Questions
of this ilk are some of the hardest to answer. If you ask what makes
celebrity culture, one of the answers must surely be 'celebrities'.
But if you ask what makes a celebrity, you could rightly assume they
are made by the culture they are thrown into.
Perhaps it is the relationship between the paparazzi and consumers of media that creates celebrity culture. We are bombarded with photos and “news” about celebrities and therefore we have no choice but to know who these people are. Without all of this, fame wouldn't really be a thing. The lifestyles of celebrities would certainly be a lot different.
Perhaps it is the relationship between the paparazzi and consumers of media that creates celebrity culture. We are bombarded with photos and “news” about celebrities and therefore we have no choice but to know who these people are. Without all of this, fame wouldn't really be a thing. The lifestyles of celebrities would certainly be a lot different.
'Paparazzi' got their name after the release of the 1960 film La Dolce Vita which is said to be based on one of the original opportunistic photographers, Felice Quinto. According to his obituary posted here in 2010, “he pioneered some of the aggressive tactics that celebrity photographers use to this day.” It also includes a quote of his from 1997: "People are human, they want to see these pictures, and there is too much money to be made."
Felice Quinto
Celebrities already existed but the idea of celebrity culture did not. Paparazzi are most likely responsible for the shift in culture and so are we for buying into it. They came to realise that there was money to be made from exploiting any candid moments had by these Hollywood stars. Lo and behold, a culture was created.
References
Felice Quinto Obituary, 16 January, 2010, Retrieved 31 August, 2012 <http://www.legacy.com/ns/obituary.aspx?n=felice-quinto&pid=139629237>
Lindsay Lohan image source: <http://www.celebritysmackblog.com/2008/09/15/lindsay-lohan-punches-paparazzi/>
I think that the paparazzi take a lot of blame in the fame game and it isn’t really fair. Celebrities trade on a certain persona they have created in order to get people to see their movies but they have to get that persona to the audience somehow to generate that fan base. The paparazzi are just part of the whole process. The only difference is that the celebrity doesn’t get to control the paparazzi so instead they have to control themselves whereas before the studios used to do a lot of cleaning up since they essentially owned the actors. With great power comes great responsibility and when the actors no longer wanted to be confined to contracts and wanted the power to control their own careers they also had the protection of the studios taken away.
ReplyDeleteI agree with alot of the points you have highlighted within this post. I like how the author points out at the beginning of their post that celebrities are made by the culture they are thrown into. I also liked your examination of how celebrity cultures are made due to the consumers of media. Well done for making some interesting evaluations on Celebrities culture.
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