An Unnamed Jailed Individual

Quote of the day:
“Keeping track of the latest in Paris Hilton incarceration news has been tricky these days. But not as tricky as figuring out why we care.”
--Karla Peterson and John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune, today.

Quote of the day no. 2:
“[I]t’s not in her image to do anything socially useful. Paris has an image based on triviality and emptiness. How else could she have dealt with this?”
--Leo Braudy, professor of English at the University of Southern California. He’s written a book called The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History.

Is it the celebrity of fame, or the fame of celebrity? Has it always been that we value celebrity over everything else, including intelligence, integrity, talent and ability?

It’s useless to fret about our fascination with the above-named jailed individual (hereafter known as ANJI). We are fascinated and sometimes preoccupied.

If you are not fascinated, please don’t read any more. Just accept that you are one of the world’s select, creative, intelligent, successful, beautiful people, always focused on the most vital issues facing humanity: Iraq, real-estate prices and “these kids today.”

I am drawn to two things related to ANJI--one specific and one general.

First, I am interested in the personality characteristic that craves, seeks and generates continuous public attention. What is that characteristic, and where does it come from? In my professional life I have crossed paths with many pathological attention-seekers, and it has always baffled me. Especially when the need for attention seems somehow desperate.

Second, I am equally interested in the cultural characteristic that elevates celebrities--even if these celebrities have demonstrated no reason to be famous. Except that they are famous. What’s with that?

Is this something new in our age of all-media-everywhere? Or has it always been with us?