Why are so many people obsessed with celebrities & their stuff?

A blogger asked this week, “Why are so many people obsessed with celebrities lifestyles, choices, clothes, cars, homes, etc?” She concluded it was due to envy, jealousy, and boredom. Yes, but ti goes much deeper than that. The person needs to ask themselves, “why”—why am I obsessed.

French philosopher of social science, Dr. Rene Girard, developed the idea of mimesis or mimetic desires. According to Dr. Girard, the mimetic desire is motivated by an inner sense that “something” is missing. Scripture says, “You want something but don't get it” (James 4:2, NIV). That something, or soul-hole, lures many into a web of dangerous dieting. His theory is that our desires never come purely from ourselves; rather, they are inspired by the desires of another. The word mimesis means identifying with the original and involves some sort of participation. It is not the same as imitation, which suggests simulation or copying.

The mimetic desire describes our ravenous hunger for wholeness. It is so strong that people willingly stuff themselves with fragmented identities. Deep inside they feel “something” is missing. The culture and media machine have done a superb job of getting us all to believe “something” is missing and only “more” of what they offer will satisfy…and we devour the bait.

Scripture says, “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness and sin, of greed and hate, envy, murder, fighting, lying, bitterness, and gossip” (Romans 1:29, TLB). Jesus knew man would deny God as his Creator and seek to remake himself in his own image. This is why he had to come and die. Jesus took onto himself every one of our faults, each imperfection—all our sin. As a result a space was created—a hole in our soul, that “something,” which can only be filled by him. God created us in such a way that only those who seek Jesus will be filled. We will never be filled by following celebrities or pop culture.

[this is an excerpt from "Torn Between Two Masters"]

Torn Between Two Masters: The Devastating Effects of Celebrity Obsession

This week I'm plugging my latest book--only because it is a subject that needs to addressed in this culture. Why is it that so many Christians are star-struck by celebrities? Celebrity worship syndrome is very real and it is having devastating effects on our culture--our youth in particular.

Why do so many adolescents want to be sports, music, runway, or Hollywood stars instead of teachers, nurses, pastors, or carpenters? Why is the gospel of celebrity so powerful in our lives and can we reduce its impact or is it too late?

This pop culture, via the media, has made it quite clear: celebrities matter—and we, both Christians and non-Christians are star-struck by them. I look at this phenomenon like an onion—there are different layers of different explanations we need to peel off. Peeling off the first layer reveals some surface reasons. I peel the onion down to the core and expose the real reasons for celebrity fascination and worship, and then lay out a number of things we can do to diminish its negative force.

The underlying issues I address in Torn Between Two Masters is:

1. Why the lure of celebrity is so powerful,
2. How to minimize celebrity obsession by increasing a teen’s self-worth,
3. The best ways to help teens navigate and be critical of the media,
4. How to identify and discourage negative and normalized behaviors such as eating disorders, plastic surgery and “hooking up,”
5. How Jesus Christ can transform a teen’s life into one of purpose, and
6. Many other eye-opening insights.

A fan page has also just been set up to talk about this subject. For more information go to www.olivebranchoutreach.com/TORN