Hero worship at its worst!

Q: Why do people worship movie, music and sport heroes too much?

Krishna: Different people give different reasons for this.  

Admiration for an ideal person, a role model or a celebrity goes by such names as hero worship, idol worship and celebrity worship. There is nothing wrong to admire successful people, who exemplify the best of their talents and virtues. People can learn from their success or look to them for inspiration. However, problems arise when the admiration becomes excessive, obsessive or abnormal.

Obsession or infatuation with celebrities is a major social and psychological problem in many countries, especially among the youth. It is a major problem in India also and major source of distraction for many people who could otherwise use their energy and resources for more productive purposes.

There are many reasons why people admire, love, worship or become obsessed with famous film stars, singers, sports personalities and other celebrities. Their success and personal charisma are largely responsible for their personal appeal, as people admire those who beat the odds and become successful. Sometimes, it also helps them forget their own failures, problems and anxiety, and draw vicarious pleasure from the success and popularity of their favorite stars. It is like a self-defensive mechanism, which helps them distract their minds from themselves and the reality of their lives and problems.

Having a liking or admiration for celebrities and successful people is a normal human behavior. Humans as well as animals tend to form groups for their survival and protection. However, becoming obsessed with them and developing a mental dependence upon them is a psychological problem that needs to be addressed. Obsessive fans become a problem to themselves and to their families. Sometimes, they need counseling to overcome their attachment.

There can be many factors, which bring people together to experience unity and belongingness such as nationality, race, caste, ideology, etc. Sometimes, a celebrity or a leader becomes the unifying factor. Just as in any other group, fanaticism may surface in such groups, as is the case with many fan groups in India, leading to other problems, including violence, psychopathy, sociopathic behaviour and aggression.

Studies suggest that there is a correlation between mental health and celebrity worship. People who suffer from depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and other forms of mental disorders are more vulnerable to mild to extreme forms of celebrity obsession.

I have done some observations on this and that disturbed me a lot (I had to endure a lot including bullying to do this work).

Especially the teenagers, students and immature minds get influenced a lot by these heroes. 

I have observed that -

Even if the hero abuses his parents, that is okay and the hero has his 'good reasons' according to these people. I found that very disturbing.

If the hero stalks and harasses a girl, that is cool!

These people interpret everything the hero does as "he did that with good intentions". This really is a spin, not truth in reality!

They either wilfully ignore all the bad qualities  of the hero or interpret them as good qualities!

The hero needs sympathy as he is a hero even if he acts like  a villain!

If the hero sides with the villain and harasses others around, that is okay!

Even if the hero is anti-social, anti-national that is okay! Get into denial mode. Clap his deeds!

These fans even mimic their heroes and start abusing/harassing/bullying/trolling those who try to condemn the bad behaviour of the hero. 

They refuse to accept that they are biased towards their heroes! And each one says the other one who worships other heroes is biased!

It is not easy to face about five lakh fanatics at a time trying to rip you apart just because you say 'abusing your parents like the hero does is not good'.  

But I did face them and tried to knock some sense into them. People might think this is a waste of time - well they are correct most of the time -  but I won the argument several times too. And that gave me the courage to fight this menace.

Even now I try to do this whenever I find some time. Social service? Yes! :) 

PS: That is the reason why the writers have to be very careful. People support the hero's and heroines no matter what they do. So the writers should see that they always do the right things.