Many blame the paparazzi, the photographers who chase the famous and important in order to
expose part of their private lives to the public, for the death of the Princess. American "royalty"
like John F. Kennedy Jr. have had skirmishes with the paparazzi, as have actors like George
Clooney.
C. Wright Mills defines the sociological imagination as "the ability to see the relationship
between individual experiences and the larger society" (Kendall, pp. 9). That is, how do our
personal lives relate to the lives of others?
Do the late Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy Jr., George Clooney and other celebrities suffer
only personal troubles ? Is stalking by photographers and being deprived of privacy the
individual problem of these people? Or might we not see that these are public issues: problems
that are not necessarily due to the individual, but to societal norms and values?
Mills would probably argue that celebrity, as a social status, brings with it many public issues.
Certainly, all of the individuals mentioned above are affected as individuals by the action of
other indivuduals, but it is their notoriety and fame which cause them to be viewed as an
aggregate: a group who the public is curious about and wants to know more about them. This
curiosity leads to exploitive practices by some members of the media as well as by individuals, as
in cases of celebrity stalking.
What can be done to address this public issue? What steps can be taken to return privacy to
members of this elite group? At what level do changes need to be made?
For public opinion in the United States and Europe on these issues, see the
current Gallup Poll.
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