Celebrity
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The word Celebrity is defined as “the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed”. The Latin root of the word, celebrem (celebrity), means quite simply, “Fame”. However, with the presence of definition for the word, the questions “Who is a celebrity?”, and “What makes a person a celebrity?” are raised. The answers to these questions are contained within two major points, how widely reputable a person must be, and also, what a person has done to achieve this reputation.
In many cases if the question “Who is a celebrity?” is asked to the general occupancy of a room, there will be shouts of big names such as “Pat Benetar” or “Jack Black”, people who through some way have exposed themselves to the general populations benevolent reception. However, not all names that are given are familiarized with the entirety of the room, whereas an individual currently occupying the rooms name may be known to all the other occupants. Unfortunately for this individual this does not mean they have achieved the much hungered for status of Celebrity, simply because people whom have seen the individual day after day know his/her name. The status of celebrity seems to be achieved when a person commands a high level of media of attention or when the celebrity in question obtains a following of people or fans, whose interests are piqued with the actions of the celebrity. It is also a general thought that a celebrity is one who can be considered a role model, someone who the massive population of fans and/or followers adore and wish to make their lives similar to the celebrity they idolize. Although the celebrity is idolized by a large following, this does not necessarily mean that the celebrity is a good role model. However, despite the poor decisions that celebrities often seem to make there is still a crowd following them anticipating how they can emulate the person next. This general assumption can be given what appears to be a solid standing with such things as, Celebrity Branding. There are countless items branded with the names of those seen in the media, from perfumes to clothing to video games, these branded items sell for twice as much as their competitors and also sell twice the quantities. With this kind of example how could anyone argue that the status of celebrity is achieved through any other means than being a highly acclaimed role model for the masses? The answer is simple. Infamy.
Infamy is described as “evil fame or public reputation”. Given the same situation as stated above, if the general occupancy of the room were asked to name notorious criminals there would be names mentioned such as “David