When I set out to write this blog, I wanted to write about the culture of Young Hollywood. I didn't understand why the media would give these young stars and starlets attention that they didn't deserve - last time I checked, shopping sprees and drunken escapades aren't headline news. However, when I tried to do research on the topic, I found that no other anthropologists had studied the culture of young Hollywood. This forced me to broaden my topic - I would study celebrity culture instead. Along the way, I found a lot more resources and research that cast celebrities in a positive light. This switch in focus really opened my eyes. Like many others, I was bogged down by all the negative images of celebrities in the media. In reality, a select group of stars are the ones showing the world a bad image: staying out at clubs until 3 AM, doing illegal drugs and drinking when underage, blowing their money on useless things, and not really doing anything that merits attention. What I found when I broadened my topic was that there are so many celebrities doing good under the radar that it's easy to forget about them and focus on the bad images in the media. I was biased against the celebrity culture. The bad publicity is what sells magazines and newspapers, so of course that's what's going to be published.
Celebrities are the ones that force people to pay attention to causes they may not otherwise care about. During the presidential election last month, countless celebrities stepped out in support of the candidates they thought would best lead the country. Appearing on campaign stops and at rallies made more people pay attention and tune in, which gave each candidate and campaign more media attention. When a celebrity publishes a book, even if it's something like Paris Hilton's Confessions of an Heiress, it still gets people reading. However, I think that it's even more important when a celebrity writes a children's book, such as Madonna's The English Roses. Parents who may not ordinarily read to their child may pick up the book just because of the celebrity name attached to it.
Just as an anthropologist has to shed their cultural bias when studying a foreign culture, I too had to shed my bias against celebrities. If I was making a multi-million dollar salary, I too would live in a nice house, drive a nice car, and wear nice clothing. And, like many of the celebrities I looked at, I would donate my time and money to charity as well. At the conclusion of my cross-cultural experience, I learned to, well, not judge a book by its cover. There is always more to a person, group, or culture than what meets the eye.
Image Source:
1) http://www.vegascasinoguy.com/_wizardimages/3272hollywood_sign.jpg
3 comments:
I just finished reading through this blog, and I think that it is great. The writing is stylistically riveting as well as the material being contextually enthralling. I enjoyed the way in which the subject of each individual blog entry progressed. The first entry, entitled “Initial Thoughts” is succinct and illustrates the passion that you have for the subject of the world’s strange fascination with the ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous’ and Young Hollywood in general. As a result of the enthusiasm presented in the first entry, I was inspired to get onboard and become enthused as well. In the conclusion to this entry, you clearly define the aspects of the culture that you plan to examine throughout your blog. You state, “That is why, for my cross-cultural encounter, I am choosing to examine celebrity culture, its origins, and its affect on today’s society.” You go on to discuss just this in latter entries, so I was impressed that you maintained your focus throughout. I was also quite impressed with the balance of personal opinion and research based information that is presented. You effectively utilize quotations from popular gossip sources such as E! News, Access Hollywood, and People Magazine. Your quotations are cited in text as well as in a works cited section following each entry. So not only do I find your opinions interesting, but I also feel that the information that you have provided is legitimate. Each entry has a clear point of inquiry which seems to progress from beginning to end. You discuss what constitutes fame, celebrities in relation to charity, and how both politics and law enforcement come into play when discussing Hollywood culture. You clearly differentiate between using fame for “good” and “evil”; for helping those in need through charity or for using celebrity status, wealth, and power to perfect this “desired” image. In the entry “Celebrity and Chief”, you discuss the increasing role that celebrity influences have had on politics. This has been particularly evident throughout the current election process when John McCain appeared on “The Rachel Ray Show”, Barack Obama on “The Late Show with David Letterman”, Joe Bidon on “The Today Show”, and Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live”. It is interesting to me that the world of celebrity and fame has carried over so significantly into the political spectrum. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this blog and have learned a lot about what drives this public obsession with fame, infamy, and everything in between.
I found your blog to be interesting because I also live in Southern California. I find it annoying how our culture can be so celebrity obsessed and the things that the celebrities do will be the top news story for days, it seems. For instance, when Paris Hilton was released from jail, I remember flipping through all the channels and it being the only thing on! Even though I live near celebrities and am used to seeing them, I still get a little thrill, but I certainly do not think they should dominate our news stories. Also, I think it is a coincidence that you live next door to a case holder for Deal or No Deal because my cousin is a case holder (#25)! I liked how you examined the different aspects of celebrity and fame and what it means to be a celebrity today compared to back when the movies were just starting out. It seems that for some of the celebrities, the only way to stay a celebrity is to make a fool of yourself. Even though there are people out there who really shouldn’t be considered celebrities at least there are those that do some good with the celebrity status like you pointed out. At least for Southern California, I feel that Hollywood influences the way we act and the way we look at things. I personally feel that I have to be skinny like all the celebrities to fit into society even though I know that this is really not true. In addition, I liked how your blog showed the power that celebrities have influencing our opinions and actions.
Your blog topic is very interesting to me. It is also very well written and well researched. Although you don’t end with your initial topic, the blog ends in a very interesting direction. I liked your initial point in “Media Magnification.” It is a very interesting point that, perhaps because of our endless outlets to media (i.e. thousands of television channels, internet sites, and countless gossip magazines), celebrity culture seems to be in our radar much more than it was in even the 1980’s.
I also thought that it was a good move in this blog to include the entry “Paris Does Her Part.” It shows that you are exploring the other side of the cultural aspect that you do not understand. This shows an intellectual maturity and that you learned something from the beginning of our Anthropology 101 course.
You also bring up a great point in your next entry, “Celebrity in Chief?” I was talking with a friend before the election and she mentioned to me that one of the things that made her uncomfortable with Barack Obama was that he was being treated like a rock star, not a politician. You go on to mention this new, symbiotic relationship between celebrities and presidential candidates, and you sum it up well when you say: “Celebrities and politicians have developed a reciprocal relationship - celebrities have the media's attention, and politicians have credibility. Both need each other to get their views out to the public.” The pictures that you used in that entry worked particularly well because the celebrities pictured in political shirts, specifically Kim Kardashin and Heidi and Spencer, are known as being the sort of “ridiculous” “famous-for-being-famous” celebrities that you mentioned in the first place. It was a very effective tool to use these pictures.
When it comes to your entry “An Adverse Relationship,” I found your initial comparison very interesting. I would never have thought of the perceptions of celebrities versus police officers, but it is very true. We seem to fear, dislike, and make fun of police officers and other people in law enforcement positions (Public Safety, anyone?) while we generally have a squeaky clean image in our minds of lovable celebrities like Will Smith and Jaeda Pinkett Smith. All I could think of after reading this entry was the youtube video featuring the crazed blogger crying and pleading for us to “leave Britney alone!” despite the fact that she was suspected of doing morally and legally shady things. You make a very valid point.
Your conclusion was very well thought out. It is a very good thing that you ended up understanding the positives that come from celebrity alignment with the media. Truly, celebrities can make people pay attention like no one else, and you captured this very well.
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