Leonardo Araujo recently completed his senior thesis, called The Church of Celebrity, at Parsons. He had this to say about the project: “Why do we care about Britney’s meltdown? And why do we salivate at the thought of Beyoncé and Jay Z’s baby pictures? We’re being distracted and playacted by the media, and we don’t mind because life’s easier that way. The Church of Celebrity (C.O.C) is a critique of celebrity culture that poses as a false religion. The C.O.C raises the question as to why some of us are celebrity and pop culture obsessed. I believe it has to do with evolution and the need to be as close to leaders as possible for survival. It also has to do with the fact that celebrities are just one of us. The difference is that celebrities have been able to transcend the need to age, and the need for money to pay bills. Celebrity culture gives us the hope that fame can happen for us. With the emergence of media and screens our idols and heroes have transformed from those with upstanding morals to ones based purely on image. We wear what they wear and eat what they feed us. The C.O.C. consists of merchandizing items of worship; as well as a website, and a bible that comes out quarterly, reflecting the most dominant names in pop culture at the time of publishing. The project is a satire on religion and pop culture that uses bright colors and eye candy to raise awareness of how ridiculous it is that celebrities have become our golden standard. At the end of the day, how is our obsession different than a religious cult?”

Leonardo is right. Our obsession with pop culture icons is no difference from a cult-like religious worship. I think sometimes that people also obsess over celebrity culture because to not obsess over such triviality means that they must turn inward and look at the things in their own lives they could improve. If we continue to pick our celebrities based purely on image, than anyone can sloth their way to celebrity and fame. That’s a bad way for a society to behave. Good for Leonardo for poking fun at this existence. The cream always rises to the top.

Take a look at some callouts from The Church of Celebrity below!