March 15, 2007

'The suspicion. The affair. The public humiliation'

This was the headline for television show, A Current Affair. The story (and I only gleaned this from the promo - I didn't go anywhere near the program) was about footballer Brendan Fevola and his secret love triangle. Whether it is actually true or not, I didn't stick around to find out.

What I don't understand is why people care about this. Why do we take such great interest in the lives of celebrities, particularly when something goes wrong, when a relationship is in trouble, or when someone is humiliated?

Suspicion, affairs and public humiliation are nothing to rejoice in, and these are precisely the things we don't want in our own lives or relationships. Yet the media, and those who consume the media, are so intrigued when they see the lives and relationships of celebrities disintegrate and fail.

When we hate these things in our own lives, why do we (and by 'we' I am referring to the world at large) show so much interest when celebrities fail? This led me to reflect on the fruits of the Spirit - some of the marks of being a Christian. These are described in the Bible as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". These are the qualities of a relationship that surely everyone longs for and admires.


Imagine seeing an promo for A Current Affair with the headline 'Love, Joy, Patience' and reference to a celebrity couple - it just seems so unlikely doesn't it. Whilst I am sure there are celebrity couples who could be described in these terms, the media seems completely disinterested and prefers to highlight the failings and heartbreaks.

1 comments:

Brendan Fevola said...

The media likes making money and the people for some reason like negativity and the failings of others.Perhaps people think they need to have a perfect external image(ego)and they admire stars for that supposed perfect image.But they are releaved to find out when the stars misbehave that they are not so perfect but more like them - an everyday person. This is intriguing and they want to know more + they can watch this from a distance (TV/Magazine) without being seen or involved. Yes I believe the answer is to focus on inner qualities not outer qualities and then people wont be so interested in what the stars do.