Fame is something that, in today’s world, is normal to search for. With so many “reality” TV shows to help people achieve their dreams of being famous, it shows how important fame has become to us as a society. I remember seeing a show on TV once that set people up to do extreme dares to see what they would do for the chance to be on television. Of course, the audience knew that they were already on TV, but the contestants did not. It was crazy to see to what extremes people would go to just for a shot at being famous. Why are we so fixated on this idea of being a celebrity? I think that David Loy does a great job answering this question in the chapter entitled, “The Great Seduction” of his book, Money Sex War Karma. Loy says that we look to fame to fill a sense of lack in ourselves. We feel like being famous will make us feel more important or loved, but in reality, it just causes us more dukkha. On page 35 he says, “No amount of fame can ever satisfy if it is really something else that I am seeking from it, which it cannot provide.” Many people seek to be famous to try and feel “loved” by the world, but this is not real love. The public loves one celebrity one day, then the next day they are called fat on the cover of the latest OK Magazine. Being a celebrity means putting yourself in the spotlight for everyone to judge you. Take Lindsay Lohan for example, everyone loved her when she was the cute little red-headed twins in The Parent Trap remake, and they even loved her in the Freaky Friday remake with Jamie Lee Curtis. (She did a lot of remakes..) She came out with a clothing line, make-up line, and then rehab? The stress of being famous brought her to a breaking point and she ended up getting into drugs and who knows what else. Now, she is used as one of the prime examples of tween stars that messed their lives up; and every mistake she makes ends up in one tabloid or another. Yet, we still have parents that push their children into talent competition after talent competition so their child can be the next big star. Our society is attracted to the idea of using fame, money, sex, and other things to fill voids that we don’t even have. They make us feel good for a while, then we need something more. We are never full because we are looking for the real “food” we need in all the wrong places. Until we realize this, we will never be able to stop the samsara. However, there are some people that, I feel, actually make a positive contribution to society with their talents. So my question is, What is the middle ground when it comes to fame and how can we take steps towards getting there?
Posted by: Katie Shanahan
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