Celebrities and the Common Man

Let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that you are not particularly interested in one or any of the following: cooking, painting, gardening, walking, ballroom or any other kind of dancing.

Now let's suppose, again for the sake of argument, that you come across a book, DVD or TV programme on one of these activities involving the presence of, say, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts or Paul Macartney.

My contention is that you would certainly be MORE INTERESTED than if no celebrity were involved.

Nothing particularly original about that, I know. But my question is: Why? Why is it that we so often need the sugar coating of a celebrity before we can take an interest in so many things? I'm not so much lamenting the fact as at a loss to understand the factors at work.

Is this a phenomenon of a society in decline (see my previous post) or is more generally part of the human condition?

If you have any views on the subject, I would very much like ot hear them. But then of course nobody reads this blog. Too busy writing their own!