When it comes to celebrities, we tend to be more like judges than admirers. We create a separate existence for them, a fantasy world unlike our own. As a result, we forget they’re just like us. And when they mess up, we’re quick to point the finger.
When a public figure like Tiger Woods, whose familiar face and name is created by his fans, his life becomes separate from our own. For us to be surprised at his mortality is no one’s fault but our own. He is responsible for his talent, but we are responsible for his fame. It is easy for those in the spotlight to be expected to fulfill the impossible task of perfection. In Woods’ infidelity, we forget that he is, in fact, just like us.
When a similar incident happened to former U.S. president Bill Clinton, who was accused of the same actions as Woods, his personal life was used against him, his political party and the office of the president. When we voted Clinton into office, just like we favored Woods on the golf course, we didn’t need to know any more than his capabilities to perform his duties. Why should we let their personal problems affect their jobs as public figures now?
By putting celebrities like Woods in a vulnerable position, are we no better than a blood-thirsty crowd during Roman gladiator fighting? Tiger is being forced to fight for his life at the expense of our amusement.
Meanwhile, we serve the beast of the media with our growing curiosity of famous people. And when it comes to the sinful deeds of celebrities, we become spectators, tearing them down for the same faults we ourselves are capable of.
While we may relate to Woods, his personal battles are not our own. Our meddling and taste for Schadenfreude — or fascination with others’ suffering — is what creates the drama surrounding celebrities’ personal lives. And let’s face it; it sells advertising space, as well.
When it comes to our high expectations of those in the spotlight, China’s Xinhua News Agency argues that we, “the pontificated public, feel entitled to force them to hold to standards far above our own.”
Our role as spectators puts them at an impossible disadvantage as they stand alone in the battle we created for them. Tiger is fighting for his life in a fight that has already been decided and won by the public.
While this may not right the wrongs Woods committed, it could raise the question of our own ability to judge him.
Folha de São Paulo in Brazil agrees that, “none of the inquisitors looked in the mirror to question the improper nature of their own observations …‘The little Hitler that exists in everyone’s head,’ will not rest while the smell of blood is in the air.”
We thrive from observing those in the spotlight, while the media makes a profit off it. We make the celebrities who they are. We give them the power and success that is handed them. In the process we forget they are just like us.
In today’s rink, Woods stands no chance at survival with spectators like us, hungry for a blood bath.
It’s a shame that we’re persecuting the man. His faults only make him more human, not less of a talented golfer.
