Miranda Schnebel

    Whether it was dreaming to one day be a famous singer, attending a professional football game to watch your favorite athlete, or simply flipping through the latest issue of People magazine, we have all come across celebrity and fame at some point in our lives. As technology advances, the ‘hunt’ for information on celebrities becomes even stronger. The media strives on the publics’ every emotion and response. It virtually consumes us. By taking this course, I have learned why it is necessary and important for scholars to study these topics. Throughout our in-depth and intriguing discussions, I now have a firm understanding on three key ideas: celebrity authenticity, how the media portrays the images of celebrities, and how despite their differences, journalists and public relation experts depend on one another.

    The first major concept that really drew me into the course was celebrity authenticity. Early on in our discussions, we quickly came to learn that not everything we hear, see and read about celebrities is 100 percent accurate. Although I knew that not everything I read was true, I was still surprised at how much is actually made up solely to get a rise out of the public. In the film Starsuckers, it was stated that if a journalist does not want to cooperate with what is being printed or wrote about, they are simply cut out. Keeping this in mind, it can become extremely difficult to capture a real and true image of our favorite celebrities. According to the 2009 article titled “Can You Handle My Truth?”, author Erin Meyers suggests that “the celebrity persona is more than false value, rather it is a site of tension and ambiguity in which an active audience has the space to make meaning of their world by accepting or rejecting the social values embodied by a celebrity image” (p. 891). This statement ultimately depicts how much influence the media has over the publics’ view of celebrities. The article goes on to further discuss that because audiences are motivated to learn what is ‘behind the scenes’, authenticity is established through the discovery of gaps between what the media portrays about the celebrity and what truly goes on in their private lives. Once this occurs and a celebrity is portrayed as “authentic”, the values and norms that they embody quickly become real and culturally acceptable, as well(Meyers, 2009, p. 895). 

    When it came time for our class to write our book reviews, I was able to relate this idea to my celebrity, George Clooney extremely well. One of Clooney’s many attributes is his ability to stick up for what he believes is right. He established his authentic celebrity image through a myriad of scenarios where he fought for the equal treatment of all minorities and also for his humanitarian work. In Kimberly Potts bibliography on Clooney, she shares one of George’s quotes that really captures his authenticity: “there is more attention on celebrity than ever before and there is a use for that besides selling products” (Potts, 2011, p. 188). He ultimately became a role model for young actors to take a stand, break out of the Hollywood norm and use the term celebrity to its fullest potential. This perhaps is the best way to follow Meyer’s (2009) idea on how the celebrity sign holds ideological power and that audience members negotiate that image to decide the “real” celebrity (p. 905).

    Branching off of the first point, the second idea that caught my attention was how the media portrays the images of celebrities, not the other way around. When watching celebrities in the past, I had always thought that they were in control of how they appeared in magazines and tabloids. After watching the film Paris Hilton Inc.: The Selling of Celebrity, I soon came to realize that this was simply not the case. Over the years, the media has grown in its ability to influence the public, especially with the emergence of the paparazzi. In the film, it was discussed that the paparazzi will watch celebrities 24/7 in hope to get a million dollar shot. In other words, this is a shot that sells in tabloids because of how it portrays a celebrity’s image–an image the media dictates. As the film progresses, one celebrity showed Hollywood how the media can be used to a celebrity’s advantage. This celebrity was Paris Hilton. Unlike most celebrities who try to avoid the paparazzi at all costs, Hilton embraces them. She understands what they want and uses it to portray the image of herself that she wants to see in magazines –her products. Paris’s mentality with the media allows for her to remain at the top, which ultimately allows for her clothing and fashion lines to receive free publicity in the latest tabloids. Although Hilton does not use her celebrity status in the same manner as Clooney, she still is able to conquer the notion that the media portrays the images of celebrities.

    The final key topic that really intrigued me was the idea that journalists and public relation experts depend on one another. Before we can continue with this concept, we must first define public relations. According the Hutton’s 1999 article “The Definition, Dimensions, and Domain of Public Relations”, scholars have been trying to pinpoint the exact definition of PR for decades now. It has been quite a daunting task to say the least. Due to the fact that PR consists of six models (persuasion, advocacy, public information, cause-related public relations, image/reputation management, and relationship management), it has become extremely difficult to form a definition that encompasses its diversity. However, Hutton (1999) states that “the most common definitional components appear to be “management,” “organization,” and “publics” (p. 201). With these components in mind, we can now analyze why journalists and public relation experts depend on one another despite their style differences. In the Annenberg Learner video we watched titled “Public Relations Writing”, Debbie Wilgoren, reporter for Washington News, stresses the importance for journalists to develop good relationships with PR. The film shows viewers that it is the PR departments that know and understand the media. It is the PR that gathers news tips, information, statistics and stories. And it is the PR that virtually gives all of this information to journalists. Linda Ellerbee, anchor for Nick News, shares how journalists never have enough time to get all of their tasks done (this is where establishing a solid relationship with PR experts comes into play). PR virtually gives journalists time by providing them with information. This is also the key to getting and keeping their attention.

    All in all, understanding these three takeaways is essential to recognizing how celebrity and fame influences our current culture. My favorite part of this course was that we learned and analyzed ideas that are constantly exposed to us, but we never stop to think about them in our daily lives. This class does an exceptional job at opening students’ minds to key concepts that the media represents. Celebrity and Fame truly is a dream for kids, an icon for adolescents, a reality for stars, and a great discussion course for students.