Every awards season, viewers tune in to see if their favorite stars will get recognized for their impressive performances (or expensive gowns). While the numerous red carpet events provide ample opportunity for reporters to shout “Who are you wearing?!” at stars while disregarding their actual accomplishments, it has become increasingly common for big celebrity events to serve as battlegrounds for real social and political debates. Take, for example, Amy Schumer’s retort to a sexist question in 2014 or Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s incredible pointed speech at the 2015 Golden Globes. When the rich and famous gather to pat themselves on the back, other issues are bound to bubble to the surface.
But our obsession with celebrity politics seems to be an affliction that plagues us year-round. In a time of political and social unrest, it might be time to tear our eyes away from our Twitter feeds and push for real life change. Here are some reasons why our obsession with celebrities really, truly sucks.
Celebrities Make Light of Heavy Race Issues
One reason why viewers flock to popular cultural events is because they are easy to talk about. Not everyone understands the nuances of intersectional feminism or knows the writings of bell hooks, but most people can understand the racism being called out by #OscarsSoWhite. Celebrity debates fascinate us because they translate heavy, real world issues into everyday language.
This year, we saw six black actors nominated for Oscars, which is a huge improvement from the years before—but the nods aren’t enough. With host Jimmy Kimmel’s tasteless jokes around best supporting actor winner Mahershala Ali’s name, many critics have been quick to point out the “casual racism” inherent in these events. Kimmel is a glowing example of someone using a national platform to encourage insipid attitudes towards non-white citizens. Why can’t we focus on the accomplishment of actors and actresses of color instead of poking fun at cultural differences?
Celebrities Make Us More Likely to Become “Slacktivists”
Don’t get us wrong, there are a lot of celebrities doing great work to change America, the string of celebrities speaking out about race. From Jordan Peele’s new film Get Out to Nicki Minaj’s Twitter feuds, celebrities and pop culture are reflecting the general state of unrest in America. But re-tweeting a particularly woke tweet from your favorite lady rapper isn’t going to change the toxic racism that’s running rampant across the country, and not enough people seem to have gotten the memo.
Take, for example, all the celebrities who showed their support for the January 21st Women’s March on Washington. Fans worldwide were quick to repost the rally-cries of their favorite celebs, sew their own “pussy hats” and take to the streets—but that seemed to be the extent of many people’s activism for the year. While acts of solidarity are important, unfortunately a few million more Instagram posts with the hashtag #womensmarch isn’t enough to bring about the progress we need.
Celebrity Gossip Celebrates Trainwrecks
Let’s be honest: another reason people tune in to any celebrity news is to witness blunders and meltdowns so colossal in size that our own problems seem less catastrophic by comparison. The trope of the “celebrity trainwreck” is not necessarily a nice one—just think of the way society treats Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan. But there is a certain thrill to paying witness to things going terribly awry. Even those understandably disgusted by Trump find themselves unable to tear away from the grotesque circus playing out on their TV screens and Twitter feeds.
For a recent example, just look at the 2017 Oscars blunder. Everyone was abuzz with the infamous “Best Picture” confusion. While the Best Picture mix-up wasn’t fair to any of the parties involved, it did provide a delightfully awkward and memorable moment to talk about for days to come. We find entertainment in the scandalous and dramatic lives of celebrities—but are we using these meltdowns as glorious distractions from our own lives?
The Takeaway
Celebrities provide an entry-point to some important discussions. We can applaud them when they take a political stance—but not instead of taking a stance of our own. In a moment where compassion and understanding are more important than ever, it may be time to monitor our infatuation with the league of big shots on the silver screen. Entertainment might be the opiate of the masses, but it’s time to stop talking about that Moonlight moment and start figuring out how to save America from being the snake that eats its own tail.
Think celebrities are distracting us from the problems that are unfolding in real-time? Tell us about it with celebritynews.sucks, tabloidgossip.sucks, or slacktivism.sucks. No matter where you stand, your own .SUCKS domain can help you join the conversation today.
Photos: Shutterstock / Andrea Raffin, Shutterstock / Alex Millauer, Flickr / Molly Adams, Shutterstock / Helga Esteb
