[IMG:L]Even those who claim to have no interest whatsoever in “celebrity news” have to admit that this week the headlines have been especially juicy. Paris Hilton, Sylvester Stallone, and Richard Gere have all had brushes with the law. The real question, of course, is not whether Paris will do hard time–though certainly there is, already, a reality TV show in the works–but why we, the public, get so caught up in all of this hoopla. Why do we find these stories so irresistible?
Well, here’s a bit of good news: Humans aren’t the only ones who fall into this star-gazing trap. Monkeys do the same thing. This is, at least, the implication of a recent study by neurobiologist named Michael Platt at Duke University. Platt and his assistant, Dr. Robert Deaner, demonstrated for the first time that rhesus monkeys, like humans, value information based on its social content. Basically, we all know that people pay to see pictures of powerful or sexually attractive individuals and, according to this study, monkeys do pretty much the same thing.
I met Professor Platt at his laboratory, a large, modern building that had the warm, ripe smell of the primate house at the zoo. He then gave me a quick tour of the facility. We walked down a long, cement corridor, and then peered into a room with several caged rhesus monkeys. “You see that guy on the left?” Platt asked, as he pointed toward a monkey that appeared to be jeering at me. “You see how he is staring right at you, and showing his teeth like that? That’s because he is threatening you.”
Shifting his focus, Platt smiled at me half-apologetically. “And you see the guy on the right who’s smacking his lips at you and pulling his ears back? Well, he is more or less submitting to you.”
The intuitive Platt, like most of the researchers in his lab, has become adept at reading the gestures and body language of the monkeys in his troop. This has allowed him to understand the troop’s power dynamics. After extensive observations, he concluded that two of the monkeys–Sherwood and Wolfgang–were the toughest and fiercest in the troop, because all the other “subordinate” monkeys tended to defer to them, by giving them submissive gestures.
Once this was determined, Platt wanted to know whether the subordinate monkeys would give up food in order to look at pictures of Sherwood and Wolfgang.
Platt eventually led me down to the testing area–a small, barren, cinderblock room equipped with several computers, and a mini-fridge filled with enough Juicy Juice to quench the collective thirst a large class of screaming kindergarteners. In Platt’s experiment, the notoriously sweet Juicy Juice plays a crucial role.
“We put the monkeys in one of these so-called ‘monkey-chairs,’” he said as he wheeled out a large plastic device that looked like a giant highchair. “Then we position the monkeys in front of a computer screen that flashes with various images. We can tell what the monkeys are looking at because we have implanted tiny, electronic devices over their eyes. Then, depending on where they look, we reward them accordingly, by squirting various amounts of Juicy Juice into their mouths.”
In Platt’s experiment, the subordinate monkeys consistently opted to give up their Juicy Juice reward, in order to stare at: [1] pictures of dominant monkeys in their group; and [2] at pictures of the hindquarters of female monkeys. In essence, they “paid” to look at monkey celebrities and monkey pornography!
As it turns out, there are good evolutionary explanations for why Platt’s monkeys acted as they did. In the wild, male monkeys actually enhance their chances of reproducing by studying the hindquarters of the females in their troop, in order to figure out which of them is most aroused and interested in mating. Typically, the monkeys will also keep a close eye on what the dominant males are doing in order to avoid trouble, much the way a kid nervously keeps an eye on the bully who enters the schoolyard.
[IMG:R]The more nervy monkeys may also watch a dominant male in the hopes of finding a ‘window of opportunity’–when this bold one is asleep, or not paying attention, or simply absent–that allows them to sneak-off and mate with one of the females. Over time, those monkeys who were more adept at gathering information about dominant males–and sexually receptive females–may well have had better luck at surviving and reproducing.
The same thing may apply to humans. It is quite possible that our modern day desire to keep tabs on the powerful and the sexy–by reading US Weekly or coming here to Hollywood.com–stems from our ancient past.
In prehistoric times, the average man would want to gather as much information as he could about the group’s strongman or leader: how he was feeling; what he liked to eat; which females he favored; whether he had been hunting; if he’d been injured; where he liked to rest; when he usually went to sleep; and how long he slept for. All of this information would have been incredibly useful in helping him forge alliances, or plot coups–or make plans to have sex, covertly, with one of the leader’s women.
