The attention popular culture gives to celebrities has had a negative effect on the members of that culture.

The attention popular culture gives to celebrities has had a negative effect on the members of that culture.

With society’s increasing emphasis and glorification of celebrity culture, it has become commonplace to regard this attention with suspicion and sometimes even downright derision. The statement infers that the attention popular culture gives to celebrities has caused a negative effect on the members of that culture. In my opinion, I disagree with the statement for two reasons.

First, the attention our culture gives celebrities often highlights, also made awareness, of issues that society at large might otherwise be unaware of. For instance, Angelina Jolie’s numerous trips to malnourished villages in Africa have been highly publicized by the news media. When this actress makes these trips, she focuses on the chronic impoverishment of these countries and the absence of many basic necessities that we take for granted, such as readily available food, lodging, and sanitation. Because Jolie is so famous and her travels receive so much attention, the problem in these countries is broadcast to a wider audience than they would be through just late-night infomercials or news segments. Thus, it is evidence that Jolie’s fame has had a positive impact on society.

Further, the attention from the media can also bring awareness to an important cause. For instance, when Magic Johnson was tested positive for HIV and the news spreads out by the media led the society to arise more awareness of this disease. Although this is not necessarily a positive issue to address, Magic Johnson’s constant attention from the media has brought awareness to, and also educate society about this disease, such as how HIV infected people, how to prevent being infected, and more importantly the treatment for HIV. Thus, the journey Magic Johnson went through has directed and put society in a better position to address this once dreaded disease.

Nowadays we have an easier and more direct connection with celebrities due to social media. And the constant barrage of social media has made everyone skeptical of the actual value that celebrity culture provides to society and has caused many critics to lament what they believe is the deterioration of international cultural life. Nevertheless, despite some apparent drawbacks of the attention that we give celebrities, this behavior has numerous benefits to our society. Specifically, the attention we give celebrities increases our awareness of societal problems gives a large audience to an important issue.