No society is immune to celebrity. Heck, I bet even the Amish go a little nuts over their best cow milker or barn raiser...
Some may think this is a silly question, but it's not. I wondered the same thing myself. I'm not talking just about Britney Spears, but about America's obsession with celebrity, the celebrity news industry, the entertainment industry, and the huge imipact it has on America. I agree that no society is immune to celebrity, but I suggest that no society creates and worships celebrity like America does. I really wonder, if the decadence and behavior of celebrities is a detriment to America. People see Paris Hilton or Britney Spears and they want to be them. People could care less about responsibility, least of all fiscal responsibility (remember, America has a massive spending problem). No, they too want to "live the high life" and think celebrities such as these are living the ideal life. Remember, one of the reasons for Rome's downfall is that it collapse under the weight of its own decadence.
One can theorize that achieving something of value is infinitely more difficult than buying a McMansion, a large diamond ring, or an SUV 5x larger than you need for transportation. Thus, the common man/woman takes the easy road. And the icons are almost exclusively vapid morons, just like them.
I don't know anyone infatuated with brittney spears BUT how can a nation survive that even considers Al Franken for political office????? That's what is truly frightening.
People magazine circulation is about 4 million. This whole industry is supported by about 5 million people, 2% of the population. That is enough to support any industry. Celebrities are mostly uneducated high school dropouts. They are skinny people wit big heads and good dentists. Their main ability is to look natural on camera, for most people that is difficult. Thay are only facades, manufactured for media packaging, a product. Product marketing is pure American.
I find it funny when stories of Britney Spears end up on the cover of "newspapers" or in the main story page of a webpage. I use that as a gauge of what the company showing it considers "news". Mercifully, I have never heard a full song of hers played from beginning to end - anything that shows up on the boobtube gets switched to another channel. It's a happy coincidence that her initials are B.S. In another time she would just be a decently paid stripper. The rest is packaging.
We even have dumb ass Americans infatuated with dumb ass college dropouts who are celebrities: Rush Limbaugh graduated from Cape Central High School, in 1969. His father and mother wanted him to attend college, so he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University. He dropped out after two semesters and one summer; according to his mother, "he flunked everything", even a modern ballroom dancing class.[4] As she told a reporter in 1992, "He just didn't seem interested in anything except radio."[7]