Famous People

Cleo, 17, UK

When asked to name someone famous whom you respect, who do you immediately think of? The chances are it's a star of some kind, be it of music, TV, film or perhaps sport.

Why do you respect this person? Is it the causes they support? Their political beliefs? Or the image they create around themselves? Probably you would answer that all three play some part, and the main reason you hold that person in such esteem is that these ideals are similar to your own, or at least what you would like them to be.

Sometimes stars have a greater influence on you than you might think -- how you talk, what clothes you wear and so on. In times gone by, famous Hollywood actors were frequently used to endorse smoking, and even today often influence the political opinions of fans by visibly supporting a political party. Whilst many people may not consider this a true influence, subconsciously this may be affecting you to a greater degree than you might expect.

The famous are sometimes seen as being above the law, even getting away, some say, with murder. But they do find that this can work both ways; if they ARE found guilty of a crime, then they often find themselves subject to much harsher sentences than would usually be the case for their offense. Guilty or not however, simply the accusation of a crime can be seriously damaging to a star's reputation if not their career. The case of O.J. Simpson has been a prime example. In a criminal prosecution, he was found not guilty, but despite of this, very few people now wish to associate their products with him: mud sticks.

The point is that despite the fact that thousands, sometimes millions of fans may idolize a star, at the end of the day this person is still a human being. Stars still want what everyone else wants, feel how everyone else feels, and can still make mistakes just as easily. Yet because we put them on a pedestal, it can be difficult to accept that. In the eyes of a fanatic this can be devastating -- they may not be able to acknowledge that their idol is even capable of being in error, and that their role-model may have a flaw.

To be able to fully respect a person, be they a star or simply someone we know, we must accept that they too can be wrong. And perhaps seeing them as the normal mortals they really are can help us to deal better with our own mistakes. In this way we can respect ourselves, and be able to create our own ideals and image without the need to copy that of another.