Friday, July 14, 2006
Friday afternoon reading room is open.
A longer than usual think piece on Divine Trash: the psychology of celebrity obsession
Is celebrity worship hardwired into our neural systems? Who knows, but "humans do like to gossip, and while some idolise, most are quite happy to dish out dirt on celebrities and spread it. In fact, Turner thinks the word 'worship' misrepresents our relationship with celebrities. He thinks that having someone to look down on makes us feel better about ourselves, so one of the functions of gossip magazines and celebrity-packed tabloids is to create objects of contempt for the working class. And the media are a fickle lot according to Turner ... " ¶ 7/14/2006 01:56:00 PM
A longer than usual think piece on Divine Trash: the psychology of celebrity obsession
Is celebrity worship hardwired into our neural systems? Who knows, but "humans do like to gossip, and while some idolise, most are quite happy to dish out dirt on celebrities and spread it. In fact, Turner thinks the word 'worship' misrepresents our relationship with celebrities. He thinks that having someone to look down on makes us feel better about ourselves, so one of the functions of gossip magazines and celebrity-packed tabloids is to create objects of contempt for the working class. And the media are a fickle lot according to Turner ... " ¶ 7/14/2006 01:56:00 PM
