Books

Why we care about Paris

By ELIZABETH BENNETT, Special to the Times
Published January 21, 2007

Writer Jake Halpern is the first to admit it: He's always been interested in the lifestyles of the rich and famous, starting with the show by that name he watched as a boy. But what he found simply interesting then has become a disturbing preoccupation for millions of people, he contends in Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America's Favorite Addiction, which takes a critical look at Americans' obsession with celebrity.

Why, asks Halpern, a commentator for National Public Radio, are television and newspapers devoting increasingly more space to celebrity gossip? Why are celebrity magazines the only ones whose circulation is growing? What accounts for the popularity of E!, the 24-hour celebrity-news network, and why do we care whom Paris Hilton is dating?

Halpern has certainly done his homework to try to find answers. He traveled the country, visiting schools, talent conventions, modeling agencies and the editorial offices of Us Weekly, a celebrity news magazine whose circulation increased 18.7 percent between 2000 and 2005. He interviewed cultural critics, psychologists, Hollywood agents and managers, and numerous other industry insiders, and he conducted a survey of his own of 653 middle-school students in the Rochester, N.Y., area.

One shocking finding from the survey: Given a choice of becoming the CEO of a major corporation, the president of Yale or Harvard, a Navy Seal, a U.S. Senator or the personal assistant to a famous singer or movie star, almost half the girls - 43.4 percent - chose the assistant role.

One of the most revealing chapters in Fame Junkies is about several people who have held those jobs, including a woman who was the personal assistant to both Sharon Stone and Dennis Hopper. Most described their work as drudgery - doing laundry, fetching groceries, paying bills - and being on call at all hours to spoiled celebrities who often treat them like servants. The appeal of the job, Halpern learned, is simply being up close and personal with a famous person.

He also writes a chapter about a Pittsburgh woman who has devoted much of her life to singer Rod Stewart, following him around the world to his concerts and even building a shrine, or "Rod Room," in her house.

Halpern's engaging book does help explain the obsession, including the role of technology, which now disseminates countless images and stories in nanoseconds. He also explores the psychological aspects, involving issues of social power, self-esteem and prestige.

This is not groundbreaking research, but it's a provocative look at the origins of celebrity worship and our culture's insatiable appetite for gossip.

Elizabeth Bennett is a freelance writer in Houston.

The book

Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America's Favorite Addiction

By Jake Halpern

Houghton Mifflin, 256 pages, $23

On the Web: www.jake halpern. com

[Last modified January 18, 2007, 12:39:49]