Influence of Celebrities on American Society

The Influence of Celebrities on American Society

"Marx thought that religion was the opium of the people. Not any more. Entertainment is". The following quote considers how many Americans today revolve their lives around entertainment- specifically music, movies, dance and athletics. As America moves forth into an extremely technologically based era, we continue to gain access of countless celebrity tabloids. Now more than ever, our society seems to revolve around the lives of celebrities. As many flip through countless magazines, rush home to watch their favorite shows, go online to read blogs about celebrities, and begin to idolize the famous, our society seems to face the question: how do celebrities truly effect our society? More specifically, how do the decisions of celebrities and their counter cultural movements affect us as individuals? Very few do not realize that celebrities tremendously effect the decisions we make; from what we wear to how we feel against something, celebrities have a high influence on our decision making process'. Celebrities affect three of the following aspects in our society: contemporary trends, our behavior, and our attitude on life.

Literature Review

My research paper is about how celebrities influence our societal trends, behavior, and overall attitude on life. The following three main points will transition into three individual body paragraphs.

I plan to begin my essay using Lynn Kahle's article on social adaptation. Social adaptation describes how the actions of others affect the attitude, value, and other social cognitions of another person. Through out my essay, I will be relating back to social adaptation.

My first body paragraph will include how celebrities influence our societal trends. I will relate to Deborah Reeds article on how our society idolizes things such as Michael Jacksons glove and zip up jacket, Jennifer Annistons obsession with shoes, or Rachel McAdams amazing hair. I will also include evidence of Bill Ott's article on how we used to spend our time reading movie magazines which included "inside looks", but now our society is more interested on reading things regarding how we should look, what to wear, and how we should wear it. I plan to provide resources such as Vogue Magazine, 17 Magazine, or Peoples Magazine and how we are influenced to dress or act a certain way.

My second body paragraph will consist of how celebrities effect our societal behavior. I plan to include Anthony Elliotts article on how the deaths of celebrities impact many across the nation.

My third body paragraph will consist of how celebrities effect our societies overall attitude on life. I plan to include how celebrities can influence our society in both negative and positive ways. For example, I will use Mick Mells article on how our societal obsession with celebrities is becoming overwhelming. Some of our society idolizes movie stars, sport figures and other famous people for the wrong reasons such as an actor killing someone in a scene or some reality television star getting into a fight because of some drama. On the other hand, I will also include how celebrities can influence our society in positive ways. For example, I plan to describe how celebrities have a high influence on politics. I plan to relate to Chong Ju Choi's article and his evidence regarding the most recent presidential elections and how Sean P. Diddy Combs and Richard Gere (along with many other celebrities) played an active role in influencing our youth to "Rock The Vote" or "Vote or Die".

For my conclusion, I plan to restate my thesis then restate my body paragraphs. I believe if I restate both my thesis and body paragraph, it will make the reader sure of what was just read.

Our society today revolves around a numerous amount