Portrayals of the Rich and Famous
Group #16
Ever since the dawn of human civilization,
people have been obsessed with either becoming famous or following those who
have become famous. It’s widely known that back in ancient Rome, people would
buy little figurines of famous gladiators or even vials of their sweat. Even
today, one could buy the questionably acquired bodily secretions or possessions
of celebrities on the Internet.
In recent days, the World Wide Web has made
privacy a precious commodity for celebrities of all walks of life, and information
about their personal lives (whether factual or not) is becoming far easier to
access. While this isn’t necessarily a new phenomenon, in recent decades, the
boom of the publication industry and then the digitization of this industry has
birthed a wide array of celebrity gossip magazines, tabloids, and other such
publications. According to an article in The Economist from 2005, nearly 7.5
million copies of celebrity magazines are bought each week in the U.S. alone.
That’s a number from almost ten years ago, so with the exponential growth of
Internet journalism and blogging, how many more people are given information
about the lives of celebrities?
The celebrity magazine industry began in the
early 20th century, around the same time the film industry was picking up steam
and people were starting to recognize and admire the stars that appeared in
multiple films. The difference between these publications and the celebrity
magazine we’re familiar with today is that these magazines were largely
fan-made with the support of the film studios, meaning that the articles were
far more optimistic and favorable towards the celebrities.What’s interesting
about this is that many of today’s celebrity magazines still follow the tropes
set out by these almost century-old publications. We still read articles that
shed celebrities in a light of normality and folksiness. Back then and today
the reader finds articles about how these famous people—be they actors,
musicians, writers, even politicians—live their day-to-day lives as normal
people.
Of course, as this industry that reported on the brightness of these
beautiful people’s lives, the public curiosity shifted towards the darkness and
became thirsty for more candid and expository stories. Around the mid-20th
century, at a time when distrust and duplicitousness was rampant in the United
States at the beginning of the Cold War and in the age of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, the
public’s interest in the juicy rot beneath the shiny mask we present to others
reflected in the evolution of celebrity publications. More and more magazines
and paparazzi began reporting on claim of homosexuality, drug abuse,
infidelity, crime, communism, al manner of gossip and rumors.
Today, perhaps even more so than before, we
live in an age where on one hand people idolize celebrities and shower them
with praise and fan love, while on the other hand we eat up polarized
information about them where in one month’s issue of People we can find an
interview with a female celebrity on how she stays so fit and pretty, while the
next month’s issue might have an exposé about that same celebrity’s struggle
with anorexia and cocaine addiction. In the magazine industry, a celebrity is
either lauded, scorned, or pitied. Whichever way they’re portrayed, the life of
a celebrity in the Information Age is almost in itself a show their forced to
put on for fans and readers 24/7.
The way we treat our celebrities
nowadays personally reminds me of the Ancient Greek gods of old myth. We have
this pantheon of people of considerable (and “ranked”), almost divine skill in
positions of extreme influence and public exposure. We worship them at the
altars of our televisions, computers, magazines, or phones and sometimes go to
the theater or a concert for group worship.
Yet, despite their divine
personas, we forcefully draw out and reveal their human imperfections. Zeus has
numerous illegitimate children, Bill Clinton cheated on his wife. Aphrodite
cheats on her husband Hephaestus with Ares, Lindsay Lohan has gone from the
cherub-faced childhood angel to a coked-out criminal. Hades kidnapped and
forced Demeter’s daughter Persephone to marry him, Tom Cruise had a really
bizarre marriage to Katie Holmes. The Gods and Heroes of our age aren’t found
on Mount Olympus, they’re found in the Hollywood Hills, and on the front page.
Internet is known
as “the fourth media” after the three traditional media, newspapers, radio, as
well as television. As time goes by, Internet plays a bigger role in news and
media for celebrities and the famous. There are two main significant changes of
media for celebrities and the famous over the use of Internet.
First and foremost, with the wide
use of Internet, the news of the famous is displayed in different styles such
as video, words, as well as audio. The public are willing to choose the styles
as they prefer. As a result, it attracts the public’s interest in the news of
the famous. In addition, compared with the three traditional media, Internet as
a new media saves the news product costs. By the way, a majority of small shows
with low costs are displayed on the Internet. It provides an opportunity for
audience to obtain more news of the famous. One more thing interesting, there
are no too many limitations on the interest. People are free to show their
opinions. The public can have a comprehensive understanding of the famous. In
short, there are more styles of media on the Internet.
What is more, Internet
reduces the distance of celebrities and the public and improves the connection
of the two. On the one hand, the public are easier to get the information of
the famous over the use of internet such as Wikipedia. Besides, Internet
accelerates the speed of the news because it provides a wider platform to
display the news of the famous. On the other hand, with the development of Internet,
the public stand closer to the famous over the use of Twitter. For example, the
pubic can leave message on the Twitter of the famous they admired. And then the
famous may do some response. In brief, Internet makes celebrities and the
famous get closer with the change of media. Therefore, media
has a big change over the time for the famous over the use of the Internet.
