Post by Keely Odell on Aug 5, 2014 4:41:55 GMT
Celebrities are everywhere! They have a way of creeping into our lives and we don’t even realize it. They can influence what we wear, what we eat, and how we behave. The media and businesses have discovered how influential celebrities are on culture and they use it to their advantage, even preying on the young and naive. I have learned very valuable information from this class and have a much better understanding of how the concept of fame is instilled in us at a young age, the development of celebrity images, and parasocial relationships.
One of the first concepts that I really latched onto was that the idea of fame is instilled in us at a very young age. The documentary Starsuckers mentioned that we have a “natural attraction to fame” and then the media companies keep us hooked. It’s all about motivation, according to the documentary, the goal is to convince kids that the key to happiness belongs in the entertainment industry. This explains why our younger generations are so obsessed with fame. They will go to drastic measures to get noticed by talent scouts in the hopes of making it big. Reality TV has only made this worse. It is just like an addiction. With an addiction, the earlier you start, the harder it is to quit. The addictions begin to consume you, they take away from life. What I found truly interesting is that performing produces a high, similar to that of cocaine or other drugs. Now that’s a scary thought! Parents are even feeding these addictions by supporting their children in their endeavors to be famous. Most little boys dream of playing some sort of professional sport. However unless these kids decide to take up baseball, they have a less than 2% chance of continuing a sport professionally (NCAA Research, 2013). Yet, no parent will tell their child this, instead they keep spending money on leagues and camps to make their child better. This same idea applies to other ways that people can get famous and become celebrities. It turns into an expensive investment that rarely sees a return. This element of fame and celebrities has a profound influence on our culture by deteriorating it. This obsession with fame has led to a rise in narcissism. It is producing kids that are self-centered and focused on themselves.
Next, celebrities are essentially a big business. They develop images and are responsible for maintaining them. Whether they do these tasks themselves or hire someone to do it for them, image maintenance is a very important part of being a celebrity. Celebrities can use this image to sell their own brand or they can sell products for another brand. Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears are an excellent example of developing a celebrity image. They worked hard to present a very specific image to the public. Paris Hilton, as told by Paris Hilton, Inc: The Selling of Celebrity wanted to be a rich party girl, so that is how she presented herself to the public. She made fame her full time job. She has figured out how to manipulate the general public and media. For instance, she wears her clothing line so that pictures that paparazzi’s take basically sell her product for her; all she has to do is stand there and look good. The media has created her and she knows how to work them. On the other hand, Brittany Spears, like many celebrities, used a reality TV show to broadcast her image to fans. It presented a relaxed Brittany with her husband; it contradicted her bad girl image. Brittany purposely selected a reality TV show so that fans could see a different side of her that appeared genuine. The article, “Can You Handle My Truth?”: Authenticity and the Celebrity Star Image, says that “this is an important project in terms of maintaining her truth, as it conflicts with glossy magazine coverage” (Meyers, 2009). Thanks to the World Wide Web and cable TV, there are countless venues for celebrities to develop an image. It makes me wonder if these celebrities are genuinely the people that they project themselves to be? This concept certainly enhances the element of fame. This is the image that fans are buying into. It’s the image that they embrace and aspire to be to.
Finally, I was very interested in parasocial relationships. I have told a large majority of my friends about this concept and have even discussed it with my coworkers during breaks. It is truly fascinating! I knew that this idea of having a one sided relationship with a celebrity existed, but I never had a title for it. It was also very interesting to learn the effects that it has on personality and other factors. The sooner we start these parasocial interactions, the easier we are influenced by the celebrities. We identify with particular celebrities and want to embrace their personality traits and behaviors. These parasocial relationships are now easier than ever to develop and maintain. Fans have instant access to celebrities via social media. We have readily access to their everyday lives. Different websites and magazines can tell you what they wear and where to purchase similar items. We are consumed with being identified with celebrities. We desire to be their friends and acquaintances, hence the reason parapsocial relationships are a topic frequently studied by scholars. It is human nature to form attachments. We desire to have relationships, it’s that innate response that may be the driving force behind our parasocial relationships with celebrities despite the distance between the two parties involved in this self-proclaimed relationship. Most people become involved in a relationship because of the benefits, particularly the emotional support that they can gain from the other person involved. What’s truly fascinating is that people will be actively involved in parasocial relationships despite the fact that they are not experiencing a return on the interactions. A fan can spend hours obsessing and tweeting over celebrities, but see nothing in return. Parasocial relationships are very one sided and those involved are okay with the arrangement. Parasocial relationships are an influential part of culture. Imagine how different our culture would be without them.
