By Natalie Hamil, Staff Writer, Emerson College
On March 18, at approximately 8:21 PM EST, I watched Christian Bale walk out of a makeup trailer parked in the Boston Common, get into a crossover SUV, and get swallowed by the darkness of the city of Boston in winter (let's face it - even in March, it was basically still winter). I was too stunned to process it, but I know it happened because I Facebooked, tweeted, and Instagrammed it. I did all this because I forgot how to speak in the presence of a celebrity, so I felt that my presence on social media would make up for the fact that I couldn't formulate anything intelligent to say to Bale.
When he actually spoke to us ("Sorry guys, I can't sign any autographs right now, but thanks for your interest in the movie"), I thought my heart would stop. Batman had just spoken to me. Was this real life? After the hysteria wore off, and after a few more laps around that area of the Common to ensure no other actors were hiding inside the makeup trailer, I started to wonder how it would feel to be a celebrity. What if I walked out of the Little Building every morning to find people waiting to take my picture and sign things, and I simply dismissed them with, "Sorry guys, I can't sign any autographs right now. Gotta get to class?"
It seems as though we all have a desire within us to be famous in some way or another. We all want to have our names mentioned in the papers at some point in our lives, with a (hopefully) decent picture of us accompanying some article. Everyone wants their 15 seconds of fame. But there are those that not only succeed in getting their moments in the spotlight, but actually become bona-fide celebrities. Judging from my own experience, when we see these people on the street, we find ourselves completely overwhelmed by their fame. Our addiction to tabloid magazines and gossip websites lead us to become obsessed with these people. We want to learn all about their lives and relationships. We want to find out their secret to fame. We want to live like them, dress like them, or even just say hi to them. Why?
I think I've boiled it down to two reasons: our egos and our need for companionship.
We all want some form of recognition in our lives. We stalk these celebrities so that we can be like them. We want to eat at the same restaurants, stay at the same hotels, buy the same clothes. We believe that if we appear famous, people will look at us with more respect. We think that fame will bring opportunities to schmooze with the stars and work our way into their inner circles.
On March 18, at approximately 8:21 PM EST, I watched Christian Bale walk out of a makeup trailer parked in the Boston Common, get into a crossover SUV, and get swallowed by the darkness of the city of Boston in winter (let's face it - even in March, it was basically still winter). I was too stunned to process it, but I know it happened because I Facebooked, tweeted, and Instagrammed it. I did all this because I forgot how to speak in the presence of a celebrity, so I felt that my presence on social media would make up for the fact that I couldn't formulate anything intelligent to say to Bale.
When he actually spoke to us ("Sorry guys, I can't sign any autographs right now, but thanks for your interest in the movie"), I thought my heart would stop. Batman had just spoken to me. Was this real life? After the hysteria wore off, and after a few more laps around that area of the Common to ensure no other actors were hiding inside the makeup trailer, I started to wonder how it would feel to be a celebrity. What if I walked out of the Little Building every morning to find people waiting to take my picture and sign things, and I simply dismissed them with, "Sorry guys, I can't sign any autographs right now. Gotta get to class?"
It seems as though we all have a desire within us to be famous in some way or another. We all want to have our names mentioned in the papers at some point in our lives, with a (hopefully) decent picture of us accompanying some article. Everyone wants their 15 seconds of fame. But there are those that not only succeed in getting their moments in the spotlight, but actually become bona-fide celebrities. Judging from my own experience, when we see these people on the street, we find ourselves completely overwhelmed by their fame. Our addiction to tabloid magazines and gossip websites lead us to become obsessed with these people. We want to learn all about their lives and relationships. We want to find out their secret to fame. We want to live like them, dress like them, or even just say hi to them. Why?
I think I've boiled it down to two reasons: our egos and our need for companionship.
We all want some form of recognition in our lives. We stalk these celebrities so that we can be like them. We want to eat at the same restaurants, stay at the same hotels, buy the same clothes. We believe that if we appear famous, people will look at us with more respect. We think that fame will bring opportunities to schmooze with the stars and work our way into their inner circles.
Sometimes desiring fame is a matter of wanting to belong. We believe that being friends with someone like Jennifer Lawrence would be the best thing in the world (which it would be, duh) because we would get to be part of the A-list group that gets to enjoy her company. In interviews and Red Carpet appearances, Lawrence comes off as funny and humble, someone many people would consider "best friend" material, and so we envy those who know her. Even when we rationally realize that we're unlikely to actually befriend celebrities like her, we still search for companionship. We bond with others over both our mutual love for stars and our jealousy of those who know them in real life.
So, as much as I wish I could say that I don't want to meet Jennifer Lawrence on the streets of Boston, I can't. I would just be a dirty, rotten liar. Who knows? We could bump into each other at Starbucks, have a deep conversation about life, exchange phone numbers, become best friends, and go to movie premieres together. We would hang out in her trailer between takes of Mockingjay, I could meet all of her friends, and climb the social ladder in Hollywood. But for now, I'm going to have to settle for trying to wander the streets of Boston at convenient times with all those others who are hoping to meet her, hoping that my moment will come and, in the meantime, bond with friends over our shared love of JLaw.
Natalie Hamil is a Writing, Literature and Publishing major at Emerson College. She enjoys skimming bookstore shelves, watching the sun rise, and wearing bright/patterned pants.
So, as much as I wish I could say that I don't want to meet Jennifer Lawrence on the streets of Boston, I can't. I would just be a dirty, rotten liar. Who knows? We could bump into each other at Starbucks, have a deep conversation about life, exchange phone numbers, become best friends, and go to movie premieres together. We would hang out in her trailer between takes of Mockingjay, I could meet all of her friends, and climb the social ladder in Hollywood. But for now, I'm going to have to settle for trying to wander the streets of Boston at convenient times with all those others who are hoping to meet her, hoping that my moment will come and, in the meantime, bond with friends over our shared love of JLaw.
Natalie Hamil is a Writing, Literature and Publishing major at Emerson College. She enjoys skimming bookstore shelves, watching the sun rise, and wearing bright/patterned pants.