Pop quiz. Gwyneth named her baby after (a), a poet; (b) a yoga pose; or (c) a fruit. Well the answer is (c)…but you probably know that already. Movie stars and their mating habits are objects of endless fascination. Now, the famous and the people who love them have become a science.
Researchers say they can rate the worshippers, from casual star-gazers to serious stalkers. Anthropologists suggest that our love affair with luminaries is just an extension of a centuries’ old instinct to imitate successful people. If our prehistoric predecessors worshipped the hunters, today’s celebrity seekers hunt the worshipped. On the pages of People and via the 24/7 crush of cable. Harmless hobby, or too much of a habit? American idols. American idolatry. The slippery slope of celebrity worship.
Guests:
James Houran, clinical psychologist and one of the authors of a study on personality and celebrity worship
Cintra Wilson, journalist and culture critic
Mary Ladd, writer and Cher fan
Francisco Gil-White, evolutionary anthropolgist at the University of Pennsylvania.