A world driven by media celebrities is a continuous fascination to most people. They are almost divine or at least as close to divinity as one can ever hope to get. While most of them are as normal as possible the media intrudes into their life on a daily bases, analyzing their every move. Even when going out to the market a celebrity must be on the best behavior because there are eyes everywhere. Numerous scandals and lawsuits have taken place between famous people and the paparazzi. Furthermore some states even implemented new legislation regarding the privacy of public people. Such is the case of the state of Hawaii who recently passed a privacy bill supported by none other than Steven Tyler.
The recently approved privacy bill stipulates that a celebrity is within his rights to sue anyone trying to take offensive pictures in the privacy of one’s home. The “offensive” part is a little vague as celebrities have different opinions on the definition of privacy. While some public figures desperately seek attention others are insulted if they are interrupted by the media on their time off. Furthermore several celebrities have had violent confrontations and multiple dissonances with the paparazzi. The legislation regarding privacy rights differs in all states. Even more disturbing is that fact that laws are hardly an impediment to the “bravest” of photographers. While a lawsuit can turn out to be quite expensive for a scandal magazine, the value of the right photo is inestimable. The fact is that such magazines make a lot of profit from exploring and exploiting the lives of public figures. Even if they lose a lawsuit their status grows after having printed a private celebrity picture and they attract more readers.
Privacy is a serious matter and while everybody considers the paparazzi as people without the slightest trace of a moral system, the problem lies beyond them. In order to truly understand the privacy issue we must find the real culprit. Would scandal magazines go through so much trouble of stalking celebrities if no one bought their magazines? Obviously the answer is no. So as much as we admire the perfect people that we see at the TV if we truly respect them we must let go of our fascination for their private life.
Comments