The fan-celebrity relationship is a complex one, especially so in an age of instant communication: A celebrity driving drunk on Santa Monica Blvd. crashes into another vehicle and the video is quickly available on TMZ.com. The information about celebrities’ comings and goings is the stock and trade of Perez Hilton, whose website for many of my students is the first one they go to upon waking each morning. Celebrity gossip fuels our very being, it would seem. At the same time, such relationships—imaginary as they are—are dynamic; subject to negotiation. That is why marketers are so fearful of celebrity spokespeople to the point that several marketers have opted in recent years to employ the images of dead celebrities, including Steve McQueen, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and Audrey Hepburn, among others, in their advertising campaigns.
This has been a banner week or two for celebrity gossip mongers: Chris Brown allegedly beats up Rihanna, Phelps' photo appears in a British tabloid with lips pressed to a bong, and A-Rod admits using banned substances. And, I don’t want to leave out Bruce Springsteen, champion of the working-class union worker, who apologies for two things: first, for the exclusive deal he made with Wal-Mart to sell a greatest hits CD (Wal-Mart is not known for its union friendly policies); and, many fans who wanted to obtain tickets to his upcoming concert tour were, upon learning that a concert was sold out, were re-directed to a ticket re-seller (use to be called scalper) who offered tickets at a much higher price.
All of this not only gives us pause to think, it requires that we invest a lot of energy in making up our own mind regarding the behavior of these media figures - good or bad, right or wrong. One could suggest that it is time wasted, but I am suggesting that it is through the processing of these kinds of instances they we make sense of our world, where we find common ground with others, and in the process seek terra firma – solid ground upon which to stand our values. That is the way pop culture works and the work we do with it. It requires a lot for us to stay engaged in this system. I guess that’s why my students upon waking go directly to the Perez Hilton web site.
The dictionary defines the word fanatic as someone “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion.”
The question remains: will Chris Brown’s fans abandon him, or will people shun Michael Phelps because of his substance abuse, or will fans stop attending Yankee games because they think A-Rod is a fake? We’ll have to pay attention as fans negotiate their relationship with each of these media figures. As for Springsteen, if you’re a devoted fan, are you really not going to go into a Wal-Mart to purchase the CD if you really want it? John Fiske, the cultural theorist, said that pop culture is contradictory to its core. As the fan-celebrity relationship is part of that complex system, so are we.
5 comments:
Being a public relations major, I have read and deconstructed many cases where celebrities have been in trouble with the media. I have been taught the tactics that these celebrities and their publicists should do when problems such as the ones mentioned in this blog occur. Of course, the number one tactic is to apologize to the media. I know that this is something that these celebrities are told to do, so it often makes me wonder, are they really sorry? Is Michael Phelps really sorry for smoking pot or A-Rod for taking steroids? Who knows.
I feel that these celebrities are not really sorry. If they were then why would they do it in the first place? Michael Phelps was stupid. He knew it could get out to the media, so why did he do it? When these celebrities apologize to the media it's not to make themselves feel better, it's all for their fans. That is why whenever I hear an apology from a celebrity I always ask, why did you do it then? With these apologies all they are trying to do is gain the support of their fans. Yeah, fans may think badly of them at first, but most people will say, "Oh well, they did say sorry", and forget about it. I don't think people are really aware that most of the time these apologies are just something celebrities have to do. So will fans abandon these celebrities? Most of them won't. In a few months it will all be in the past and who knows if these celebrities are really sorry for their actions.
Just this morning, I was reading Perezhilton.com and one of the headlines read, "T.I. and Terrence Howard Take Back Their Chris Brown Comments." So here we have yet another example of celebrities making apologies for their words and/or actions in the public eye. To be a little more specific, T.I. a rapper who himself has had his fair share of trouble with the law, is also a good friend of Chris Brown. After Brown's alleged assualt/abuse against his girlfriend, Rihanna, T.I. opened up about his friend (Chris Brown) in an interview on The Carson Daly Show. T.I.'s comment was in reference to the fact that he had spoken to his friend on Monday: "Yeah, I spoke to him today," said the rapper. "He cool, you know. I guess he a little concerned about the situation, but he’s still the same Chris.”
Just by that statement alone, it shows a total lack of sensitivity to the situation, and even provokes the question...if he is still the same Chris, then was he a jerk all along? After more details were released in the Chris Brown/Rihanna case, T.I. then felt the need to retract his previous statements, noting his insensitivity. He stated that his comments were out of line, and that he "made a mistake of commenting before understanding the situation."