It may seem that
celebrities live in the lap of luxury and have no care in the world. They are
always in the public eye where they are held on a pedestal for everyone to see,
making their impact larger and their mistakes a lot more consequential. The
negative effects of fame on celebrities are more than we could imagine, making
it a great deal of stress for these stars making them pressured and become a
perfectionist in ways. Fame is wanted by a lot of us, until we look at the
dangerous effects.
What people do not expect is that
they are normal people, just glamorized by the media and public. “Celebrities
have strengths and weaknesses just like the rest of us. Whether they are
insecure, pleasure-driven, prideful, or mentally unstable, fame only
exacerbates existing problems that the average person is able to easily hide
from the general public,” (Hedegard). When you are always being watched and
scrutinized by any move you make, it is difficult for celebrities to live their
lives outside of fame and fortune. The public wants to be involved as much as
possible into star’s secrets and lives.
Through the
advancements in social media, the public can now be as connected to celebrities
like they never thought before. “Social media can be a powerful platform, as it
can effectively shape public opinion of an individual or group of people. This
can lead to the downfall of some celebrities,” (Clayton). Fame is not all it is
made out to be when you have to be careful of every decision you make because
it can be brought into the eye of the public which will then help or hinder
your career. With fame comes power, and for some celebrities it keeps them
wanting more. “While there are parallels between the effects of fame and power
the primary motive behind the desire to be widely known by strangers appears to
be different from those that seek to be influential,” (Robinson). Celebrities
are very vulnerable to fame’s addictive qualities and could eventually spiral
out of fame all together.
Taking Justin
Bieber for example, who has been in the public eye a lot these past few weeks
for his actions, has been slowly spiraling down in fame by being recently
arrested for a DUI. He had other discrepancies also, but at his deposition he
had the attitude of a punk, which has lowered his fan base and his credibility
by a lot of the public. “He refuses to answer questions, calls the opposing
lawyer names and his put-on "tough guy" attitude,” (Boone). His
actions will receive consequences sooner or later and he will realize that the
fame has gone to his head. Being so young in the industry, he is learning that
he cannot get away with anything and everything because of his name, which
almost is like his own brand.
Fame is ultimately
a dangerous drug that changes a person’s life forever. You are either loved or
hated by all and you will hear and see all the comments about you on social
media. There is a lot riding on being a celebrity and alters the person’s
being-in-the-world. Once the fame is achieved, the person develops a kind of
character-splitting between the ‘celebrity self’ and the ‘authentic self.’
There are plenty of negative effects on celebrity’s lives and we should take
them into consideration instead of thinking they live the most glamorous lives,
they sort of do in a way.
While there are
some bad things about being a celebrity, it does have its advantages as well.
When one is famous, they have already built a name for themselves along with a
reputation. This allows them to build credibility on a brand, organization, or
charity. It is much easier for an already known celebrity to start up a
clothing brand rather than a regular normal person. Famous stars such as Mary-Kate and Ashley
Olsen, Jessica Simpson, and Jay-Z
are all a part of the fashion clothing industry due to their high profiled
names. All of these celebrities were famous for either acting or singing before
the underway of their clothing industry. For Instance, Rocawear, Jay-Z’s line has
become one of the top urban-lifestyle brands out there. The clothing line
advertised outfits, handbags, hats, belts, jewelry, eyewear, and footwear. It
became so worldwide that his overall net worth is $700 million (Douglas).
Being a celebrity
means special treatment wherever they step foot at. Stars such as Angelina
Jolie and Brad Pitt are automatically assumed to get seated first in
restaurants along with superb service and meals. An example of a celebrity
receiving preferential treatment is the actor Jason Bateman and how he was
allowed the skip the Apple line in order to receive his new iPhone. People were
so angry that they booed and hissed as Bateman hung his head down and went
inside (Pirillo). Why are stars allowed to do this? It is simple, because we,
as fans, allow them too. This sense of entitlement is bestows upon celebrities
because we give it to them.
The most obvious
advantage and also the biggest controversy is the salary for someone in the
lime light. Modern Family star Sophia Vergara’s yearly income comes in at 21
million (Grossberg). More than often actors and actresses will work obscene
hours for about 6 months to a year to finish their movie. The part that follows
is luxurious. Stars will take month long vacations at tropical exclusive
islands or bounce from country to country until they get offered another film.
However typically Americans, on average, get nine days paid vacation after one
year on the job (Carpenter). This is a prime example of how famous celebrities
have multiple advantages that come with their jobs.
