Katie Holmes Pixie Haircut: One Woman's Opinion

This past week was an eventful one, full of weighty news stories. There was conflict in Georgia, Olympics highlights, and an abundance of news happening on the home front, including campaign coverage and stories about the economy and other pressing issues.

Even though there were lots of serious issues to talk about, Katie Holmes pixie haircut seemed to find a prominent place in the news last week. It seems that anytime Mrs. Tom Cruise makes a move, the media is all over it. Katie Holmes pixie haircut wouldn't have bothered me that much, except for the fact that I had just come across a copy of People Magazine's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie extravagana featuring those fantastically expensive first photos of Brangelina's newborn twins.

I feel that the Jolie Pitt baby pictures were overly hyped (yes the money for the photos may have gone to charity, but the mystique around the selling of the pictures only added to Brangelina's fame.) As I noticed the ridiculous focus on Katie Holmes new pixie haircut in the news, I started to wonder why we elevate some stars to what has been termed "Hollywood royalty."

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are two power couples that have both been termed Hollywood royalty (I have also heard the term "American royalty" used to describe these movie star couples.) The anointing of certain super couples like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes is an interesting cultural phenomenon these days. It makes me wonder why as a culture we feel the need to do this, and what criteria do we use for deciding who we elevate to greatness?

In the case of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, two hot film stars became even hotter as they joined forces as a romantic couple. Then Brangelina's humanitarian work and growing family only increased their popularity. As for TomKat, when Tom Cruise, the hottest star in Hollywood, became involved with the then relatively unknown Katie Holmes, it seemed like a fairytale destined to capture the public's imagination.

That still doesn't adequately explain the current fascination with stars like Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. I wonder why we need to elevate people like Katie Holmes to royal status, studying her every move like the new pixie haircut. It is almost an unhealthy fixation right now in our country to hold up certain stars like Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise as worthy of our intense interest. I found it pretty shocking that Katie Holmes pixie haircut was talked about as much as the important news topics of the day.

It's kind of scary to me that the pixie haircut of a young star like Katie Holmes could be worthy of so much attention. (It's also scary to me that photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's babies were worth millions of dollars, and they have so much power to influence the public and the media, but that's another story.)

So let's enjoy our celebs like Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, but not lose sight of the fact that they aren't royalty, but human like the rest of us. I fear that the intense focus on Katie Holmes' pixie haircut and her other changing styles is a symptom of an out of control focus on celebrity and fame that just isn't healthy.

I realize these are tough times and celebrities can provide us with some diversion and escapism, but let's maintain some balance about the whole thing. I really hope the next time Katie Holmes decides to change her pixie haircut, it won't end up as front page news.