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Above: Beatles fans.
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What social commentary about celebrity is embedded in this chapter?
How is that social commentary both expanded and galvanized by comparing fans to beggars with bowls (170)?
Do you think admiration of celebrities in our culture is mostly harmless, is its danger underrated, or does celebrity culture contribute something valuable and enriching to human experience?
Celebrities aren't inherently bad, but celebrities have a lot of power because people like what they do, so they assume that they like them as a person. This can create a power dynamic where celebrities can influence the actions of others, because if someone as special as a celebrity gives you any attention at all, it could make you feel special.
ReplyDelete-Byron
I believe that people have always had a celebrity to look up to, stories of kings, hunters, artists, and daring feats of bravery or love. People swimming the english channel, charging the hill, going over the falls in a barrel, aces fighting in the sky, first steps on the moon, millions have looked up to these people. Being loved by the people used to take bravery, sacrifice, or skill. It is human nature to have a leader. The danger comes from the person people choose to follow. Little kids who would like to be like Neil Armstrong or Nikola Tesla are in far less danger than the kids who would like to be like Iosef Stalin or Kim Kardashian
ReplyDeleteI agree that people have always had "celebrities" to look up to. It is human nature to look up to someone and get inspiration from them. - Matt Pittman
DeleteI think for the most part admiration of celebrities is harmless, but some people can take it to the extreme. There are some people that would believe or do anything their favorite celebrity tells them, which could be dangerous depending on how the celebrity decides to use the persuasive "power" they yield over their fans. -Abigayle Shropshire
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I believe that celebrity culture and admiring celebrities is harmless. It is not inherently bad for someone to like a celebrity and support them by going to concerts or watching everything they are in. Even if the celebrity is not a “meaningful contributor to society”, I don’t want to criticize someone for something they enjoy. However, a danger to idol culture that not many people mention is parasocial relationships. A parasocial relationship is a phenomenon where a consumer of media views the celebrity (that they have no direct interactions with) as a friend, or otherwise experiences a one-sided emotional relationship with them. Parasocial relationships can lead to a skewed sense of reality and unrealistic expectations that perpetuates a culture that can negatively impact mental health, as individuals may feel inadequate or unfulfilled in comparison to the fabricated lives of their celebrity idols. As people invest more time and energy into their one-sided relationships with celebrities, they might neglect cultivating meaningful connections with real people in their lives. This has broader societal implications with the potential of leading to increased social isolation and a lack of empathy for those around us-- similar to that of Nora’s self-isolation in the novel.
ReplyDelete-Bailey Howe
DeleteThe commentary about Ryan Bailey could be extrapolated to most celebrities in saying that the behavior fostered by fame is often disingenuous. It's effective as well, Nora fantasized about long serious conversations over philosophy with a guy that was just vaguely gesturing at deep truths about the universe in a tipsy spiel. You should always approach celebrities' presentation with skepticism, of course people can be genuine but they have a profit incentive to present a likeable image of themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think the beggars with bowls analogy serves to show how over invested these fans were with someone who didn't know them. Para-social relationships are often primed for toxicity, in that one side isn't directly engaging with the other person, so the party invested might be deeply affected by completely impersonal actions.
Celebrity culture isn't a monolith, many people have healthy relationships with role models that genuinely influence them to be better people and make better decisions. Other people have extreme attachments to people who don't know them, and are deeply hurt by things that shouldn't affect them at all. Like many things in life, a moderate approach can be very positive.