What are celebrities? Today we live in a society that tends to drown our daily lives in mass media such as tabloids, reality shows, newspapers like the New York Times, and personal interest magazines, such as People and Us, to get a glimpse into the interesting lives of celebrities everyday. Some might say that a celebrity is someone we idolize while Daniel Boorstin, author of the book The Image: Or What Happened to the American Dream, states that a celebrity “is a person well known for his or her notoriety” (Epstein1). But the question still remains… what are celebrities? According to Epstein, a celebrity is something or someone who can be talented and successful and yet wish to further convey one's fame through careful cultivation of celebrity, while one can be the exact opposite of successful and be less talented and yet be Anyway. made to appear otherwise through the mechanisms and dynamics of celebrity creation (Epstein2). Celebrity culture today is epidemic; some might agree that it is overwhelming America in a harmful way while one might argue that it is beneficial to our society. Celebrity and fame have changed dramatically in recent decades, from Alexander the Great to Kim Kardashian. Talent and achievements no longer play an important role when it comes to our celebrities. “Much of modern celebrity seems the result of careful promotion or good looks or something beyond talent and achievement” (Epstein2), that being said, celebrity making has blossomed into an industry of its own . Keeping up with all the gossip from breakup to hookup, lawsuits and drama, many might come to an agreement that celebrity culture is starting to be the next big art form in our new generation and that… in the middle of paper... it will all be the result of dying civilization and would not fit into the fabulous and unrealistic lives we have portrayed. People will “react with a fury and vengeance that will snuff out the remnants of our anemic democracy and usher in a new dark age” (Hedges3) once the homes are lost and our money runs out, then it will be too late to do anything. Cited Citation CitationGabler, Neal. “Celebrity culture is beneficial.” Celebrity culture. Ed. Spejo Romano. Detroit:Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Views. Rpt. from "The Greatest Show on Earth". Newsweek (December 12, 2009). Opposing points of view in context. Network. November 27, 2013Hedges, Chris. “Celebrity culture is harmful.” Celebrity culture. Ed. Spejo Romano. Detroit:Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Views. Rpt. from "Addicted to Nonsense." Truthd ig.com. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Network. November 27. 2013