Wha?
"Hey Carissa. Can I bring my girlfriend to your party? She’s also a celebrity. "
Then he goes on to name his girlfriend that I’ve never heard of, nor have many of the folks I’ve asked.
I have no problem with an extra guest, but the problems I had with this question are:
(1) It presumes that he is a celebrity. While he may be more famous than his girlfriend, I just find it a little off that he considers himself a ‘celebrity.’ I think the term he should have used is ‘actor,’ because that’s his profession. Celebrity isn’t, because there is a celebrity chef, celebrity writer, celebrity tennis player…Acting doesn’t make you an actor. Being an actor doesn’t make you a celebrity.
(2) I think the word is something people use to pertain to other people, not yourself. It’s like hearing or reading people describe themselves as good-looking, sexy and attractive. That’s for others to say about you, not for you to say about yourself. And if you really are, then you don’t even have to say it to convince other people.
(3) You can bring whoever you want to a party, and don’t need to describe them. Yet had he said ‘She’s also a baseball fan,’ or she’s also a doctor’ or something unassuming like that, I wouldn’t have been as thrown off.
Looking back, it may not have been a big deal. But it definitely made an impression.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Carissa,
Hi. I can relate to this posting. In defense of this so-called-self-proclaimed celebrity, I think his behavior is very much a male characteristic in that men are brought up to ‘produce’ and to ‘perform’, whether it’s to bring the bacon home or to ‘perform’ in the bedroom, men identify themselves with what we do. As much as I’m a male feminist and all, I still believe that the most ‘masculine’ men out there would have a problem if their significant other earned more than they do. It’s emasculating, who are we kidding!
Now, I think what you’re arguing though is a point of semantics. He’s technically an actor by trade. Whether or not he’s a true celebrity is questionable. Others identify you with that status symbol, ‘celebrity’ but you don’t go around saying, “I’m a celebrity”. I do agree with you that he’s a bit on the pretentious side proclaiming himself as one. If you are, you don’t need to preface it, am I wrong?
This reminds me of people who boast about how rich they are, which if you think about it, really doesn’t help their argument. If you have to hype it up and toot your own horn like that, are you really rich? See what I’m saying? Although, you know, I find that this sort of boasting may be more prevalent of the ‘nouveau riche’ because they still have insecurities about their not so rich past and have more need to prove themselves.
There’s a lot of ego in this world. I know ’cause I have a lot of classmates that are full of themselves and who probably believe I’ve got a big head myself. One guy in particular has already proclaimed himself a doctor with his e-mail address and he hasn’t even started his residency! I hope he finishes his period of advanced training in his medical specialty because he’s going to be the laughing stock of the class if he doesn’t. Poor guy.
It all comes down to Ego. I mean, can we talk, Carissa? Sometimes, we’re so far from the truth that the conscious part of our personality in no way measures up to the external reality, it gets distorted. There’s a lot of disenchanted people out there. I think we buy into a lot of shit because we think our lives should be like the ones portrayed in the movies or Hollywood. It’s all fantasy. This ’so-called-self-proclaimed’ celebrity is living in his own fantasy. Let him. To some people, it’s how they cope with their reality. Secretly inside, I think we all have that fantasy to become a ‘celebrity’ or one day become famous. I think this is one of the reasons why Friendster is so popular. We can pretend to have perfect lives and we can have others admire what they see. In a way, we have a fan club and for that moment in time, we have an audience. Instant celebrity!
You, on the other hand are a true celebrity in my book! Bar none! None! It’s easy to find famous celebrities, but difficult to find the ones with class. You’ve got class, Carissa. Keep it modest, don’t reveal too much and the world will want more of you!