Monday 16 July 2012

Modern Day "Celebrity" Culture

Something strange has happened in the last fifty odd years, gone are the days of beautiful Hollywood Glamour; with women wearing long evening gowns, wrapped in a fur stole, evening gloves on and decked out in diamonds sashaying along red carpets, suave gentleman on arm. It has been replaced by a breed of fake-tanned, fake hair, fake nails, barely-any-clothes-on clones who embody this craze of faux notoriety. How can these people, who are famous for no apparent reason, become icons in this day in age? How can common women such as Katie Price become such household names and have hoards of young women turning up at their book signings - for books they didn't even write?

I dont understand it, have girls attached themselves to the ideology that by wearing yet another cheap-cut version of the Herve Leger bandage dress, caked in MAC, ten sets of eyelashes on and falling out of nightclubs with a semi-professional footballer on arm is somehow classy? Does making a name for yourself by releasing your own sex tape (and then lying about it) give you self worth? Yes, I'm talking to you Kim, Paris, Jordan, Kendra et al, how can you be proud to gain a "career" off such ridiculous means? Look, I've watched the various reality shows of these women and still am at a loss as to what they do, besides turning up for photo-shoots for products they've had zero creative input in. I fully understand though that these women are opportunists of the greatest kind and have somehow created this idea that everyone should achieve that type of success, and, by making sex tapes and starring in reality shows is their way of democratising the fame game. Sounds rather bleak to me, or maybe I'm just a daydreamer for all things nostalgia.

This new breed of celebrity has gained such a following from young, naive fans who truly believe that their self worth is valued on how many column inches they can obtain in the future. Egotistical gone mad is one way of looking at it. Money and fame go hand in hand and such love for this has somehow tainted the minds of this generation, with studies showing that more young girls would rather become a glamour model than a doctor. The unlimited usage of the Internet has now become a path for many to over-expose themselves for attention of some kind; I could perform a sex act and upload it onto the web for the world to see just as easily and in as much time as it would take to make my dinner. The new breed exploit themselves so much in todays society that we see all aspects of their lives, from women giving birth on camera to selling the most intimate details of their sex lives to a Sunday paper, nothing is private anymore. Personally, I prefer a little mystery to someone. Take Kate Moss for example, she rarely gives interviews and we only know about her life by what's in the press, whether its true or not, and yet she is still as in-demand as ever and has made herself a cult heroine of our generation by being one of the few last standing celebrities that won't sell out.

Sadly though, most aspiring young kids who want to be the next Kim or Paris don't seem to grasp that to be successful you should be willing to work hard. The new breed defy this attribute and make success as easy as sleeping with a footballer (then running to the press about it) or taking your clothes off for a lads mag; the only work being involved is that of eliminating any competition that may come in your way. An idea of having no talent or intelligence is heavily promoted within this culture, with kids not even reading a book once out of schooling and believing that a front cover of a gossip magazine is as important than a Nobel Peace Prize.
Why does no one want to gain a passion of sorts and work hard at it? The Sciences or The Arts -  such as film, dance, design, literature and music - should be ideal as the sort of genre of success people should want to achieve in. I believe that working hard at something you love will give you pride and self respect, and, with any luck will be noticed by others and will be shared with the world.


































(image via funnycrave)

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