That is the time my San Francisco caller had selected to do a book interview with me. I said this not because I felt any commitment to be on hand for the final episode myself, but because at that hour, ironically, I would be at a small college in New England presenting a lecture on virtue. Given the immense popularity of Seinfeld , in which vice is routinely given preferred status, the simple act of extolling virtue is enough to make one a cultural subversive. We agreed to play this role for his radio network at a later date. It is his favorite show.
Celebrities sustain their celebrity status by associating with other celebrities.
Celebrity can decay very rapidly into anonymity if one gets unplugged from the Media circuit that keeps his name alive and electrified. The pseudo-event, as historian Daniel Boorstin originally described it in 1961, is a synthetic novelty that creates the illusion among the masses of being more real than reality. The pseudo-event generates the celebrity. Seinfeld, who laments that playing his role caused him to miss the nineties, is regarded by the Media as its most accurate representative. Reality and fantasy are not exactly on speaking terms.