Marcus S. Levy: A Celebrity Culture

Ever since the start of commercial radio in the 20’s and the since the first silver screen entered the market, broadcasting messages by celebrities has been a tool employed to endorse products.”Just about every star was associated with one sponsor’s product he or she plugged.”(1). Over the years celebrity endorsement became an essential part of marketing (more than 25% of television ads feature celebrities)(5), for the endorser it became an easy way of generating an income while for the endorsing company it became a guaranteed way to reach a wide segment of potential clients.

Chris Hedges’ “American Psychosis” is one author’s explanation behind the perceived degradation of America, attributing this decay mostly to a nationwide engrossment in the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Hedges further purports that the American government itself is behind making famous people front-and-center at all times, so that the populace has no chance to focus on the nation’s actual problems. He suggests that this reality TV state-of-mind turns life into a “world of unadulterated competition” where our attention-craving society discards the losers “like Styrofoam boxes that held junk food”. Those ‘excess’ human beings who cannot keep up with the endless quest for notoriety, he contends, end up unemployed, imprisoned, or homeless, because the only worth humans have in the modern world is their ability to make headlines. The final piece of his article is dedicated to fomenting some kind of vengeful revolution against celebrity culture, in which the public purges itself of inconsequential distractions so that they can once again separate illusion from reality.

A celebrity is not a person known for his/her talent or achievement, but an individual recognized for his/her reputation created by the media. The phase of stardom is slippery, and media may choose to represent celebrities varying from exaggerated admiration to mockery. The three texts chosen, movie "Sunset Boulevard", feature article "Over the Hilton" and television show "Celebrity Uncensored Six" are texts presenting different perception of celebrities than their usual images - either corrupted by the encircling media, overloads oneself with self-indulgence, or just mocks celebrity in a broad spectrum. Such media items empower and impresses the audience by perceiving celebrities as people who pay the price of privacy to gain well

Celebrity culture is a mixture of good and bad for society because it makes people complacent with issues that are wrong just to stay in the public eye, like whitewashing and sexism but also can help fight against those issues. For example, most shows are filled with straight, white guys as if other people, like POC, LGBT and women don't exist. Even if a show is centered around a women, the show is about there relationship with men, or has a romantic dynamic to it. Also, female celebrities are controlled by ageism where they are deemed “unworthy” or “too old” once they hit a certain age while men can be expected to continue acting and being in the spotlight far older than women would ever be allowed. Like how Scout Durwood states in “Pop Culture-

For thousands of years people have obsessed over celebrities. In Collin Palmer’s short essay response, he suggests that Deborah King exaggerates the harm of a celebrity obsession. I agree with Palmer because even though we students may obsess over some famous people, to us it is just harmless fun.

Have you ever wondered what influences us to behave the way we do? Look a certain way? Or even looked for an explanation to what causes us to apply a certain perspective regarding personal and controversial issues? One of the answers to these questions may revolve around the influence we absorb from celebrities. A definitive term for celebrity is an iconic figure to a category or group who has achieved success in one or multiple aspects of their lives. As a result, these individuals have drawn in publicity and fame. Over the years with the advances in media and other forms of communication, celebrities have become topics of discussion worldwide, rather if it’s at school, with colleagues or at the dinner table, it is fair to say that

Since ancient times, people have always admired celebrities, putting them above themselves as if they were gods. In her article, The Impact Celebrities Have on Our Lives, Deborah King feels that our “obsession” with celebrities is unhealthy. However, I agree with Collin Palmer’s short essay response, where he states that having an “obsession” with a celebrity isn’t as deleterious as King portrays it to be.

The role of celebrities, be it in sports or in entertainment, as a role model for youngsters is widely debated, with many people claiming that these famous personalities have hardly any didactic purpose to serve. In my opinion, this notion merits serious consideration.

