In the past few weeks I've clicked on at least three stories about how Kristen Stewart cheated on Robert Pattinson. Well, it might be more like 5...or 10. I can't really explain why I'm interested in the personal life of this celebrity couple. I'm not even a fan. Combined, they've made one movie that I actually liked (the first half of Water for Elephants and the second half of Snow White and the Huntsman).
So
why do I care? Why does their personal life intrigue me? Why do I
find it “humanizing” when Stewart offers what seems to be a
heartfelt apology (in public) or when Pattinson goes on The Daily
Show and shares some melted Ben and Jerry's with Jon Stewart? These
aren't rhetorical questions. Seriously, why do I care?
The
concept of celebrity and society's response is entirely fascinating
to me. One of my favorite authors, Chuck Klosterman, had an interesting
series of thoughts on this topic in his book of essays, Eating the
Dinosaur. He argues that we turn
celebrities into icons of meaning, essentially living metaphors, and
then use these metaphors as cultural currency.
Everyone
understands the cultural weight and value of a Kristen Stewart, or a
Britney Spears, or a Lebron James. We use them to communicate.
Klosterman actually argues that this is why celebrities deserve the
money they make, not because they entertain us, but because we
purchase the metaphorical meaning of their lives. If Britney Spears
doesn't make millions and millions of dollars, we might feel bad when
we use her to represent whatever negative stereotype we feel like
discussing.
The
same thing happens in politics. Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are no
longer human beings who want to be president, they exist as a
constellation of ideas and positions; ideological proxies with far
less control over their own meaning than they're probably comfortable
with.
So
what exactly is a Christian response to this kind of celebrity
culture? A culture that twists people into characters and turns reality
into a warped version of a stage? The easy answer is that Christians
should avoid this kind of culture, but that seems naïve. It smacks
of the fearful, simplistic response of those who argue that being
“in” the world and not “of” the world means little more than
running away in terror when the ugly parts of reality rear their
heads.
In
fact, the more I consider the issue, the more I'm convinced that
Christianity and its subcultures are deeply enmeshed in this culture
of celebrity. Doesn't the Christian culture create it's own
celebrities and line up behind them for our ideological grudge
matches? How many people respond to Rob Bell as an embodiment of
theology instead of as a person? Or John Piper? Luther? Augustine?
Paul? Peter? Jesus?
In
Orthodox theology, the incarnation of Jesus is essential. God became
human. Yes, he was a great teacher. Yes, he died and was resurrected,
but first and foremost, God became human...like us. St. Athanasius
says that, “God became man so that man might become God.” The
idea of Jesus is beautiful, but we need the human Jesus even more
than the idea. In Jesus we have the intimate connection between humanity and divinity.
That's
what we strip away when we turn people into celebrities and movements
and ideologies and iconography. We dissolve humanity into meaning as
if humanity has no meaning in and of itself; no value apart from what
it portrays or represents. It does. Our humanity is what connects us with the divine.
Remember
that next time you watch a movie or sports or TV. These are people,
much like you, some talented and some less so. And remember it when
you read a book or go to church. Whether the author or preacher is
wise or simple, brilliant or stupid, they are human and humanity is
made in the image of God. Jesus was human. Just like the actors in Twilight.
Peace,
Ben
When he isn't deconstructing the entire premise of his blog about the meaning of pop culture and those involved in it, Ben is trying to think of philosophical work-arounds so he can write something about the “essence” of Taylor Swift. You can follow his mental gymnastics @BenHoward87.
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