Star-struck

Star-struck is defined as 'captivated by famous people or by fame itself.'

In the last week I have seen two tv stars during my daily life. One from a moderately famous TV show just on the tube and the other a current reality TV star walking down my high street and it got me thinking about the idea of feeling 'star-struck'.

Now living in London, you can expect to see famous people from time to time and obviously your level of 'captivation' would depend or whether you happen to be a fan of the celebrity in the first place. Then again, just the idea of meeting somebody famous can be thrilling.

If we call ourselves a 'fan' of a certain celebrities work, talents or looks, we can often become obsessed to learn everything possible about them. We feel like we already know these people, even though we have never met them. Of course we dont really know 'them', but we feel as if we do. The definiton of star-struck remains therefore, whether we meet them or not. If we are captivated by them already, why is it a big deal to meet them in person?

It is a big deal, because we expect only to see celebrities on our tv screens, or in a glamorous environment created purely for our voyueristic pleasure. All with the 'You can look but you can't touch' clause in small writing. Therefore, by bumping into somebody famous in our daily lives, there is something ellict and illegal about the situation that makes us feel extra privledged and special. (Never mind the simple fact that famous people are still humans beings, they just lead different lives to the rest of us!)

I think we can become star-struck in these situations because we are experiencing something we wouldnt normally get to. Most of us don't get to experience fame, so we desire to. Most of us don't get to meet famous people, so if we happen to get a chance to do so, we grab it with both hands. This is because it makes us feel priviledged and special, just like the celebrities we admire so much.