In a survey he conducted of 653 typical middle-school students from the Rochester, N.Y., area, writer Jake Halpern discovered that more young teens would rather have dinner with Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton and 50 Cent than with President Bush.
Surprising? Probably not.
In “Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Favorite Addiction,” Halpern looks at a society addicted to glossy fan magazines, movie stars, red carpet turns, reality TV mugs, singing sensations and instant pop superstars. Halpern, a commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered,” tries to make sense of fame by weaving scientific research with comments from child actors, celebrity personal assistants, die-hard fans, entertainment magazine editors and once-famous actors. Halpern chatted on the phone recently:
You had a boyhood fascination with “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” which means you were a fame junkie early on.
As a kid I was really into “Lifestyles” and the whole escapism that that provided. Yeah, I had this very misty-eyed view of what Hollywood would be like. My saving grace is that my parents took away our TV, or I would have truly been a junkie.
Did you get re-addicted?
No, I didn’t go back to it. I’d watch TV, but in moderation. As a kid, and still as an adult, I realize I still very much get sucked into anything about Britney and Paris.
How does the need to belong or to be accepted factor into fame? Is being admired the next logical step after being accepted?
We feel we want to be a part of or have a need to be a part of other people. To a certain extent, that runs amok with the para-social relationships we have with Jen (Aniston), Tom (Cruise) and Katie (Holmes). Instead of connecting with real people, we feel we’re connected with these celebrities. In a limited way, they do bring us together. We have this kind of set of imaginary friends in common, therefore we can talk about them as if they’re mutual acquaintances.
So in a sense, Us Weekly is a positive force in our lives?
These magazines and celebrities they cover are the tonic or the antidote to feelings of social rejection and social isolation.
The culture of fame has made celebrities more important than actual heroes. What does this tell you?
Part of what makes fame so alluring today is that it doesn’t require the hard work. You can become famous overnight; you can become famous on reality TV. The danger with that is the whole merit and hard work and achievement aspect of the equation is missing.
If fame is addictive and our popular entertainment and media spreads celebrity culture, then are things like HBO and People magazine like crack dealers? Are they part of what keeps us fame junkies?
I think that basically in order for something to be addictive it has to have a mood-altering affect. People do just that with celebrity entertainment things. You have a hard day at the office and you go home and pick up this magazine and feel better. … There’s nothing wrong with Us Weekly, but if we’re doing it the exclusion of other things we should be paying attention to, then yes, there’s a cost.
