The Plague of Celebrity! Thoughts on the Royal Wedding
by Imane Fawzy Nofal
Photo by Normann
The hair, the dress, the beautiful shoes hidden underneath her glamorous dress, the sweet aroma of her perfume (which I couldn’t smell through my TV) and the very natural but classy make-up were just a few things about her that drew millions to the wedding celebration today! What for? A human female, Kate Middleton, was wedded to a human male, William Arthur Philip Louis (Prince William). I must say, she is beautiful, natural, stylish and chic; and, he is handsome, cheerful and attractive. Above all, they are a prince and princess; bestowed with titles rarely obtained these days.
Yes, I was eagerly watching from my living room in Bahrain too! I wanted to see how the lady would walk, her smile, her outfit(s), how she would wave and the tone of her voice when she spoke. In my heart of hearts, I just wanted to be her, not in the sense of transforming into a copy of Kate Middleton, but of having that charisma, being that attractive and commanding all that attention.
I have always had a fascination with cameras and screens. When I was a little kid growing up in Egypt, I used to think that God has millions of screens in front of Him, where He watches everyone. As I grew older, I had this weird feeling that my mind works better than every other person’s … maybe because I was told I was intelligent and smart. I had the strange feeling that the world rolls in my mind and that nothing was happening outside of my own self. That’s the kind of childhood feeling that doesn’t make sense, but I am sure we have all had. It was like a world of make-belief; weird, but at the same time real in those days … the workings of the mind of a child.
Well, as the years went by, I began to figure out that unfortunately I wasn’t the only genius in the world, and that every human being has a mind to think and make decisions. To my astonishment and frustration, I discovered that there were people who were more intelligent, distinguished and loveable than I was! But what really ‘shocked’ me was the realization that certain people who seemed less smart and creative were actually more famous than I was.
I didn’t care much; after all, I have faith in my abilities and the strength and ambition to drive me to the land of my dreams.
So, today as I watched the royal wedding ceremony, I began to ponder on this worldwide fascination with celebrities. Too many of them – princesses like Kate Middleton, beauty queens like Julia Roberts, smart queens like Oprah Winfrey and many others. How about talk hosts?! Everyone seems to be one these days; some not even impressionable enough to be remembered after you watch their shows.
Why are they famous? Why are some who deserve to be in front of the cameras neglected and cast behind the screens?! On what basis are they chosen to attain this so called ‘celebrity’ status, while others like me are dumped behind? Don’t you envy them? Don’t you envy them?! Don’t say no! Most if not all of us do!
OK, I admit, I don’t think we can do anything to stop this celebrity mania. I shall even call it a plague that causes ordinary people to be dissatisfied with themselves and the conditions in which they live.
My message to you today is that we do need to focus on ourselves first, not on others. We need to look into us and into our abilities and believe that we are great, without comparing ourselves with ‘TV characters’. For example, a mother doesn’t need to rely on Oprah saying “motherhood is the hardest job ever on earth” to realize she is a great mother, blessed with the opportunity of raising a child!
I remember once getting into the kitchen to prepare lunch. I grabbed the biggest kitchen knife just like that beautiful chef, Giada De Laurntis does on TV, knowing quite well that I could hurt myself with it (fortunately, I have trained myself in that art). I got an onion, started peeling and cutting it into chunks. I acted like there were people watching me cut the onion, I took a deep breath … said to the vegetables in front of me “ … and as you can see, we cut the onion into big chunks …”
Life is good … we are all wonderfully made!
More of Imane’s writings on her blog: Express It 2 Live It
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