That's right. For the next 40 days, I can't talk or read about celebrities. If I see one walking down the street (as I do all the time since I live in NY and can spot them a mile away), I can't follow them to see where they're going. When I'm in my old Brooklyn neighborhood, I can't go out of my way to walk down a certain celeb's block just to gaze at her beautiful brownstone. When I go to The Farnsworth Invention in a few weeks, I can't wait for the star of the show, one of my favorite actors, to come out and sign my Playbill. I can't even let my friends tell me about the celebrities they've spotted. I'm still deciding if I can watch the Oscars this year. Technically, that's just one big celeb fest, but maybe if I skip the red carpet pre-shows I'm in the clear. Or am I already trying to bend the rules?
Everyone who knows me realizes how hard this is going to be. Some wonder how I'll even do it. In fact, some of my equally celeb-obsessed friends wonder how they'll go 40 days without gossiping about celebs with me.
And that's exactly why I want to do it. We're a country obsessed with celebrities. My husband and a handful of my friends don't really get it and actually have no problem living fairly celeb-free lives. The rest of us? We're all a little too knowledgeable about what's going on in Hollywood when there's much more important stuff to to think and talk about.
It's not something I'm proud of, but I'm not entirely ashamed either. We all need guilty pleasures and I could have a far worse one than this. I don't keep track of the celeb train wrecks. I actually ignore those types of stories completely and focus on successful celebrities whose movies and TV shows I really like. I know the names of their kids, where they grew up, who they're dating now and who they dated way back when. I like to look at pictures of them. I'm fascinated by their love lives and extravagant lifestyles (and sometimes a little sickened by how much money they all have). I'll admit it doesn't always make me feel good about myself or the world we live in. Sure I sometimes wish I could look like them, have all the things they have, but to be honest, I'd never, ever want to be any of them.
So, I'm going to give them up for 40 days. I'll read CNN.com and The NY Times when I'd rather be browsing the People.com photo gallery or searching for videos on TMZ.com. When people try to start talking about celebrities with me, I'll save my breath and change the subject. I'll track my progress here and let you know how I'm doing, any obstacles I face and hopefully talk with all of you about your own celeb obsessions.
In fact, I already passed my first test! My husband just sent me the autopsy results of a certain celeb who recently died. When I saw it in my inbox (he titled the email: "Your first real test. Attention, this is celebrity news. But it is also hard news"), I didn't open it. According to him, lent doesn't technically start till noon. If that's the case, I still have one hour left to completely indulge...
Welcome to Celebrifree and let the celeb detox begin!
4 comments:
Well done! But I think the definition of celebrity news is a hard one to nail down. As you so pointedly mentioned, celebrities are part of our social fabric. Some dare say it's a religion for our overly anti-spiritual world (I personally think there is TOO MUCH religion out there). So if the coroner’s office announces Heath Ledger died of prescription drug overdose….is that “celebrity news” or just “news”? Or is it both? Are the Oscars just another entertainment program, comparable to the Superbowl, or is it celebrity Zoo? I think the Oscars are fair game for you, dear Celebrifree blogger. What you are NOT allowed to do is watch the Red carpet on E and/or talk about their dresses or tongued kisses afterwards.
Daniel, your comments are insightful. I think if it's covered in the NY Times (which in my opinion doesn't normally stoop to the level of celebrity news other so-called news outlets do), it's fair reading for you. However, TMZ.com (whatever that is!) and People.com are out of the question. Celebrities as news is one thing; celebritites as entertainment, quite another.
Just came across your blog---good luck! I'm sure when all is said and done Britney will still be a train wreck and I won't be any better off for have gotten the daily update on her whereabouts!
Daniel, I'm not so sure The Oscars are fair game. It'll be very hard to watch them and not talk about what they're wearing, who is sitting with who, etc. I think I'll just go and see a movie or read a book instead!
Judith, I couldn't agree more. TMZ.com and People.com are definitely off limits for the next month!
K&K, thanks for the encouragement. So far, I haven't missed my daily celeb news one bit.
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