Should entertainers and sport stars be paid such large sums of money? What are your views?

Should entertainers and sport stars be paid such large sums of money? What are your views?

10 to 15 million. That is the amount which famous Asian star Jackie Chan is paid per movie. In the two years 1997 and 1998, basketball star Michael Jordan was paid $33,140,000 each year. These astronomical figures reflect the high “salaries” celebrities and sports stars are paid. But should they really be paid so much?

Firstly, celebrities and sports stars are paid so much only because their audiences pay so much to see them. If the audiences decide not to give anything, what could they do? For example, movie star Lindsay Lohan was convicted and jailed multiple times. During her jail time, was she paid? No. If a sports star snaps a tendon, will anyone want to pay to see him? No. The large amount of revenue from say, DVDs and shows, largely go to the entertainers and sports stars because they are the ones who make their respective fields so interesting.

Secondly, the entertainers and sports stars are of high demand. They are each unique because of say, their brilliant acting skills or their excellent soccer stunts. Thus, to get them, producers or clubs pay good money because they would increase a show’s popularity or increase a club’s prowess. Also, because celebrities cannot do a show alone, and thus they need make-up artists and so on, they provide more jobs. Also, for the sports stars, they need nutritionists, etc. Thus, they deserve the large amounts of money there are receiving.

Thirdly, these entertainers and sports stars have to handle great pressure. Their job is not as easy as it seems. People think they have it easy, as they earned huge amounts of money for kicking a ball around or reciting from a script. For one, they have to deal with the huge crowd milling around them wherever they go. And they also have to mind what they do, as they are closely scrutinized by the public. If they walk into a hotel with friends of the opposite sex, there would probably be a scandal in the tabloids in the next day. This, thus, is the pressure these people have to face. Thus, they deserve the huge sums they are getting.

However, one cannot deny that even though these entertainers and sportspeople are among the elite, there are other elites in other fields. Hundreds of people apply to be US Navy SEALS each year, yet only a few make it. Why do they not get huge sums too? Consider this: thousands of people apply to get a three-line part in a movie, and only one can make it. Considering this success rate for such a small role, how many would then go on to be movie stars? Thus, these entertainers and sports stars are definitely the best of the best.

Ultimately, the high amount of money paid to these celebrated entertainers and sports stars is well-deserved by them, as they provide a large amount of entertainment, for without them, a lot of fun in life would be absent.

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A Day in the Life of Wladyslaw Szpilman at the outbreak of World War II

I was shocked. They sent a tank, a tank, kill us all. Yesterday I just saw them shoot a lady right between the eyes. They were absolutely merciless, they didn't care. She was just an obstacle. To them, she was nothing. At first, she was there. Then, she was not. They didn't care. Back to the present. They shot down the whole building. I barely escaped before the rubble made me one of them. I was shocked at the cruelty with which they treated fellow humans. I vow that if I make it out of this alive, I will treat everyone I see with compassion and do what I can to make everyone's life better.

-The Pianist

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I threw my only hope of survival. All around me, houses collapsed, and buildings crumbled like so much sand. The pin dropped, and the grenade took flight. Fires raged, and bullet chatter was everywhere. I grabbed on tight to my only other hope of survival, my rifle and fought on. "Fight on!" came the command. I raised my gun and fired.