Basically, a socially astute ancient man, with a keen eye for gathering information on the powerful, was probably far more likely to survive and reproduce–especially if he also kept a close eye on his most fertile-looking females. Over time, this sort of natural selection may have favored a behavior that resembles celebrity-watching.
In some ways, the swaggering style of many modern-day celebrities are also reminiscent of the behavior that the primatologist, Frans de Waal, observed in his chimps at the Arnhem Zoo in the Netherlands. De Waal noted that one of his dominant chimps, Yeroen, liked to stage veritable rock concerts during which he demanded the attention of all the other chimps, by standing on top of a large yellow drum and jumping about wildly until “the whole building boomed with the sound of his drumming.”
And if a dominant chimp like Yeroen didn’t receive sufficient attention and respect, remarked de Waal, he would sometimes fly into a rage: “With an unerring sense of drama, he would let himself drop out of a tree like a rotten apple, and roll around on the ground screaming and kicking.”
According to Platt, this may be precisely the sort of “dominant” behavior that our brains have evolved to recognize as being “noteworthy.” As he put it, “When we see celebrities strutting about, exhibiting these bold and inflated patterns of behavior, presumably our brains are recognizing this behavior and telling us: This is a person you need to pay attention to, in order to survive and reproduce. Whereas, when we see a senator from South Dakota, we immediately assume that he is unimportant and ignore him.”
So, the next time you find yourself standing in line at the grocery store, ogling at the latest pictures of Paris Hilton, you can take a bit of solace knowing that your ancient primate ancestors may have been doing–more or less–the exact same thing..”
This was adapted from the new book, Fame Junkies. Read the hot, page-turning exposé that everyone in Hollywood is talking about! Purchase a copy of FAME JUNKIES for a discounted price on Buy.com right now.
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Watch this eyebrow-raising, documentary short based on Fame Junkiies, the critically acclaimed book by Jake Halpern.
[IMG:L]Fame Junkies – Volume 2: Beneath the Red Carpet
OK, so merely one month later, the Oscars are already a quickly fading memory. In fact, the entire two-month-long American bacchanal known as “award show season” seems like it was a frantic, distant dream. At long last, Martin Scorsese is sleeping well. The vintage couture ‘borrows’ have been returned. The Hummer stretch-limos are back in their garages. But what about all the red carpets? I mean this quite literally. What happens to all that red carpet? And, on a slightly more philosophical note, why is it that we are so obsessed with the red carpet in the first place?
[IMG:L]Fame Junkies – Volume 3: The Grooming of Baby Idols
American Idol’s controversial, Sanjaya-focused season is quickly building toward its climatic finale; however, for all those dazed contestants who have been brusquely eliminated–yet emotionally crippled by razor-tongued Simon–there is still hope. Look no farther than the International Model and Talent Agency (IMTA), which hosts two annual talent conventions, one of which is quickly approaching this summer.
[IMG:L]Fame Junkies – Volume 4: The Secret Lives of Stylists
Marcel Winter* has made a life for himself by dressing other people–mainly powerhouse celebrities. Their distinguished ranks include the likes of Halle Berry, Jim Carrey, John Travolta, and Nicole Kidman to name just a few. Over the years, Winter has also developed a successful second career as an analyst of celebrity fashion for several television networks, on which he identifies, candidly, the “best” and “worst” dressed attendees at the biggie events like the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
[IMG:L]Fame Junkies – Volume 5: The Devil’s Helper
Anyone wondering just how aggressive paparazzi photographers are these days should look no further than Britney Spears’ Malibu home. Earlier this week, two photographers–who were staking out Britney’s house–got into a heated scuffle as they vied to snap a shot of the recently-rehabbed star. In truth, the paparazzi have good reason to be so aggressive; an exclusive photo of Britney can earn upwards of $250,000 these days. Yet if these two brawling photographers were truly interested in mastering the tricks of their trade, they would put Britney on hold–at least for a few hours–and pay a visit to the home of Russell Turiak.
[IMG:L]Fame Junkies – Volume 6: Celebrity Stalkers, a Special Breed
In case you haven’t heard, just a few days ago, the actor Hugh Grant was arrested for allegedly throwing a container of baked beans at a photographer. No doubt, Grant is pursued around the clock by paparazzi and stalkers from all walks of life. Yet, before he tossed the beans, he should have really considered paying a visit to the offices at the Los Angeles Police Department’s “Threat Management Unit”–informally known as, “The Celebrity Anti-Stalking Unit.”
