Being Somebody:假装大人物（纯英）

英雄是伟大的人物，名人却是伟大的名声。如果没有媒体铺天盖地的炒作，可爱的超级女生们也许就是邻居家的大姐姐小妹妹；如果没有媒体，航天英雄杨立伟还是英雄，只不过会是个默默无闻的无名英雄。你同意吗？

One hundred years ago, people became famous for what they had achieved. Men like J. P. Morgan, E. H. Harriman and Jay Gould were all notable achievers. So were Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, and Susan B. Anthony.

Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day. Today's celebrities, however, often do not become known for any enduring achievement. The people we most admire today are usually those who are highly publicized by media.

In 1981, a Gallup poll revealed that Nancy Reagan was the nation's "most admired woman." The year before, that distinction went to President Carter's wife, Rosalynn. In fact, the wife of the current president is always one of the nation's most admired women. Today's celebrities, as the writer Daniel Boorstin says, are "people well-known for their well-knownness."

To become such a celebrity, one needs luck, not accomplishment. As Boorstin says, "The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity by his image or trademark. The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name."

There is another distinction: heroes inspire respect; celebrities inspire envy. Few of us believe we could be another Jonas Salk or Eleanor Roosevelt, but we could be another TV star like Telly Savalas or Suzanne Somers. Except for the attention they get from the media, these people are exactly like us.

The shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship occurred around the turn of the century. It was closely tied to the rise of new forms of media --- first photography, and later moving pictures, radio and television. For the first time, Americans could see and recognize their heroes.

Previously, men like Gould and Harriman, whose name everyone knew, could easily have passed through a crowd without being recognized. The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities whose dress, appearance, and personal habits were widely commented upon. Slowly, the focus of public attention began to shift from knowing what such people did to knowing what they looked like.

The shift was accelerated by the arrival of moving pictures. Between 1901 and 1914, 74 percent of the magazine articles about famous people were about political leaders, inventors, professionals, and businessmen. After 1922, however, most articles were about movie stars.

With the arrival of television, the faces of the stars became as familiar as those we saw across the breakfast table. We came to know more about the lives of the celebrities than we did about most of the people we know personally. Less than seventy years after the first appearance of the moving pictures, the shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship was completed.

Today an appearance on a television talk show is the ultimate proof of "making it " in America. Actually, the term "talk show" is misleading. Celebrities do not appear on such a program because of an actual desire --- or ability --- to talk, but simply to gain recognition, and prove, merely by showing up, that they are "somebody."

Being a guest on a talk show does not require qualities of wit, eloquence, brilliance, insight, or intelligence. A former talent coordinator for "the Tonight Show," says that when he would ask a scheduled guest, "What would you like to talk to the host about?" the reply he got most often was, "Have him ask me anything." This, he says, usually meant, "I am a typical Hollywood actor, so I have never had an original thought and I have nothing to say of any interest to anyone anywhere."

Most host are grateful just to get someone who will fill the room with sound. One talk show coordinator comments, "We look for the guest who is sure to talk no matter what. Ten seconds of silence appears very awkward on television; thirty seconds is disastrous. A guest who's got to think about everything he says before he opens his mouth is a ratings nightmare."

This kind of attitude rewards smooth, insincere talk, and makes hesitancy look like stupidity.

"We couldn't have George Washington on our show," says one talent coordinator. "He might have been first in the hearts of his countrymen, but today he'd be dragging his bottom in the ratings."

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