Why We Freak Out When We See Celebrities

As I was walking to class last week I looked over as I exited a building where I saw a small crowd of people to my right. Since I had been let out of class early I decided to see what all the ruckus was about. When I saw a handful of men in identical black suits and sunglasses a thought ran through my head and quickly out because there was no way. But sure enough, it was President Bush on campus. I knew it would likely be my only opportunity to meet a one-time President so I approached, patiently waited my turn, then swooped in to shake his hand and tell him how nice it was to meet him. I left the scene blushing and wandering if that had really just happened. This feeling continued throughout the whole day. While I know I had every right to be consumed with meeting the former President of the United States, I thought to myself, why do people get so caught up when meeting/seeing celebrities? I've seen a lot of celebrities before, and for some reason it never fails that I am awe-struck all day. It's the funniest thing, but almost everyone I know does get/would get star-struck upon seeing a famous person. Maybe it's that our society today treats celebrities like gods, so we actually start to buy into it a little bit. Or maybe we are just so used to seeing them on TV and in magazines we are shocked to see them up close (and person, in my case with President Bush). If you think about it, in the case of entertainers, their faces are all over the place, but they don't do anything beyond extraordinary to the point where the illicited reactions make sense.