The loss of
confidence in women as they grow older is such a common story it is almost
cliché. Starting from the body changing at puberty all the way to when the body
forms wrinkles, there is always and will always be something for a woman to
pick apart about herself. They can read all the inspirational books and quotes
they want, but the way media shows the “famous” women of today it becomes
increasingly harder to believe what those words say. With adult women, cosmetic
commercials are usually the hardest to watch. They portray the everyday woman through
a celebrity with flawless skin, smile, teeth etc. In a study conducted by the
University of the Basque Country on women 18-50, “The results showed that
‘consumer satisfaction is greatest when the cosmetics brand helps to strengthen
positive emotions through the perception of 'caring for oneself' and removing
feelings of worry and guilt about not taking care of one's appearance’.”
However, the article also pointed out that in order to create positive feelings
the companies must first make the costumer feel negative about herself.
(sciencedaily.com) This is more likely than not done by having beautiful,
inspirational, and well-liked celebrities do their advertising. It makes the
“more common” women feel as if she can be as beautiful as them by using their
product. However, what those commercials do not show is the amount of money
that goes into trainers, diets, etc. that the rich and famous have the luxury
to buy.
One example of
proving this is Kris Jenner, a reality TV star who shows her behind the scenes
life for the world to see. At about 60 years old she got a facelift to keep
herself looking young. To most adult women of today this is not a realistic
option to them, but by seeing so much plastic surgery done on women their age,
the negative thoughts are bound to come. Celebrities create feelings of low
self- esteem in adult women, not through solely their actions, but those of
money hungry companies.
In today’s world,
one can go just about anywhere and learn about all of the latest gossip on the
lives of celebrities. The names of most celebrities are common household names,
and are even more prominent in the media. The strong emphasis on fame, fortune
and all aspects that go along with being a celebrity in today’s media culture
can have both negative and positive effects on America’s teenagers. These
celebrities are not just actors/actresses, singers, artists, or even just
“trust-fund babies”; their choices and actions have influence over many people,
and therefore they become role models to many teenagers. Teenagers are at the
vulnerable time in their life where they are still trying to figure out who
they are as people and what they want to do with their life. When they have a
celebrity role model who uses their influence and fortune in a positive way,
such as giving back to those who are less fortunate/donating to charities, or
living a healthy lifestyle their influence can be positive on teens. However,
more commonly this celebrity influence on teens is negative. Many celebrities
are unhealthily thin, which can lead to eating disorders in everyday teenagers.
These celebrities
are also impossibly beautiful — but that’s just it, they are truly “impossibly”
beautiful due to photoshop and constant assistance from make-up artists and
personal trainers. These impossibly gorgeous celebrities can cause a vulnerable
teens’ self-esteem to hit rock bottom. Looking at the behavioral aspects of
celebrities, many of them party excessively in the public eye. Especially when
a teenager might feel that their parents are out to get them, they might see
that celebrities are “partying with out consequences” and rebel against their
parents. Some stars even make rehab seem “cool”, and hard and dangerous drugs
seem harmless. These trends that some celebrities are starting are not only
harmless to them, but to all of the people they have influence over.
Celebrities need to be more careful in their behaviors, and the media needs to
put less emphasis on the lavish lives of these stars if teenagers are to have
any hope at living in a world with out the pressure to be perfect and wealthy
at such a young age.
We live in a day in an age where fame and
stardom are coveted instead of feared. This not only applies to teens, women,
or men, but also children. Kids grow up hypnotized by the idea of flashing
lights, flawless gowns, and seemingly endless love even from strangers.
Elementary school students have social media accounts to exploit themselves to
the world and a simple number “likes” can alter their mood and even image of
themselves.
I have heard young children comment on a low
number of likes or notifications and am genuinely upset about it. Social media
is supposed to be an outlet of expression and community and if kids were more
educated on ways they can use social media for good, then negative factors
could be potentially eliminated.
Children are spending a
staggering seven and a half hours a day surfing the web, watching TV, or
indulging in other media outlets. However, children are not focused on one
media outlet at a time. Multitasking is the new norm according to Caroline
Knorr, editor for Common Sense Media. Kids are now on their laptops, cell
phones, and TVs
all at the same time, counting up ten hours of media
The affects of the media on children at an
adolescent age could shift into their adulthood. Poor social behavior can be a
result of children being consumed with the media at a young age. Although the
children may be more independent, they are alone while online. Although there
are many positive affects of social media and media in general, children should
be exposed to a limited amount to indeed be children.
Albert Einstein
states, “It is strange to be known so universally and yet be so lonely,” when
asked about dealing with fame. People don’t consider the highs and lows of
fame. There are certain “bad aspects” of fame that some people don’t consider.
