Filling the Void

Filling the Void

     In his book, Sacred Matters, Gary Laderman says, “The power of celebrities… may also have deeper roots in human history… According to some evolutionary anthropologists and psychologists, imitating certain individuals who are the center of attention or endowed with prestige -….- had extraordinary value in the human struggle to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Is Laderman correct? Is humanity’s infatuation and worship of celebrities a deeply rooted social phenomenon or is it a creation of the last century?
      Perhaps the world's obsession with celebrity culture has resulted from a void needed to be filled. As Laderman says, some research has been shown as to how it is innate in humans to be drawn towards centers of attention or those in positions of power. This void can be filled by a broad variety of categories and people; whether it be religion, an individual, or even a single object. The cause of this void, evident in human nature, results from a lack of purpose that can be granted by higher powers. It is among the top priorities of the human subconscious to possess purpose and actively pursue it. The earliest example that comes to mind of widespread chaos occurring due to the widening of this void is from Exodus. Moses, the chosen, and proven leader of the Israelites, filled the void for the Jewish people, having saved them from slavery in Egypt and made promises of a fruitful, happy future in the land of Israel. Sometime into their journey through the desert, Moses left the people of Israel at the bottom of Mount Sinai to go receive the Ten Commandments from God. After being up the mountain for a considerable amount of time, the Israelite's void quickly widened as they grew impatient in the absence of their leader. To account for their void, they constructed a golden idol to serve as their inspiration for worship, of which they were later severely punished for upon Moses' return from the Mountain. 
     Here, in the story of the Golden Calf, we see as the void widened, or the absence of religion, celebrities, or a higher power grew larger, the Israeli people attempted to adapt to their changing environment by fabricating a religious idol for worship. Indeed Laderman is correct: though humans might manifest their "filling of the void" through celebrity obsessions in modern culture, this practice has been innate in humanity for almost as far back as we can remember.