The Fascination of…People? 

KATE WALKER

            I am sitting at my desk. I am all ready to work. My workspace is clean, the house is quiet, my pencil is sharpened and my highlighter is poised and at the ready. I can finally write those bible responses for Lit. Then, all of a sudden, my fingers start to twitch. I open my laptop, click the Internet and in a blink type “perezhilton.com.” I simply cannot help myself. I need to know if Jakey G. (Jake Gyllenhall, for those of you who don’t come up with nicknames for celebs in their free time) has finally proposed to Reese Witherspoon, which, I learned, sadly hasn’t happened.

            In the first weekend of September, Toronto opened its gates and welcomed guests from all over the world to enjoy the beauty of filmmaking. That weekend, I walked around Yorkville in the hopes of seeing Brad Pitt with Maddox in tow. I walked to every Starbucks, Whole Foods, waited by Birks for 45 minutes, all with a camera in my hand. I even put a little notebook and pen in my purse in the hopes of running into any celebrity. But did I see anyone? I saw a lot of people; there were a LOT of crowds around Bay and Bloor that day. But, no, I did not see any celebrity. But why, then, do I know that I will do the exact same thing next year?

            We are trying to fill that void that American television has left us. We are trying to live the lives of people who aren’t that glamorous. We are in the constant hope that maybe if we go to L.A. and wear that really low-cut shirt, that Adam Brody will whisk us off our feet. The truth is, we are all just people. People doing little things sometimes get big things. It just so happens that some people get to have those big things and little things recorded to stand for the rest of time.

            Living at Yonge & Eglinton, which is a more sheltered part of the world, I feel connected to people from other walks of life when I read about Jennifer Aniston. I can’t help it. I feel connected to all the other people picking up that Us Weekly in the grocery store. Although it is definitely not the most profound piece of journalism, it still is evidence of our generation. Sadly and regrettably, people in fifty years won’t remember the single mother from this decade with three jobs supporting her five children. They will remember that this was the year when Angelina Jolie had twins. This is part of our people’s history.

            I am a history buff. I love to learn all about what people were like in any time period. For a while, I pretty obsessed with the Tudors (not the show, the actual monarchy). I knew all about the politics of the marriages and the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary. I read books and saw documentaries. I was just fascinated by these people. So, for me when I read about Jude Law, it helps to fill my curiosity of people in general. I also love to read biographies on anyone. Again, it is the need to know about people’s lives that are so different but at the same time, the same as my life.

            It may be silly and stupid and a waste of my time and money. But, I am interested in people and what they look like without makeup. It is not a moral issue and I am not going to stop reading books, but it is nice to read a little People at the end of a stressful day. As long as you don’t let it run your life and as long as you realize that celebrities are just people, there is no harm in reading about Jesse Gytherspoon (pretty clever, eh?).