In addition, Terrence Howard apparently retracted his statements about the situation as well and in a public apology stated that he was wrong to defend Brown before he knew more about what actually had occurred. This shows that by giving a public apology he is admitting that he does not want to be associated with his fellow celebrity's persona. Maybe in a way, the apologies that celebrities make aren't just about their own image, but also to help protect their image in contrast to the images of other celebrities around them.
I find it very interesting every time a celebrity makes a public apology, and I agree that they don't always seem sincere because they are being told to apologize. Part of the problem is that people make mistakes all the time, but celebrities are under a microscope so their actions and words are taken more seriously and exploited by the media on such a mass level, that their mistakes no matter how minimal always require some sort of public apology.
I agree with Ali; I do not believe that these celebrities are sincerely sorry for their actions. Might there be one or two celebs out there who actually mean what they say? Of course! But for the most part, I believe the words coming out of Chris Brown's, Michael Phelps', Springsteen's, or others mouths are written for them. It's not the celebrity's own words, but the words created for them by their publicist. So, is it the publicist who's sorry then?
We've spoken in class before about the responsibility of celebrities and I think this responsibility is what is getting these public figures into trouble. Somehow, after all the hit songs, gold medals or sold out concerts, these individuals seem to forget at times that they are being watched 24/7. In the case of Chris Brown and Michael Phelps, young, impressionable people are hanging on their every word and action, and many will try to emulate these idols.
When they forget about the cameras is when they run into trouble. Celebrities MUST realize that they are NOT normal, something else we've spoken about in class. When they take drugs, drive while intoxicated, etc. it's GOING to be on the news and it's GOING to be in People in another week. It is this failure to remember their famous identities that force these apologies. What they are truly apologizing for, then, is their forgetfulness. And when they forget, the celebrity's poor publicist has to pick up the pieces and write a "sincere" apology, an apology that is supposed to make everything right once it's read from a piece of paper.
Along with Ali and Mallory, I too believe that celebrities are not truly sorry for their actions. Their world is a complex one that involves a consistent upkeep of their public image. Whether or not Chris Brown is actually sorry for hitting Rihanna, or if Phelps is truly remorseful for smoking marijuana, is not necessarily relevant. All that matters is what the public perceives of this apology.
In this way, we as the public audience are given a lot of power in determining whether these celebrities are actually forgiven. We may not forgive Brown for the assault, however, if we continue to purchase his music and listen to and watch his radio and television appearances, are we not in some way forgiving his action?
Celebrities live in a seemingly alternate universe, one in which their actions do not carry as much weight as actions of a "normal" non-celebrity. So long as the public continues to consume and enjoy the celebrity's art, they are forgiven. Then, we as a society must rethink what we condone as acceptable behavior for celebrities. Just because these people have more money or a relatively high social statues, does not mean they are exempt from "typical" punishments for their actions.
In my opinion, Brown's music should be banned and Phelps should have a significant amount of his endorsements dropped, otherwise, they will never see themselves as truly responsible. The celebrity apology must begin to carry more weight and sincerity, versus being something that we as society simply expect.
I agree with Mallory and I laughed when I read her question, "So is it the publicist who is sorry then?" :) I talked about this idea in class right after Professor Alperstein published the post. I made a broad generalization about celebrities and how they came from "trailer parks" and how many were uneducated. I feel terrible for making such a generalization. I need to rephrase. Many celebrities become famous overnight. Some are put in the limelight too fast and are rushed into celebrity status instantly. From there many lives of celebrities are unstructured in the classic sense. They have the means not to need a 9 to 5 job. They have access to do whatever they want, whenever they want. Their lives can turn into playtime and their bodies can turn into playgrounds. Their responsibilities to others can get skewed in a sense. Because the worlds and realities of celebrities and of "normal" people are so different, the way each person acts is completely different.
Chris Brown has no excuse. His actions were disgusting and unforgivable. Celebrity or not. Phelps on the other hand is different. The above idea applies to him. He is somewhat of an overnight celebrity. This most likely isn't his first time smoking pot and it's probably not his last so I'm sure he is sorry he got caught. But I'm also sure that before this incident he wasn't thinking that someone would take a picture of him and sell it. I feel he didn't have time to adjust to his celebrity. We can all say, "he should have known better" but celebrity or not we're all human. The difference between us and them though is the fact that they live, they learn, and then they get a publicist!
Post a Comment