Whether you grew up on The Beverly Hillbillies or not, Los Angeles was always a fantasy place, a magical land filled with “swimming pools and movie stars.” So, when I tell someone where I live, one of the first questions is frequently about seeing famous people. Their faces drop when I tell them that I never see famous people – or perhaps I do but since I don’t recognize them, it’s pretty much irrelevant.
But what would I do if I did? What difference would it really make? (Okay, I confess; I do think I saw George Clooney standing in front of CAA a few months ago but, hey, that was George Clooney!) How would my life be changed in any way? Would I be happier, wiser, more fulfilled? The answer is obvious.
Yet the desire for people to see celebrities remains undiminished. Despite their often-unhappy lives and even unhappier relationships, tourists clamor to catch a glimpse and Star Tours clog the streets of Beverly Hills. (My only other star sighting, believe it or not, was at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem where Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones were lounging by the pool. Not sure what to make of that…) What is it about fame that is so alluring?
I have a family member who used to love collecting autographs and seeing their screen idols. She would get up very early in the morning to line the streets before the Academy Awards and watch from the bleachers (the nose-bleed seats or standing) as the attendees arrived. I confess that I never understood the attraction and was only resentful at being awoken so early.
But (I’m trying out a new theory here), I think it’s a substitution for holiness, for transcendence. We all want to connect to something and someone bigger than ourselves. We all want to be lifted out of our mundane lives and concerns. We all want to feel special and elevated.
And for a moment, in the presence of a celebrity, at a star-studded elegant event, we are transported. We experience the illusion of being part of something grander and larger than our everyday existence. It’s not our typical experience and, just for the moment, we feel special.
Unfortunately, this is really counterfeit goods, an illusion of the type that Hollywood specializes in. The elevation is illusory and doesn’t last. The glitz and glitter are only a façade.
If we really want a transcendent experience and feel elevated, if we truly desire to deepen our spiritual connection, we won’t accomplish it in a moment and certainly not through the world of entertainment.
The experience we are really looking for is only available through a relationship with the Almighty and only after putting in the effort to achieve it. We need to work on our character, on being kind to others and thoughtful of their needs, on diminishing our ego in an effort to be humble, on giving and caring to other people and on expressing gratitude and appreciation to our Creator.
I think it’s probably very exciting to be invited to the Academy Awards (although I’m also guessing the night is a little long and boring). You get to buy a new dress and mix with…well, just other people who are also just muddling their way through, often with greater challenges than our own. It may be night of fun; it may not.
But whatever it is, it won’t last. It won’t substitute for the true lift found in a relationship with the Almighty. Prayer, acts of kindness, giving charity, keeping kosher – none of it sounds as exhilirating as walking down the red carpet – but in the end it’s much more rewarding. This prize lasts forever, and no one can steal it from you.
(6) Judy R., November 17, 2019 5:40 AM
Seeing Movie Stars
When I went to California and took the tour bus to see the stars, the tour guide said the saddest, miserable people are movie stars, also they have substance problems(with alcohol, drugs, etc,)too. The whole Hollywood life is a illusion, and they the stars play roles in life, did they even know we they really are, I heard Jewish people that were actors and actresses give in up, and became religious and saw, this kind of life is fickle, and fleeting, and if you want to stay married in Hollywood it is very hard, but some people do, it is better to have a Jewish religious life, even if you get awards or whatever for being a good actor/actress it is more important to be a nice person, and do good deeds, etc, when people pass away what will the Movie Stars tell G-d, what did they do with their life, a lot of actors/actresses are on the wrong side of reality, with their strange politics, so it is better to be Jewish and orthodox, instead of the world of falsehood, because nothing in Hollywood is real, it is only make believe, do these movie stars even know who they really are, do they even know their real personality, I am happy I am not one of the actor/actress in Hollywood, it is better to strive to be a righteous person, because movie stars are not humble in my opinion, they can be vain and the opposite, of the Torah what people should be, it is better to be a Rabbi/or a wife of a Rabbi than what they are, it is better to be connected to Hashem, and the with spirituality and our religion, than the bogus glamour of Hollywood, and that is my story!
