Thursday, August 14, 2008

  • Wanna Be Like Paris Hilton?

    pine by mr. pine

    americanidol It seems like the desire to be famous is lauded in this society over having convictions.  There are TV shows dedicated to it (American Idol, America's Got Talent), there are video games which feed on it (Rockstar, Guitar Hero), and celebrity magazines can afford to pay a celebrity couple 14 million dollars for pictures of their baby while Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers are struggling to make a profit.

    I've been trying to pinpoint what about this makes me so uneasy.  Is it because I think it's unfair that just because someone has notoriety that they are making a lot of money or are given more breaks than others?  Is it that there are so many more talented people who just because they aren't as attractive or know the right people or have the right "hook" that they are ignored?  Is it that the guy who shovels manure for a living is valued less than someone who was born with their vocal cords developed a certain way that they could make it as a singer?

    I don't blame them, though.  They're just using their abilities and giving people what they seem to want.  So maybe my dilemma is actually with what society views as being worthwhile.

    Third Day has a satirical song that addresses this, I think.  It's called "I Wanna Be a Rockstar."  For those of you who don't know, Third Day is a Christian rock band... one of my favorites.  They're from my home state of Georgia.  I actually saw them back around 1994 when they were just a garage band and played at a friend's church... they were selling their tapes in the lobby (if you don't know what a tape is, look it up in your history books... sigh).  These are the lyrics to that song.

            (chorus)
            I wanna be a rock star, but I ain't got what it takes
            The drive and the determination and the lucky breaks
            I wanna be a rock star, but I ain't got the face
            I wanna be a rock star, but I ain't got what it takes

        Seeing my face up on the TV.  Hearing my songs on the radio
        People waiting all day in line to see me.  Doing my pose for Rolling Stone

        Well, it's all right, yeah it's all right

        (chorus)

        Living lifestyles of the rich and famous.  Turning all heads in the music scene
        Flying in my own jet plane to Vegas.  Riding in a big black limousine

        Well, it's all right, yeah it's all right

        (chorus)

        No, I ain't got nothing, but to you I'm something
        Something so much more

        Well, it's all right, yeah it's all right

        (chorus)

    And before anyone says anything, yes, I do know about Nickelback's song "Rockstar," and how similar this might sound... but for your information, this song was released a full year before Nickelback's, I believe.

    What I believe the song is talking about is the futility and anti-gospel message of this desire for fame or the idolization of people just because they're famous.  I think it's sad that even most Christians know the name of Paris Hilton's dog but not the name Ravi Zacharias (who I think is THE MAN).

    Which brings me to my shameless plug.  I have a student who is a very talented musician and songwriter.  I know that what he wants to do with his life is to somehow glorify God with his music.  I honestly don't think he cares a lick about being famous someday.  In fact, I think he wants to explore the "less glamourous" production side of music rather than the performance side.  I know that he does most, if not all, of the production work in his music. In this entry he states that he is a "weapon" for God.  It may not be politically correct, but it sums up what I've already known about the guy.

    http://weblog.xanga.com/samuelock/669902253/i-am-a-weapon.html

    Here's a link to Ravi Zacharias' "Just Thinking" radio segments...

    http://www.rzim.org/USA/Resources/Listen/JustThinking.aspx

    Give them a listen.

    Do you ever want to be famous? Is the glorifying of fame (for the same of being famous) anti-gospel?

Related Posts

Comments (20)

  • laytexduckie@xanga

    I'm sure when we were alot younger, we all wanted to be famous somehow. It's either someone wants to be a singer, an actor/actress, police officer or fireman, or even a doctor. It's mostly just built on the foundation of being well known and making alot of money. However, as some of us grow older, we soon realize that sometimes, being famous is just a hassle. One of the reasons I don't wanna really be famous is mostly the media. The media plays a huge part in creating the rise of a celebrity or the fall of one. The media has a way of warping our minds onto what is good, what is bad, what is disgusting, what way we should think, what is beautiful and what is not, etc. Just the other night watching the Olympics on NBC, there was one newscaster who went around tasting the different delicacies in China. It soon panned back to the main studio where she was talking to the main anchor about the different kinds of food. Then, what kind of bugged me was that the main anchor somehow try to main a dish sound very unappetizing by calling it "fungus soup." If you do any idea about Chinese delicacy, one famed dish is their "MUSHROOM" soup, a soup consisting of about 5-8 different mushrooms (edible mushrooms, not the poisons, duh). But just the way that he worded it, easily gets to the viewers who will automatically think "Ewww, fungus." And techincally, yes, mushroom is a fungus, but which sounds more appetizing? That's my two cents. Although I think I completely avoided the main question. Hahahahah.
  • jonchin_19@xanga

    yeah. i wrote a thing on fame recently. i think with fame people say they don't want it or they wouldn't let it change them, but they won't know for sure until they actually do become famous.
  • leadworshipper82

    fame isn't a big thing... it's what you do with the "fame" that you get...


    if you think the world is all about you... then you may get a crowd but that'll last for a little while before you kingdom crumbles....


    Chris Tomlin keeps it real... his songs are sung all over the world, he travels and leads worship for literally hundreds of thousands of people... and yet his mission is to point the spotlight that are shining on him up to Jesus Christ...


