‘We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities, but by what it claims as significant.’ Neal Postman, Amusing ourselves to Death, 1985.
Note: With the recent news of Whitney Houston's death, I thought it appropriate to update this post which was originally written on July 31st, 2009.
At some point in our recent history, ‘celebrity’ replaced ‘hero’ in the American pop-culture lexicon. Now in America being famous trumps doing something noble and the cult of personality is the ultimate measure of success. The death of Michael Jackson on June 25th, 2009, brought an unprecedented amount of 24/7 news coverage and an endless parade of talking heads, associates and parasites, each one positioning themselves as a unique conveyor of Jackson tidbits.
At some point in our recent history, ‘celebrity’ replaced ‘hero’ in the American pop-culture lexicon. Now in America being famous trumps doing something noble and the cult of personality is the ultimate measure of success. The death of Michael Jackson on June 25th, 2009, brought an unprecedented amount of 24/7 news coverage and an endless parade of talking heads, associates and parasites, each one positioning themselves as a unique conveyor of Jackson tidbits.
In witnessing this depressing spectacle unfold; I’ve realized that 'American Celebrities' follow a unique lifecycle.
1st Stage: Create. We create the myth of celebrity by hoisting undue praise and print: witness the check-out rags breathless photos, or the advent of tabloid ‘news’ shows. Whether or not we physically purchase some item related to the celebrity doesn’t matter, for we are still giving mental space to them. People with no vested interest still have opinions on Brittany’s shaved head rampage, or Brad Pitt’s latest appearance. Most celebrities’ careers end at this stage: just too many interlopers and only so much cultural bandwidth.
1st Stage: Create. We create the myth of celebrity by hoisting undue praise and print: witness the check-out rags breathless photos, or the advent of tabloid ‘news’ shows. Whether or not we physically purchase some item related to the celebrity doesn’t matter, for we are still giving mental space to them. People with no vested interest still have opinions on Brittany’s shaved head rampage, or Brad Pitt’s latest appearance. Most celebrities’ careers end at this stage: just too many interlopers and only so much cultural bandwidth.
2nd Stage: Feed. In this stage the celebrity acts in ways that are appropriate to them, but improper to everyone else. Celebrities become caricatures of themselves, trapping themselves within their personas and roles. Sports stars’ sexual assaults, DUI mug shots, Domestic Abuse allegations, leaked video tapes, etc… All are necessary evils and necessary steps on the road to American Celebrity.
3rd Stage: Kill. At some point the myth implodes under its own weight. Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, et al… Pressure, whether internal or external, causes the celebrity to act self-destructively as the weight of excess is too much to bear. Whether their life ended well before it should -like Michael Jackson, or at a more natural point -like Marlon Brando, each left a mess that outlived them.
4th Stage: Mourn. We cry and mourn as if we had a personal connection to the celebrity. Indeed a bond exists, albeit a vicarious connection bereft of intimacy and closeness. We substitute our information of the celebrity for actual knowledge, and grieve like we’ve lost a friend. Public displays of sorrow allow us to cement our relationship, thus immortalizing the figure in our cultural mind and validating our feelings towards the recently deceased.
1 comment:
So true! I think it is the result of the relativism that permeates all aspects pof our culture. We. Have our feet firmly planted in mid air. We teach our students at Harvard Law school that all ethics are relative and then we wonder why when they break the law in practice! The same thing holds True of our celebrities. Why are we surprised that they destroy themselves when they have no foundation for their life?
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