example, I came across a new reality TV shows called Secret Millionaire on ABC channel. This show is about real millionaire men and women who give money to certain organization that help people in diverse area. But before giving their money, they mix with members of those organizations (non-lucrative for most of them) and they act as volunteer, just to see what is the real impact of the organization toward the member of the community who are in real need. I really love this show, because it shows that people are not the same. It is not because you have money that you have to be idolized. Some celebrities or financially successful person care about poor people, and I believe that this is a good thing.
References
Rosenberg-Javors, I. (2008, Spring2008). Redefining Heroes. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association. p. 35. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..
Sharon, J. (n.d). Celebrities: Modern heroes or just famous?. USA Today. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..
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