The cult of the celebrity
Jun. 21st, 2004 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatFrustrated. But that's Monday for you - employed or otherwise, frustrating. What is it about Mondays? Now I have the old sixties tune Munday/Munday...in my head and just that lyric Munday...Munday. It would be one thing if I could remember the whole song, but nooo just that bit of lyric. Highly annoying. Happens with most songs. Enough to drive one crazy - but not too crazy, want to see crazy? Wander about the internet for a while, actually you don't have to wander that far, just wander about livejournal. Or better yet into assorted fandoms.
Over the past few months - I've seen and heard of a few disturbing incidents regarding what I like to refer to as "the cult of celebrity" that has me contemplating what it is about human beings that make us want to objectify each other. Or more to the point, objectify people we don't know but see constantly on the screen? By objectify - for want of a better word - I mean, make into an object, something that is not human but merely a symbol or character - not real. Why do we put people up on pedestals to worship and mock and lust after? Until they become statues to us, hardy toys for our play?
I'm beginning to understand why television and movie *stars* make as much money as they do - it's for all the crap their audience puts them through after the show airs. There's a reason why Shakespearen theaters had a gap between the audience and the stage - to protect the actors from their adoring fans. Once you become even mildly successful on either the big or small screen or in the public eye on some issue - your privacy becomes history. Look at Princess Diana, who couldn't so much as sneeze without twenty photographers clicking. You can't go out without someone invading your personal space or thinking they own a piece of you, merely because you happened to appear for 43 minutes each week on their television screen. The more successful or sexually attractive you are - the worse it gets. And if you happen to star in a cult tv show? Watch out. Because unlike mainstream TV, cult has nice little ancilliary products which encourage this type of worship - dolls, trading cards, etc - all with your likeness.
While some members of the audience are content to sit and just watch an actor entertain from afar, others have this odd desire to get up close and personal, which in of itself isn't such a bad thing. There's nothing wrong with wanting to see an actor in person to hear him speak about his craft. Anymore than there is anything wrong with going to a seminar. When things get dicey is when people stop treating the actor as a fellow human being who eats, shits, drinks, sleeps, and swears like the rest of us and instead, like playthings to write fiction about, slander at will, and maul in public. When the actor ceases being a working stiff playing a role and becomes in the viewers mind - an icon, a symbol - something to adore or if disappointed, mock. That's the thing, if the object of adoration fails the viewer/fan in any way - they become an object for mockery. Once the actor becomes a celebrity - they cease being human in some viewers eyes. And once that happens they cease to have *any* personal rights in the fans eyes. Life, liberty, personal privacy laws cease to exist. Fans will treat celebrities the way they wouldn't treat their worst enemy or closest friend. If the celebrity doesn't make any mistakes - ie. is perfect, the fan will adore and worship and shower him/her with gifts and attention. If, however, the celebrity disappoints the fan for any reason - they will mock, humilate, and treat the celebrity with derision. They become in effect the object of whatever punishment or rewards the fan wishes to foist upon them.
Of course the entertainment industry encourages and enables this behavior in fans by producing dolls with the actor's likeness, posters, and paying the actors lots of money to put in public appearances, which in turn has the effect of turning the actor in the eyes of their fans into an icon of sorts -something to be played with, adored, worshiped, criticized - but not treated as a human being with foibles, weaknesses, and desires. I've never understood why the moment someone becomes marginally famous they stop being human in our eyes. We justify our actions in the same way a sociopath might justify killing someone - well they asked for it. Or they put themselves up there for us to look at it. They are getting paid for it. I'm just doing what everyone else is. But if we took a moment to examine what we are doing...what would happen? A moment of self-awareness. Perhaps? I don't know. But I can completely understand why most professional actors stay off the internet. I would. Or I'd end up suing everyone and get bogged down in law bills. Can you think of anything more humilating to see online than your own personal history and likeness manipulated into a twisted NC-17 story? (I'm not talking about *fictional* characters here, I mean real people). Just imagine someone that you don't know writing about you and your next door neighbor having sex and inter-spersing it with details about your childhood and background? Say someone from livejournal who managed to take your personal data, knows your name, knows your friends names - and has written a story, published it on the internet for millions of unknown people to read, and does it under a pseudonyme? (Someone could do it by the way - we reveal quite a bit about ourselves in our journals, but we trust they won't because that would be crossing the line. Just as we would never do that to them.) Or what would it be like to be a speaker at a seminar - you are being paid to give a two day lecture, have been promised security, and when you get there you are placed in a private villa, isolated from people you know, fellow speakers - who are all in another location together, you have no food, drink or entertainment. You have to ask for everything to be brought to you. You can't wander about - due to security problems. And you are keyed up due to personal issues - such as a work colleague is in the hospital, another colleague and friend just got out, and you got some fantastic news that could change your life. When you ask for a drink - they send you a cart of alcohol. Then when you do go out in public, the convention goers want to maul you. They expect hugs and kisses. Sure you get paid close to 100,000 for the appearance and yeah the idea all these people adore you must feel great, but I can't help but wonder if it is worth it? The things people will do for money or a sense of validation. Look at all the reality shows.
Yet, we feel no sympathy for these people and justify our own behavior as being acceptable. Why? They make more money than we do? They have what we think we want? Envy? Jealousy? Boredom? What is it about us - that makes us engage in this behavior? Worse enjoy it? And how does that make us any different than the metaphorical vampires we watch on TV? They feed on blood, we feed on...humilation? pain? mockery?
