got geoint?

Welcome to our weekly Friday’s Food for Thought post. This week’s theme is all about the cult of celebrity. For anyone on Twitter or Facebook last night, or heck even watching CNN, it was all about Michael Jackson’s death, coming on the heels of the news of Farrah…and we should not forget about Ed McMahon. Anyhow, our nation is obsessed with the cult of celebrity. US Weekly is one of the most read magazines. Perez Hilton’s blog gets WAY more readers than got geoint? Why is this? We are going to attempt to uncover the deeper answers about our human nature and why we worship the cult of celebrity. Also, we will highlight some celebrities in the intelligence community. Yes, we are rock stars too. Enjoy and happy Friday!

Jackson’s Death Sparks Massive Speculation About Harrison Ford and Jeff Goldblum on Twitter
The editorial staff of got geoint? found out about Michael Jackson’s death on Twitter and on Facebook. So, naturally we followed the news and comments for about an hour after the news officially broke. And, you know what happened? These types comments started popping up: “First Farrah, then MJ and now Harrison Ford is missing??” or “Jeff Goldblum is dead too??” So for a period there it seemed that we were experiencing a major decrease in the entertainment talent pool. But alas it was all rumors sparked by prank web sites. Harrison Ford and Jeff Goldblum are alive and doing well. Read more here.

Why We Worship Celebrities
What makes the average citizen star struck? Think about it. If you ran into Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes down on the Mall on DC, and chatted with them for a few minutes, wouldn’t you tell ALL your friends about it? It would be a pretty big deal, right? Why is that? They are just people like you and me. Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D., spokesman for the American Psychological Association and professor emeritus of media psychology at the California State University at Los Angeles, told CBS News a few years ago that star worship is programmed into our DNA. “What’s in our DNA, as a social animal, is the interest in looking at alpha males and females; the ones who are important in the pack.” What do you all think? Is our DNA driving us to worship celebrities? Or, is celebrity worship just a nice diversion from our everyday struggles?

Celebrities in the Intelligence Community
Even though many of us in the intelligence community work quietly behind the scenes protecting our nation, we do have some celebrities in our world. Case in point was Leon Panetta’s grand entrance into the C.I.A. HQ for his swearing in ceremony. Guess what happened? He was greeted as if he were a rock star…people were cheering and whistling. See…we have some celebrities in our midst. In all seriousness, it often feels like we are sharing the room with intelligence community celebrities at the GEOINT symposia. From the DNI to the former CIA director, GEOINT does bring together the rock stars of our community.

National Geographic’s “CIA Confidential”
Set your DVRs, the National Geographic Channel has launched a new show called “CIA Confidential.” Here’s a video teaser of the first episode about tracking Bin Laden.

Michael Jackson: A Pop Culture Icon
Finally, we will wrap up this post with one of the most iconic moments in Michael Jackson’s career: when he introduced the world to the moon walk at the Motown 25th Anniversary event in 1983. Despite his questionable personal life and his fall from grace, nobody can deny the power that Michael Jackson had as a performer and entertainer. He is a pop culture icon that will be missed.

We hope you have a restful weekend.

Tags: celebrities, CIA, CIA Confidential, cult of celebrity, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson's death, Panetta, USGIF