Because of that, the affects that fame has on some men, like Earvin “Magic”
Johnson or Tupac Shakur, are extensive. Everything that a famous person does
ultimately affects them and other people around the world. Fame can change the
world positively or negatively.
Earvin “Magic”
Johnson was a basketball player in the NBA in 1979. He is one of the most known
players that has ever played in the NBA. He admitted that he was HIV positive.
HIV wasn’t a common disease around the United States when Magic Johnson exposed
himself to the public. Using his fame, he created the Magic Johnson Foundation
to fight against HIV and AIDS. The foundation was formed to educate a large
number of people about HIV and AIDS and how to cope with others who have the
disease. In this instance, Magic Johnson used his fame to affect the world in a
positive way. Unfortunately, Tupac Shakur used his fame in a cruel way that
affected the world in a negative way.
Rapper Tupac
Shakur is known for his “East Coast vs. West Coast” feud with another rapper,
Biggie Smalls. Biggie Smalls was from the East Coast of the United States while
Tupac was from the West Coast of the United States. Because the opposing gangs
were involved in their careers, there was an obvious tension between them. The
public saw this grudge between Tupac and Biggie Smalls. Both of these rappers
used their fame to influence their audience to join gangs and start gang
violence in their communities. Among all of the other famous people, these are
two real stories that show how the emphasis on fame affects men.
When television
was introduced, the viewing options were much more limited than what we are
used to today. As a result, the original TV celebrities were more or less
inescapable if you had a television. Many of the celebrities of radio made the
transition to television, becoming many of the original superstars of the
medium. Shows like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made the transition, and
celebrities people only were familiar with the voices of became more
visible[1]. One of the most prominent early TV celebrities was Milton Berle,
who became known as Uncle Miltie to the American public. He was able to
leverage his star power to a great extent and was a driving force behind the
expansion of television into American homes[2].
Over times the
medium has diversified to the point where almost anyone can have their voice
heard, long gone are the days of 6 channels and test patterns. Public access
television and the now complete permeation of television in American life. 99%
of households possess at least one TV[3], and many even more. The medium has
continued to be a force for the rich and famous though, and it serves as a way
to get the celebrity image out. Entire television stations exist to follow
celebrity news and gossip, and even the more traditional news stations end up
covering a lot of celebrity news. Personalities like Kanye West and Kim
Kardashian are inescapable in mainstream American culture, and television plays
a large role in that. People like Donald Trump, who was rich, but not very
famous, managed to leverage his TV show The Apprentice into an entry into
American politics and a presidential run, though not a very popular one.
Works Cited :
Gordon, Serena. US News. Social Media Has Good and Bad Effects on Kids:
Experts. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/childrens-health/articles/2011/03/28/social-media-has-good-and-bad-effects-on-kids-experts.
28 March 2011. 18 March 2014.
Knorr, Caroline. The Side Effects of Media. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/the-side-effects-of-media.
20 January 2010. 18 March 2014.
FECYT.
"Do We Buy Cosmetics Because They Are Useful or Because They Make Us Feel
Good?" ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 22 July
2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110721095846.htm>.
Carpenter,
Susan. "Don't We All Deserve a Month's Vacation?" Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2001. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Douglas,
Ana. "The 10 Most Successful Celebrity Fashion Lines, Ranked By
Sales." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 29 May 2012. Web. 19 Mar.
2014.
Grossberg,
Josh. "Celebrity Salaries Revealed! Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Honey
Boo Boo Make How Much?!" E! Online. N.p., 8 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Pirillo, Chris. "Should Celebrities Receive Special
Treatment?" Chris Pirillo.com. N.p., Oct. 2013. Web.
Hedegard,
Dabney. "The Dangerous Side Effects of Fame." Good News Christian
News. N.p., 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://goodnewsfl.org/the-dangerous-side-effects-of-fame/>.
Clayton,
Thomas. "5 Ways Celebrities' Social Media Presence Evolved in 2012."
The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com,
22 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-clayton/celebrities-social-media_b_2529151.html>.
Robinson,
Hilary. "Hilary Robinson: Fame - Why It's Not All It's Cracked Up to
Be." The Huffington Post UK. N.p., 18 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/hilary-robinson/fame-why-its-not-all-its-_b_1972627.html>.
Boone, John. "The 21 Brattiest Moments From Justin Bieber's Very
Bratty Video Deposition." E! Online. N.p., 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.eonline.com/news/519361/the-21-brattiest-moments-from-justin-bieber-s-very-bratty-video-deposition>.
1. Copeland, Libby. "Celebrity Journalism Has Been Running the Same
Clichés for 100 Years." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
2. Carroll, Leah. "From 'The Iliad' to 'Us Weekly': The History of
Celebrity Gossip." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 27 Dec. 2010.
Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
3. "Papped." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 30 Apr.
2005. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
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