Famous cultural pop star’s rise and fall sets one to think twice about the phenomenon of fame. Michael Jackson had been famous for almost all of his life time. He was cheered at and recognized wherever he passed, he had a whole bunch of fans from all over the world. And talking of Michael Jackson, even a Rwandan infant from the remotest area clearly knows him! But was fame all that he needed? Did fame provide an all satisfying life to Micheal? The answer is NO. Fame! It will bring you to the lime light but you pay dearly! Meanwhile, there are people who will stop at nothing to become famous. Sure, we have heard of artists who go out of their way introducing themselves on the streets, mentioning the ‘hits’ they’ve sang or the documentaries they’ve featured in. We often refer to them as patients of the ‘morgana’ syndrome. Morgana is this woman who made a pest of her kissing ‘celebs especially athletes in a bid to achieve her goal of ‘fame’. “I want to be famous, and I am feeling that I am getting more famous all the time,”Morgana is quoted telling Newyork reporters. Famous people are considered owners of the world. “Sometimes it’s good to be famous but on the other hand it’s not heavenly because it has disadvantages,” says sports and Culture Minister, Joseph Habineza. People who have been at fame’s peak, clearly know how fame can impact a person’s life and the beloved ones in their lives. This scares famous people about becoming more popular. George Harrison, a lead singer for the Beatles band, before he died detested the fact that he was getting more popular. “I have always wanted to be successful without being popular,” he was quoted saying. Among all the intimidating effects of fame, the worst is living for other people. To many celebrities, fame has made them total strangers to themselves! Before anything, the first thing to cross their minds is what people will think and how they will perceive it.“People like criticizing and stereotyping the famous,” says Habineza. Once you hit the lime light, be sure of being criticized however good you try to be. This criticism has made the famous do weird things and become weird to themselves and family as well! Michael Jackson kept his three kids under masks just because he never wanted them to yield to the bad impacts fame had exposed to him. The famous that are not strong enough resort to drugs just to relax from the extremely demanding public. When Pop star Rihanna was battered by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, everyone criticized her for having madeup with him! Much as it was her personal decision, many blamed her for fueling domestic violence. On the contrary, if she had been a humble person, no one would influence her decisions. Some celebrities have messed up their own lives just because they think they got it all. The money, the attention and fame ofcourse. When Jesus said that its easier for a camel to pass through an eye of the needle than the wealthy to go to heaven he was right. Fame makes people so accustomed and addicted to themselves that they have little notion for personal limits. Many famous people are deluded to thinking ‘they are gods of some sort’. This can be seen with how arrogant celebrities act many times. For instance, the consistent fights and wrangles between Ugandan celebrities. Not all of the famous begin with arrogance however along the way, many become pathetic and too ambitious. lillianean@yahoo.com
