“Everyone loves a comeback story,” they say. Why is that? I always think about Tiger Woods when my mind wanders down this path, but you can insert any celebrity who has seen their favor rise and fall and rise again. Obviously, there are comebacks stories we all enjoy — regular folks battling back from cancer, disease, addiction, etc. — this is not what I’m talking about though.
This is something I’ve thought about for a while. It crossed my mind again today when I was listening to The Bill Simmons Podcast, and his guest, Chuck Klosterman, was talking about how we relate to celebrities. In the context of the discussion, Klosterman is describing the rise of different media — from Twitter to shows like MTV’s The Real World — and his hypothesis is that the distance between how we see ourselves and how we see celebrities has been decreasing. I don’t disagree with him. I think that’s probably true.
So, now when we are witnessing a story like Tiger’s, it appears to be a little more personal than in the days of print media dominance. Still, the why is something that I have my own hypothesis for. The reason we place celebrities on this roller coaster of public opinion is that we want it both ways.
At their height, we like to believe that this sort of transcendence is real. We think, “See what’s possible… I didn’t get their myself, but maybe in another life I could have.” We want to believe it’s possible to reach unimaginable heights. I suppose that’s why they’re called Stars.
Then, on their fall from grace, we re-frame our view. Instead of thinking, “look at what is possible,” we think, “see, they’re no better than any of us.” We want it both ways because we need to believe the highest highs are achievable, while still being able to remind ourselves that celebrity culture is a manufactured product, and that these stars are flawed humans just like you and me. We break them down for the same reason we build them up, to make ourselves feel better about our own lives.
I remember my Dad telling me, “I don’t think Tiger will ever win another major,” after his first accident and subsequent stories. I hated how right he seemed. But, lo and behold, at the 2019 Masters we found ourselves once again rooting for the man so many had cast off. Everyone loves a comeback story. I think we just like to know anything is possible.
Lemmen's Nursery 