“Celebrity Look-Alike Contests: A Modern Take on Community Entertainment”

Why the Surge in Celebrity Look-Alike Contests?

You might wonder why these contests are happening now. Is it a strange quirk in the zeitgeist that has manifested in lines of identical Chalamets? Could it be that we can't get enough of Hollywood's "it" boys? Or is it that, as a society, we're growing tired of lives lived primarily online and are craving more fun, low-stakes events that are free and open to the public?

A Zayn Malik look-alike contest attendee, Natalie Miller from Bushwick, shared her thoughts. "I was probably just going to stay home, but I felt this divine pull to attend the look-alike contest," she said. Miller and a friend attended the contest last Sunday in Maria Hernandez Park.

The Winner's Perspective

The 29-year-old winner, Shiv Patel, seemed ready for glory. He told Brooklyn Mag that the win "adds to my lore." Naturally, Miller got a photo to commemorate the moment.

It's almost as if it were a real celebrity encounter. Despite the tongue-in-cheek nature of the events and participants, the joy they bring is genuine. "Everyone was having such a great time, and it was just 30 minutes, but it was the highlight of everyone's day," Miller said.

Precedent and Historical Context

This moment harks back to a time before the internet when people were perhaps more bored and desperate for entertainment. Historian and folklorist Matthew Algeo noted to Vox that such crazes historically emerge during times of intense technological and social change, creating public anxiety and a longing for community and simple entertainment.

"We think of the Great Depression as an economic event, but it was also a psychological one," Algeo said. "We're going through a similar psychological event right now. There's a hunger for diversion."

Algeo is the author of Pedestrianism, about the popular walking contests of the 1870s and '80s. "People are looking for new and interesting forms of entertainment," he said. "Something that everyone can relate to."

The Appeal Beyond Fandom

One might assume that the main appeal of these look-alike contests would be to the fans of specific celebrities. However, Miller was pleasantly surprised to find that most people at the Zayn contest seemed to be locals rather than fans. "It felt like a local community gathering and it was just so joyous," she said.

Algeo explained the local community appeal. "It reminds me of how famous walker Edward Payson Weston would go to small towns and do challenges. Everybody had to come out and see it because it was live entertainment and brought communities together. This is similar; it gives people a reason to get out of their houses and share an experience with others in real time."

The Stunt Myth-Making Aspect

The flagpole-sitting craze began when a theater hired a Hollywood stuntman to promote a new film. Similarly, look-alike contests might have been born out of self-promotion as well as community fun. The organizer of the first look-alike contest, Anthony Po, a New York-based YouTuber with nearly 2 million followers, quickly moved on to plan his next big event.

Still, it seems that Cornhead Killer has nothing on the Sunday park gathering with Zayns. Miller's giddy joy in congregating with her fellow Directioners and community members supports Algeo's hypothesis that people just like to watch others do things.

"No matter what they're doing, there's probably any human activity you could get a crowd for," Miller said.