For His Glory & Our Joy

Fame junkies is a book from my mass communications and journalism class this year at Fresno State. The book investigates the obsession that Americans have with the rich and famous. Author Jake Halpern interviews aspiring children actors, assistants, paparazzi, and agents to get a handle on our fame obsession. Sadly, we find that our cult like following of celebrities is linked to our societies media overstimulation, relationship deficit, and discontentment with our circumstance. Halpern’s book is an easy read, and will have you cringing at some of the interviews, and perhaps yourself. So, why should you read it? While Halpern draws from evolutionary biology (which I strongly disagree with), his observations about human nature are important for understanding our culture. We live in a society that is more urban, yet more isolated then ever before. This isolation leads to unhealthy relationships including those based on status updates, tweets, and tabloids. People hunger for a sense of belonging, a sense of affirmation, and the desire to do great things; all of which are found in the Gospel. Read Fame Junkies with the filter of “how does the gospel address this?” to get a good sociological picture of our culture as well as practice contextualizing ancient truth for a modern generation.

Looking back, it seemed odd to me that lifestyles of the rich and famous was so popular. In other times and places the flaunting of such discrepancies in wealth has incited revolution, but for some reason this show did precisely the opposite: it enthralled millions of middle-class viewers like me.

There is a definite quid pro quo in these [celebrity-cult] relationships: Followers get as sense of belonging, security, and importance; and leaders feed off their admiration and devotion.

You can find the book HERE.