Celebrity culture

Celebrity culture is a high-volume perpetuation of celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands. Celebrity culture is a high-volume perpetuation of celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands. Whereas a culture can usually be physically identified, and its group characteristics easily observed, celebrity culture exists solely as a collection of individuals' desires for increased celebrity viewing. Celebrities themselves do not form a cohesive and identifiable group with which they identify themselves. Celebrities are found across a spectrum of activities and communities including acting, politics, fashion, sports and music. The 'culture' is created when it is common knowledge within a society that people are interested in celebrities and are willing to alter their own lives to take part in celebrities' lives. The 'culture' is first defined by factors outside of celebrities themselves, and then augmented by celebrities' involvement within that publicly constructed culture. Celebrity culture has become a part of everyday society and functions as a form of entertainment. Today, everyday citizens play an important role in the perpetuation of celebrity culture by constantly checking the whereabouts of celebrities, the trends within celebrity culture, and the general lives of celebrity via media. Celebrity culture is now reflected in social norms and values because of the extreme citizen involvement. Today, as it is now used as entertainment, celebrity culture is viewed as a form of 'escapism' from reality and a means of preoccupation for everyday people. There have been multiple phases in the popularity of celebrity culture. The earliest examples would include the broadcasting of television programs where human beings could reach wider audiences and individuals could be given rise to fame. As different technologies were released, the manipulation of audiences changed, and the reaches of celebrity culture has greatly expanded. Entrepreneurial individuals began to recognize the financial value in purposefully promoting certain individuals, and thus a consumer approach to celebrities as brands emerged. A culture began to take shape as consumers accepted celebrities as a part of society. This acceptance along with shrewd marketing perpetuates celebrity culture with its constantly shifting customs and beliefs. Celebrity culture can be viewed as synonymous with celebrity industry, where celebrities are treated as products to be sold. Celebrity culture differs from consumer culture in that celebrity culture is a single aspect of consumer culture. Celebrity culture could not exist without consumer culture, as people are consistently buying magazines, apps for celebrities, and other celebrity-related merchandise. Consumers' choices are thus influenced by celebrities' choices. By following celebrities, consumers are invited to take part in the collective society created by the existence of celebrity culture, unknowingly perpetuated by the consumers themselves. Participants of the celebrity culture phenomenon also include the celebrities themselves, being aware they can brand themselves and achieve financial gains through their own fame and status, apart from the foundation of their celebrity pre-branding. 'To people who have grown tired of self-government, the belief in kings and queens and fairy tales seems easier and more comfortable than the practice of politics,' wrote Lewis Lapham in his book, The Wish For Kings. This notion is the basis for the naturally occurring relationship between 'regular' men and women, and those on a pedestal. The famous religious books of the world's faiths are replete with examples of individuals who are well known by the general public. Some of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt set in motion devices to ensure their own fame for centuries to come. Celebrity culture, once restricted to royalty and biblical/mythical figures, has pervaded many sectors of society including business, publishing, and even academia (the scilebrities). With every scientific advance names have become attached to discoveries. Especially for large contributions to humanity, the contributor is usually regarded honourably. Mass media has increased the exposure and power of celebrity. A trend has developed that celebrity carries with it increasingly more social capital than in earlier times. Each nation or cultural community (linguistic, ethnic, religious) has its own independent celebrity system, but this is becoming less the case due to globalization (see J-pop or K-pop). According to Oliver Dreissens, celebrity’s social and cultural prominence can be traced back to the success of the mass media. The various forms of mass media allowed for the spread of new images and branding of celebrities. Especially with the inclusion of televisions in the average home, there became more of a familiarity with the people or celebrities now 'in our homes'. Media surrounding celebrities has heavily influenced not only celebrity culture but the general social environment in our lives. Celebrities are known to not only influence what we buy but many other things such as body image, career aspirations and politics. Richard Dyer has stated that celebrity culture is bound up with the condition of global capitalism in which 'individuals are seen to determine society'. Newer technologies, such as cable television and 24/7 coverage, have made today’s celebrities manufactured for mass consumption, as opposed to the celebrities of the thirties and the fifties who were more self-made. 24/7 coverage pushed for more programming and people to fill the extra time. With this evolved more shows and celebrities who partook in the additional screen time. Reality television has been a large part of fostering a new celebrity culture that is more interchangeable and recognizable. Cable television and social media media sites such as YouTube, have made “overnight” sensations which have perpetuated today's perception of celebrity culture.:493 Celebrities such as Justin Bieber, who rose to immense fame after being discovered on YouTube, are argued to elicit emotional ties and self-reflexiveness that invoke a seemingly personal connection. This can be seen with some fans, especially female fans, feeling like they have a certain ownership or connection over a celebrity. There has recently been an intersection of celebrity and political culture. This is a result of the large platform given to celebrities; as Jane Johnson, a reporter for the popular British celebrity publication Closer observed, the gossip surrounding celebrities is a nationally unifying factor among all social groups. This unification and large platform provided by celebrities has been a point of interest for political leaders and groups to gain farther reach within various campaigns. Young adults have had historically lower voter turnout than any other voting age group. Knowing this, politicians and public figures draw from the cultural resources curated by celebrities by mimicking the popular, accessible public persona given off by today's celebrities. As noted by author Frank Furedi, “Politicians self consciously attempt to either acquire a celebrity image or to associate themselves with individuals who possess this status”. This can be seen with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who has become somewhat of a celebrity because of the perception of being personable and supporting progressive, liberal policies. Another example of this was Katy Perry campaigning and performing for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Presidential election. Celebrity status is widely sought by many people. Celebrities are often displeased by their status. Paparazzi are a problem for celebrities. Another problem is celebrity marriage. There is research that suggests child celebrities have poor emotional health in adulthood, and often turn to drug abuse. Celebrity status is ranked by an 'A-list' or 'B-list' hierarchy. Sometimes people who achieved celebrity status come to regret it, e.g. Bart Spring in 't Veld, who came to loathe the reality TV celebrity culture which Big Brother, of which he was the first winner in the world, instigated.