(5) Graciela Gerber, November 16, 2019 7:21 PM
As always
Emuna is right I enjoy your blogs Continue your good work
(4) Raymond, November 15, 2019 7:00 AM
What Dreams May Come
I have a somewhat different take on celebrities. Imagine having a fantastic dream of some sort, with some unlikely, even strange characters. Imagine waking up and then seeing those same characters. I realize that sounds like something out of the Twilight Zone, but what I am getting at is the following.
We hear about the various celebrities by word of mouth, through the media, on television, on the radio, online and so on. As long as it stays on such impersonal mediums, they are in a way part of our fantasy life. There is something unreal about them, but the moment we see those same individuals in reality, that is, in the same physical room as us, it is as if our fantasies have become a reality. And I think all of us have had dreams we wish would come true. I know I do almost every day, being that I dream of my deceased mother almost every night, despite her being gone for almost two decades now.
I can understand Hollywood celebrities not impressing those Jews who are deeply involved in religious Jewish life. However, before anybody feels smug about rejecting Hollywood, I would imagine that anybody who has studied the Torah or just Judaism in general, would be awestruck beyond measure if they would meet, in person, the likes of a Rambam or Rashi....or how about a great mystic like the Arizal? Can you imagine shaking his hand? I can't. To me, he is an ethereal being not quite of this world. Meeting him in person would be the experience of a lifetime. I would feel as if I had floated off to Heaven itself. Well, on an admittedly smaller, more mundane scale, that is how secular people in secular culture feel about meeting, say, any of the Beatles, or Sir Lawrence Olivier, or whichever entertainment celebrity is revered beyond what seems to be reasonable these days.
Goldy, November 17, 2019 9:33 AM
precisely her point
"....the likes of Rambam of Rashi… or the Arizal" are giants of something that is eternal, whereas the Hollywood stars are giants of the most fleeting reality. Therefore the question is: why would one have such excitement connecting to something that contains no meaning or depth, when you always have an opportunity to connect with true eternal reality?
Raymond, November 18, 2019 8:23 PM
Talent is not Character
Then I have no answer for her, since in all honesty I never quite got what the thrill is in meeting movie stars or rock stars. To me, they are people that have a special talent in their field, but that is about it. It has no bearing on what kind of people they are, so I don't see why I should admire them. Now, I will admit to admiring actors such as Jon Voight, but that is because of his high moral caliber, not because of his acting success.
(3) Sarah, November 14, 2019 5:18 PM
Not good teachers
If I were seeking a role model, the last one I would wish for would be someone whose career requires that he or she spend his or her life pretending to be what he or she is not, someone who puts materialism above all things, and places no importance on morality. They aren't good teachers of anything, particularly nowadays. In seeking a role model, I would want the best person to model after, not someone to lead me down the worst possible path.
Rachel, November 17, 2019 10:01 AM
You don’t understand their craft
Trained actors are great storytellers. Do you like to read fiction? Actors bring it to life in plays and films. And while some actors— and some people— are not concerned with morality and are consumed by materialism, that does not mean that all have those unattractive traits.
No one said that actors should be role models. No one should expect that athletes, politicians, chefs, bankers, or inventors should be role models either.
(2) benjamin Sherr, November 13, 2019 8:02 PM
movie
My friend a Hollywood director once told me, actors are the least happiest of all people, people like them for who they are NOT.
(1) Rachel, November 10, 2019 3:12 PM
Yes and no.
I agree that it’s silly to be fixated on celebrities or other famous people.
But I don’t understand the swipe at them as being unhappy. Should we not have compassion for anyone going through difficulties?
Furthermore, this article seems to completely dismiss real achievement in the performing arts. I don’t care about glimpsing someone, but if I had the opportunity to speak with Meryl Streep or Viggo Mortensen to talk about their work, I would love that. Similarly, I would enjoy the opportunity to talk to JK Rowling, Angela Merkel, Queen Elizabeth, or anyone else whom I admire for their work and insight. The same is true for engaging with you, Emuna, and other Torah experts. In fact, I have never understood those who get stars in their eyes when they once saw the Rebbe from a distance.
Art, music, science, literature, government are all ways that human beings reflect Hashem’s glory. Aren’t we commanded to make a bracha when we see someone who does that, whether a Torah scholar, a ruler, or an exceptionally beautiful person for that reason?