The Downside of Celebrity Culture

      By: Victoria

"I don't go by the rule book... I lead from the heart, not the head."

- Diana, Princess of Wales

This is perhaps one of the most famous deaths at the hands of the media. I was only a year old when this tragedy struck, and I cannot even begin to profess to understand the extreme impact Princess Diana had had on our world. My mother had always talked about her growing up, and so did many women around me. In my adolescent years, out of curiosity, I finally decided to watch a documentary on her life, and even through grainy recordings, I felt so inspired by her work. To this day, I hold her to a very high regard and have great admiration for her.  

The Princess and her then boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, were in a car on their way back to their hotel in Paris. The car was speeding in an attempt to evade the throng of paparazzi chasing after them. They entered a tunnel, and presumably lost control and collided with one of the pillars in the tunnel.

Disregarding the many conspiracy theories on who was actually responsible for the Princess’ death that night, the first group of people the public blamed was the paparazzi - and understandably so. As part of the news segment (in the video clip above), Avril Stocks (a person off the street) says, “If they had not been there – the paparazzi, she would still be here today. And nothing will change that.” While I understand the emotional intensity of this particular case, the fundamental problem with this argument is this: the public craves these photographs of famous people, continue to buy tabloids, and are therefore, by extension, funding it. Though, I would like to make it clear, that I am not saying that the paparazzi are not at fault at all, but it is in fact, a vicious cycle. It is probably more accurate to say that we are all responsible.

Indeed, more legal restrictions can be put in place in terms of how the media should be able to acquire this information or in this case, photographs of famous people, but maybe, we as a society, should reevaluate this emphasis and obsession we have with celebrity culture.

 Works Cited

“Part 1/2 - WNBC News: Paparazzi under Investigation. - Princess Diana: ‘Chasing Diana,’”  YouTube, uploaded by Witnesses to Princess Diana, 18 Jan. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v48pztfxoiq.

“Princess Diana Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/princessdi154337.html.