Wojtek writes:
> What I don't understand is why that un-choreographed
performance must be executed by a celebrity figure to
excite many people.
First, the joy in seeing a professional do what you have done, but at a much higher level of sophistication.
The professional is then turned into a celebrity by capitalist manipulation in order to sell something that can bask in the reflected glow of the professional's accomplishments.
I do not care if the people playing ball are celebrities or not. I like good ballgames. However in today's world, professionals are immediately fed into the capitalist processor to be turned into celebrities.
But I will say there is a difference between college basketball (which I watch for passion and emotion as much as the abilities of the players) and pro basketball which is played at a higher level.
> Your suggestion that celebrity cult is a sublimed desire to submit to an
alpha figure is also a good one, but if true, we still need to understand
why there is such a wide spread need to submit to an alpha figure.
Genetics? Evolution has shown people that having a leader is a better way to survive than without one? It seems to be a thing primates do.
> My question, therefore, is that why do we need to see a celebrity to
appreciate qualities that go unnoticed in ordinary people?
I think we need to professionals to highlight the level of sophistication that can be achieved in various areas. I also believe that a genuine appreciation of sophisticated accomplishments helps foster a sense of humility and awe in people. I do not believe we need to then turn them into celebrities. But capitalism wants celebrities to help foster its terrorizing ways.
> This is a good question to ask on this list because it may offer some
interesting insights how hierarchies are constantly re-produced even by
people who profess their staunch commitment to egalitarianism and
meritocracy.
I think hierarchies are going to be produced in whatever society humans construct. We are not equal. Capitalism puts those hierarchies to destructive uses. I think they can also be put to positive uses.
> But why bother to write it at all, if only that written by a handful
celebrity figures will ever be noticed, let alone enjoyed?
My writing may never attract a wide audience, but I still practice my craft every day. Some things you do for the peace it brings to your own life, so you can then function more effectively in your interactions with the world.
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister