I think it’s a healthy thing. When I was a kid, we all wanted to be astronauts. Nowadays, it takes tragedy for the nation (or at least the media) to be interested in aerospace. Plus, with six or more 24-hour cable news channels, you’ve got to fill with something when you’ve exhausted Robert Blake, Michael Jackson, the Peterson case, and Matt Hale.
And, movies, the Oscars, and jars of urine aside, Howard Hughes' rich man adventures did the same thing for the public years ago. And his adventures helped advance air travel, communication technology, and even innovations like the mechanical hospital bed.