Over the past few months - I've seen and heard of a few disturbing incidents regarding what I like to refer to as "the cult of celebrity" that has me contemplating what it is about human beings that make us want to objectify each other. Or more to the point, objectify people we don't know but see constantly on the screen? By objectify - for want of a better word - I mean, make into an object, something that is not human but merely a symbol or character - not real. Why do we put people up on pedestals to worship and mock and lust after? Until they become statues to us, hardy toys for our play?
I'm beginning to understand why television and movie *stars* make as much money as they do - it's for all the crap their audience puts them through after the show airs. There's a reason why Shakespearen theaters had a gap between the audience and the stage - to protect the actors from their adoring fans. Once you become even mildly successful on either the big or small screen or in the public eye on some issue - your privacy becomes history. Look at Princess Diana, who couldn't so much as sneeze without twenty photographers clicking. You can't go out without someone invading your personal space or thinking they own a piece of you, merely because you happened to appear for 43 minutes each week on their television screen. The more successful or sexually attractive you are - the worse it gets. And if you happen to star in a cult tv show? Watch out. Because unlike mainstream TV, cult has nice little ancilliary products which encourage this type of worship - dolls, trading cards, etc - all with your likeness.
While some members of the audience are content to sit and just watch an actor entertain from afar, others have this odd desire to get up close and personal, which in of itself isn't such a bad thing. There's nothing wrong with wanting to see an actor in person to hear him speak about his craft. Anymore than there is anything wrong with going to a seminar. When things get dicey is when people stop treating the actor as a fellow human being who eats, shits, drinks, sleeps, and swears like the rest of us and instead, like playthings to write fiction about, slander at will, and maul in public. When the actor ceases being a working stiff playing a role and becomes in the viewers mind - an icon, a symbol - something to adore or if disappointed, mock. That's the thing, if the object of adoration fails the viewer/fan in any way - they become an object for mockery. Once the actor becomes a celebrity - they cease being human in some viewers eyes. And once that happens they cease to have *any* personal rights in the fans eyes. Life, liberty, personal privacy laws cease to exist. Fans will treat celebrities the way they wouldn't treat their worst enemy or closest friend. If the celebrity doesn't make any mistakes - ie. is perfect, the fan will adore and worship and shower him/her with gifts and attention. If, however, the celebrity disappoints the fan for any reason - they will mock, humilate, and treat the celebrity with derision. They become in effect the object of whatever punishment or rewards the fan wishes to foist upon them.
Of course the entertainment industry encourages and enables this behavior in fans by producing dolls with the actor's likeness, posters, and paying the actors lots of money to put in public appearances, which in turn has the effect of turning the actor in the eyes of their fans into an icon of sorts -something to be played with, adored, worshiped, criticized - but not treated as a human being with foibles, weaknesses, and desires. I've never understood why the moment someone becomes marginally famous they stop being human in our eyes. We justify our actions in the same way a sociopath might justify killing someone - well they asked for it. Or they put themselves up there for us to look at it. They are getting paid for it. I'm just doing what everyone else is. But if we took a moment to examine what we are doing...what would happen? A moment of self-awareness. Perhaps? I don't know. But I can completely understand why most professional actors stay off the internet. I would. Or I'd end up suing everyone and get bogged down in law bills. Can you think of anything more humilating to see online than your own personal history and likeness manipulated into a twisted NC-17 story? (I'm not talking about *fictional* characters here, I mean real people). Just imagine someone that you don't know writing about you and your next door neighbor having sex and inter-spersing it with details about your childhood and background? Say someone from livejournal who managed to take your personal data, knows your name, knows your friends names - and has written a story, published it on the internet for millions of unknown people to read, and does it under a pseudonyme? (Someone could do it by the way - we reveal quite a bit about ourselves in our journals, but we trust they won't because that would be crossing the line. Just as we would never do that to them.) Or what would it be like to be a speaker at a seminar - you are being paid to give a two day lecture, have been promised security, and when you get there you are placed in a private villa, isolated from people you know, fellow speakers - who are all in another location together, you have no food, drink or entertainment. You have to ask for everything to be brought to you. You can't wander about - due to security problems. And you are keyed up due to personal issues - such as a work colleague is in the hospital, another colleague and friend just got out, and you got some fantastic news that could change your life. When you ask for a drink - they send you a cart of alcohol. Then when you do go out in public, the convention goers want to maul you. They expect hugs and kisses. Sure you get paid close to 100,000 for the appearance and yeah the idea all these people adore you must feel great, but I can't help but wonder if it is worth it? The things people will do for money or a sense of validation. Look at all the reality shows.
Yet, we feel no sympathy for these people and justify our own behavior as being acceptable. Why? They make more money than we do? They have what we think we want? Envy? Jealousy? Boredom? What is it about us - that makes us engage in this behavior? Worse enjoy it? And how does that make us any different than the metaphorical vampires we watch on TV? They feed on blood, we feed on...humilation? pain? mockery?
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Agree so much
Date: 2004-06-21 05:00 pm (UTC)Sometimes I find myself getting the attitude that these people sought out fame and they should have known what that means in a modern world, but no career path should ever justify the level of dehumanizing and outright frightening behavior I've seen in fandom.