All of my main points tend to build on each other in some way, shape, or form. But it all boils down to the fact that we are conditioned at a young age to appreciate fame and celebrity status. We are exposed to the idea when we are particularly vulnerable, then we develop parasocial relationships based on a celebrities image that we identify with. If I have learned one thing from this class, it is that we are far more influenced by celebrities than we can ever imagine.
One of the first concepts that I really latched onto was that the idea of fame is instilled in us at a very young age. The documentary Starsuckers mentioned that we have a “natural attraction to fame” and then the media companies keep us hooked. It’s all about motivation, according to the documentary, the goal is to convince kids that the key to happiness belongs in the entertainment industry. This explains why our younger generations are so obsessed with fame. They will go to drastic measures to get noticed by talent scouts in the hopes of making it big. Reality TV has only made this worse. It is just like an addiction. With an addiction, the earlier you start, the harder it is to quit. The addictions begin to consume you, they take away from life. What I found truly interesting is that performing produces a high, similar to that of cocaine or other drugs. Now that’s a scary thought! Parents are even feeding these addictions by supporting their children in their endeavors to be famous. Most little boys dream of playing some sort of professional sport. However unless these kids decide to take up baseball, they have a less than 2% chance of continuing a sport professionally (NCAA Research, 2013). Yet, no parent will tell their child this, instead they keep spending money on leagues and camps to make their child better. This same idea applies to other ways that people can get famous and become celebrities. It turns into an expensive investment that rarely sees a return. This element of fame and celebrities has a profound influence on our culture by deteriorating it. This obsession with fame has led to a rise in narcissism. It is producing kids that are self-centered and focused on themselves.
Next, celebrities are essentially a big business. They develop images and are responsible for maintaining them. Whether they do these tasks themselves or hire someone to do it for them, image maintenance is a very important part of being a celebrity. Celebrities can use this image to sell their own brand or they can sell products for another brand. Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears are an excellent example of developing a celebrity image. They worked hard to present a very specific image to the public. Paris Hilton, as told by Paris Hilton, Inc: The Selling of Celebrity wanted to be a rich party girl, so that is how she presented herself to the public. She made fame her full time job. She has figured out how to manipulate the general public and media. For instance, she wears her clothing line so that pictures that paparazzi’s take basically sell her product for her; all she has to do is stand there and look good. The media has created her and she knows how to work them. On the other hand, Brittany Spears, like many celebrities, used a reality TV show to broadcast her image to fans. It presented a relaxed Brittany with her husband; it contradicted her bad girl image. Brittany purposely selected a reality TV show so that fans could see a different side of her that appeared genuine. The article, “Can You Handle My Truth?”: Authenticity and the Celebrity Star Image, says that “this is an important project in terms of maintaining her truth, as it conflicts with glossy magazine coverage” (Meyers, 2009). Thanks to the World Wide Web and cable TV, there are countless venues for celebrities to develop an image. It makes me wonder if these celebrities are genuinely the people that they project themselves to be? This concept certainly enhances the element of fame. This is the image that fans are buying into. It’s the image that they embrace and aspire to be to.
Finally, I was very interested in parasocial relationships. I have told a large majority of my friends about this concept and have even discussed it with my coworkers during breaks. It is truly fascinating! I knew that this idea of having a one sided relationship with a celebrity existed, but I never had a title for it. It was also very interesting to learn the effects that it has on personality and other factors. The sooner we start these parasocial interactions, the easier we are influenced by the celebrities. We identify with particular celebrities and want to embrace their personality traits and behaviors. These parasocial relationships are now easier than ever to develop and maintain. Fans have instant access to celebrities via social media. We have readily access to their everyday lives. Different websites and magazines can tell you what they wear and where to purchase similar items. We are consumed with being identified with celebrities. We desire to be their friends and acquaintances, hence the reason parapsocial relationships are a topic frequently studied by scholars. It is human nature to form attachments. We desire to have relationships, it’s that innate response that may be the driving force behind our parasocial relationships with celebrities despite the distance between the two parties involved in this self-proclaimed relationship. Most people become involved in a relationship because of the benefits, particularly the emotional support that they can gain from the other person involved. What’s truly fascinating is that people will be actively involved in parasocial relationships despite the fact that they are not experiencing a return on the interactions. A fan can spend hours obsessing and tweeting over celebrities, but see nothing in return. Parasocial relationships are very one sided and those involved are okay with the arrangement. Parasocial relationships are an influential part of culture. Imagine how different our culture would be without them.
All of my main points tend to build on each other in some way, shape, or form. But it all boils down to the fact that we are conditioned at a young age to appreciate fame and celebrity status. We are exposed to the idea when we are particularly vulnerable, then we develop parasocial relationships based on a celebrities image that we identify with. If I have learned one thing from this class, it is that we are far more influenced by celebrities than we can ever imagine.
