And the Oscar goes to ... who cares?

Why are celebrities so celebrated? There are multiple tv shows, tv stations, web sites, and magazines dedicated solely to the lives of celebrities. Meanwhile, the people who are actually important are cast down to the History chanel.

Our basic needs are food, shelter, and good health, yet carpenters and food workers get paid squat. And while doctors make more because of the years of training and education that goes into their job, they still don't make much compared to any movie star that fulfils the tertiary need for entertainment.

Teachers who educate and inspire new generations are barely making ends meet, while rappers like Akon and T-pain, who are leading new generations in the wrong direction, can afford all kind of unnecessary gold accessories.

There are child stars who own their own mansions. Do we really need to pay Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers that much? The "fabulous life of..." show on VH1 always gives me a mix of feelings of shock, anger, and despair. I just think of all the better things the money could be going to than spending $1,000 on a bottle of wine and staying at resorts that cost $10,000 a night. (I'm not making those numbers up)

We pay celebrities based on the recognition of their name. There's not a shortage of acting talent (although some movies may give that impression). Perhaps if there weren't papparazzi swarming actors, then some of the more serious actors would consider coming out of plays and other mediums to perform in movies without worrying about destroying their privacy.

People are so hungry for gossip that papperazzi get paid loads of money for pictures that offer a glimpse into the private life of celebrities. Because celebrities are in the public eye, people can talk about them as if they were a mutual friend. But should I really care if Brad and Angelina break up? The truth is they aren't my friends, and I have little to no impact on their lives.

A side issue I have with the Hollywood elite is the fashion industry. Most of it is based on trying to find new ways to feel superior to other people. There's a good Daily Show interview between John Stewart and Tim Gunn (a famous fashion consultant who stars on 'Project Runway'). They are discussing fashion and Tim says, "I'm the first to encapsulate this realistically. Nobody needs it. I mean, we need clothes - do we need fashion, no."

I'm not a fan of the whole Hollywood culture. Why is there such an interest in celebrities? They're not perfect people we should worship; you might even argue that most have more issues than your average american. It seems like people caught up in celebrity lives are often trying to escape their own. I don't think many reasonable people would be upset if we stopped broadcasting celebrity lives. Celebrity culture is like a bad tv show that's still on air. People just watch it because it's there.