    God is God and frankly He doesn't share His glory with another (Isa 43 and other such verses in Isaiah).


    so yea... all fame is really God's....
  • Pickwick12@xanga

    I thought I wanted to be famous, but what I really wanted was unconditional acceptance. I felt like I needed the love and admiration of lots of people because my hunger was so big. But now I realize that what I hungered for was God's acceptance. People can't fill my void. Only He can. His love and acceptance are the only things that are big enough. I still do sometimes have the desire to be well known and acclaimed by people, but I'm getting more into God's approval than people's. I thought I had to be famous to be significant; now I want to learn to find my significance in being God's little girl and loving Him.

    I don't think it's inherently wrong to be famous. If its God's plan for a person's life, then it's an amazing opportunity. However, if seeking fame becomes an idol we place above God, then it's wrong and not worth it. It's possible to say that I want to be famous to advance God's kingdom but actually to mean that I want to be famous to gratify myself. It's also possible to truly honor God with fame and to be an example to a watching world (Steven Curtis Chapman, Kirk Cameron, etc.)

    Good post. Good topic. I want to add that I think it's alarming how much even our youngest children in America are obsessed with fame.
  • LookingforAngels2@xanga

    It may be about motive. For instance, does a person want to be famous for self-glorification? Or does this person want to be famous so that s/he will be given a platform to use for the glory of God?

  • SirNickDon@xanga

    Paris Hilton got a dog?
  • rememberbackthen@xanga

    "LookingforAngels2" I completely agree with what you said. Exactly :)
  • iconspiration@xanga

    I'm a film student/actress, and I wouldn't say I want to be famous, but it would be great to reach a lot of people with my work since it will have a positive message...I think it's that distinction that makes the difference.
    Fame for fame's sake (in terms of people wanting it and/or idolizing it) is superficial and meaningless in the long run and for the big picture, but fame for talent and using that to create good changes in the world...I don't believe there's anything wrong with that.
  • cllns_smm@xanga

    I want to be like Michael Keaton myself. Paris Hilton is too high on herself. LOL.


    S.C.
  • icicle84@xanga

    ... I don't know Paris Hilton's dog's name, and I do know of Ravi Zacharias ... :)


    Brad Paisley has a song about celebrity that kind of illustrates your point (though not from the same Christian perspective).


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEPe4fZNf74
  • Red_Apocalypse_Horse@xanga

    A lot of the Hollywood stuff is just over-rated. I heard a sermon once that says something like this:


    In this age, it is the rich and the famous that are upheld high on pedestals while the real unsung heroes goes unnoticed.


    But in the age to come (the fullness of God's Kingdom), the real unsung heroes... people whom we never heard of, but quietly go about their lives... these stories will be made known to all.


    Indeed the first will be last, and the last will be first.
  • brerjohn_lives@xanga

    pickwick is right on i think
  • brerjohn_lives@xanga

    Reminds me of a song of Dr Hook's called "Cover of the Rolling Stone"...

    "We got all the friends that money can buy...so we never have to be alone...."

  • moshimeow@xanga

    Fame is how and where you invest in.... if it's on you, it doesn't last too long.  If focus on God, then you have something going since all the glory should be given back to Him. 


    Can't buy money with things that don't last....


  • XfantomcatX@xanga

    I think people want fame for the money and reassurance that people like them. I don't think it has to do with thinking some people are unfairly popular, because that would result in a dislike of fame, not a craving for it. Noone says people who aren't famous are valued less, because the vast majority of us are not famous, and those who are famous usually started out not-famous, so why would anyone say that?

    Also, I don't really think Rockband and Guitar Hero stem from a want of being famous..
  • charlieseros@xanga

    I think that more than being famous, people just want to be recognized for their effort in life- in some way or another. What we tend to forget sometimes is that our rewards are in Heaven and God knows all that we do or don't do.
  • agnophilo@xanga

    I have no desire to be famous.
  • MissSweetG11@xanga

    I just wanna say...I LOVE RAVI ZACHARIAS!!..forget Paris, she adds nothing to my life but I will pray for her nonetheless.
  • MissSweetG11@xanga

    oh p.s., i have NO clue what her dog's name is, lol
  • bratmeister@xanga

    oh btw, I'm sure a lot of people didn't know this but a few months ago Paris was put in jail for a week by a judge for failing to show up in court numerous times over some violation. After that she publicly announced that she has been touched with God during that time and was convicted to give up her scheming/partying ways and use her fame for good.  I knew she was just a girl who got everything she wanted all her life and never had the right influence around her, but she had potential and depth more than she'd let on so she can play up her persona that's she's so famous for. Since she left jail there hasn't been any scandalous gossip about her the paparrazi could pick up on. She basically visits kids in foreign countries, etc. and gave up her partying ways... for the most part. So yeah, give her some credit already. But I guess the reputation of notoriety sticks with human minds for a long time, while God already sees the future in a person.

  • Choose Identity

  • Give eProps (?)

  • New! You can now edit your comments for 15 minutes after submitting.

About this Entry

    • From: revelife
    • Posted: 8/14/2008 7:25 PM

Tags