Celebrities are everywhere in the news, the latest gossip appears in the weekly magazines without fail. Whether they be an actor, athlete, dancer, designer, model, singer or just rich; there is someone out there who is watching that person like a hawk, not letting a single breath go unnoticed. Such is the life of the rich and famous, under the incessant gaze of journalists and the paparazzi. Lives that many people take a great interest in and admire to the point where others would liken this great interest and admiration to a cult-like worship of celebrities. This is a brief description of what I think to be celebrity culture.

When it comes to celebrities, society is under the impression that celebrities live this ideal lifestyle. The common perception is that because celebrities are very wealthy, they get special treatment, and the recognition they get from fans is what makes them “perfect,” but society never puts focus on the disadvantages of their lifestyle. In author Mary Loftus, “The Other Side of Fame,” some of the downsides are the lack of privacy and the chemical dependence celebrities use to help cope with all the pressure from the fame. If I was a celebrity, the downsides that come with the fame would affect the mental stability I have as a normal person, and therefore make it difficult for me to manage that lifestyle.

Throughout this analysis, is a discussion of the real ethics of reality TV and how the current gender, media and popular culture depict a fusion between reality and reality on TV. The writing is based upon the "Real Appeal: The Ethics of Reality TV", Catehrine Lumby and Elspeth Probyn. The idea that anyone can become famous is not fairly evident upon most TV viewers; however it is clear that TV makes the viewer believe that what they are viewing is true and it is for this reason that it becomes reality TV. TV exposes the public to a rather promiscuous vision of reality and this tends to be the apex of reality TV. Quite clearly, as Lumby states, Reality television, as its name suggests, is a genre which attempts to trade off its

We are living in an age where we have more access to celebrity gossip than we’ve ever had before. Shouldn’t we ask ourselves how much influence do these celebrities truly have on our lives? You will often realize that celebrities have a bigger impact on you than you would like to admit. To most of us, this effect can seem harmless at times but to some individuals it can become a very negative thing. In the article, “The Impact Celebrities Have On Our Lives” written by Deborah King, she states that no obsession is a good thing and that we should be very cautious about our involvement in celebrity gossip. In Collin Palmer’s response to Deborah, he argues that being obsessed with celebrities is harmless and even has some benefits to it. I partially agree with Collin that being obsessed is harmless, but to some it could hinder their self esteem.

Throughout the world, people idolize celebrities as if they are some sort of God. Their admiration of celebrities has now become an obsession. These average people of society basically stalk these celebrities. People who are obsessed with a celebrity constantly check social media sites to see every move the celebrity does and talks about them like they personally know each other. Beyoncé’s fans verbally attacked Rachel Roy and her daughter all because of one part of a song that was not even confirmed. Beyoncé’s fans justified themselves by claiming they were protecting Beyoncé. In today’s society, people put these celebrities on pedestals because they want to be like these celebrities and feel like they can never reach that height of fame. However, people need to stop focusing on these celebrities’ lives and focus on their own. Celebrities are just like ordinary people and although they may have more money or a significant talent that we may not be able to possess, they still go through the same things average people do. Instead of idolizing and obsessing over celebrities, individuals should go and focus on themselves and work towards being the person they would be proud

As Boorstin (1962, p.18) puts it we live in an “illusionary” world of created characters surrounded by “pseudo events”. This viewpoint indicates the powerful role of the mass media in the fabrication of everyday consciousness. He argues that people are haunted in a way, not by reality, but by those images the public has put in place of reality. Celebrities are “human pseudo events”, entirely mass media constructions to be presented as “heroes”. This essay focuses on how achieved celebrities could be informal life coaches through their own talent and skills, their impact on society and the interdependent role of the mass media and cultural intermediaries on the commodification of the culture. Finally, it highlights the growth of notoriety

No doubt every simian tribe of hunter-gatherers had their local celebrities: the woman who gave birth to quintuplets, the boy who swallowed a porcupine and survived, the man who wrestled with a tyrannosaurus and... well, he probably would have died, but celebrity status would have been applied posthumously.