Are We Ruled By Entertainment?

As Britney wiggles, and J-Lo jiggles, and Beyonce does the "booty shake," eight-year-old girls stand in front of their television screens, rolling their little t-shirts above their midsections in attempts to emulate the sexy stars.

While children are unabashed and sometimes adorable in their admiration of stars, adult and young adult approbation for the beautiful people might carry more consequences.

"(Our society) is placing our faith into people who caught a break and are rich and famous," said John Cudahy, a senior communication major. "That doesn't mean they are good people or what they stand for is correct. But within our culture we value those people."

Justine Seligman, a sophomore communication major, said an example of how celebrity worship can have an adverse effect might be seen in the advent of young girls with distorted body images.

"Young girls and even girls in college want to be as thin as celebrities and it's not healthy thinness - they look anorexic," she said.

Christine Kang, a sophomore international business major, said it is possible for people to get sucked into the world of celebrity admiration when they are so entertained by them.

"Everyone has so much stress from school or work that going to the movies or listening to music provides an escape for a little while," she said.

Cuhady agreed.

"We all have those songs that mean so much to us - that were there for us when we needed them - that's the only bond I have with celebrities," he said.

While enjoying people who are good enough at their craft to become celebrities, Brett Pelham, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, said people should be leery of crossing the line from admiration to veneration, especially when the object of admiration is not suitable.

"I don't think it hurts to have people to look up to, but we shouldn't expect all Hollywood celebrities, musicians, or professional athletes to be role models," he stated in an e-mail. "To paraphrase Charles Barkley, kids should be looking to their parents, teachers and community leaders, not to professional athletes, for role models."

Pelham warned against leaving children with only athletes, movie and pop stars to look up to - but recent events show children might not be the only ones who are influenced by celebrity.

Ramiro Vargas, a student working on his Ph.D. in structural engineering, said in the United States, with many television programs geared toward celebrity worship, it is more likely for a celebrity like Arnold Schwarzenegger to win in a political election than in other countries.

"Schwarzenegger has demonstrated that he is only good for movies," Vargas said. "Movies are not real life- you cannot destroy the enemy like in Terminator in real life. In my opinion he doesn't have the tools to manage the office of governor."

Vargas, who is originally from Panama, said in his native country when a celebrity tried to run for office the outcome was very different. According to Vargas, about ten years ago there was a salsa singer who was a candidate for the presidential election in Panama who did well in the polls but lost the election.

" I would say if that was the case here in America he would have won," he said. "Here the celebrity's influence is dramatic, especially for the young people."

Lisa Forte, a junior majoring in political science, said elections are won based on who voters think are best for the job - celebrity or not - and that voters in California voted for Schwarzenegger because they considered him the best man for the job.

"The people of this nation go the polls on election day with the objective of curing society's ailments, whether the candidate is a celebrity or not is trivial and inconsequential," she said. "Politicians, through media and other venues, have tarnished their ability to work for the people. Hence, we now have the celebrity politician which illustrates the fact that we elect individuals, the single best person for the job, not policies."

Some think the fact American celebrities have an influence on other countries is evident.

"One could argue that our celebrities dominate not only the landscape of our own culture but that of many others," stated Pelham. "As American movies and music begin to dominate the world market, our biggest celebrities become internationally known."

According to Dr. James E. Campbell, a professor in the Department of Political Science, though it would not hurt to lessen our emphasis on celebrity, Americans do not have to worry about celebrities taking over politics anytime soon.

"I don't think that anyone short of a reporter for Entertainment Tonight would seriously question that entertainment and celebrity plays too large of a role in American life, and that includes its political life," he said. "We should observe, too, in this regard, that the entertainment world, like the academic world, is heavily tilted to the political left. The Schwarzeneggers and Reagans are clearly in the entertainment world's political minority."