Celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports or the entertainment industry, their position as a political figure, or even from their connection to another celebrity. 'Celebrity' usually implies a favorable public image, as opposed to the neutrals 'famous' or 'notable', or the negatives 'infamous' and 'notorious'.[1][2]
History
In his 2020 book Dead Famous: An Unexpected History Of Celebrity, British historian Greg Jenner uses the definition:
Celebrity (noun): a unique persona made widely known to the public via media coverage, and whose life is publicly consumed as dramatic entertainment, and whose commercial brand is made profitable for those who exploit their popularity, and perhaps also for themselves.[3]
Although his book is subtitled "from Bronze Age to Silver Screen", and despite the fact that "Until very recently, sociologists argued that celebrity was invented just over 100 years ago, in the flickering glimmer of early Hollywood" and the suggestion that some medieval saints might qualify, Jenner asserts that the earliest celebrities lived in the early 1700s, his first example being Henry Sacheverell.[3][4]
In the early 12th century, Thomas Becket became famous following his murder. He was promoted by the Christian Church as a martyr and images of him and scenes from his life became widespread in just a few years. In a pattern often repeated, what started as an explosion of popularity (often referred to with the suffix 'mania') turned into long-lasting fame: pilgrimages to Canterbury Cathedral where he was killed became instantly fashionable and the fascination with his life and death have inspired plays and films.
The cult of personality (particularly in the west) can be traced back to the Romantics in the 18th century,[9] whose livelihood as artists and poets depended on the currency of their reputation. The establishment of cultural hot-spots became an important factor in the process of generating fame: for example, London and Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries. Newspapers started including gossip columns [10] and certain clubs and events became places to be seen in order to receive publicity. David Lodge called Charles Dickens the "first writer to feel the intense pressure of being simultaneously an artist and an object of unrelenting public interest and adulation", and Juliet John backed up the claim for Dickens "to be called the first self-made global media star of the age of mass culture."[11]
Theatrical actors were often celebrities. Restaurants near theaters, where actors would congregate, began putting up caricatures or photographs of actors on celebrity walls in the late 19th century.[12] The subject of widespread public and media interest, Lillie Langtry made her West End theatre debut in 1881 causing a sensation in London by becoming the first socialite to appear on stage.[13] The following year she became the poster-girl for Pears Soap, becoming the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product.[14] In 1895, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde became the subject of "one of the first celebrity trials".[15]
Another example of celebrities in the entertainment industry was in music, beginning in the mid 19th century. Never seen before in music, many people engaged in an immense fan frenzy dubbed as Lisztomania, that began in 1841. [16]Fan following is a spontaneous individual behavior and a one-way follower of the celebrity industry chain. Through continuous consumption behavior, achieve positive feedback on the celebrity's performance strength and commercial value. This created the basis for the behavior fans have around their favorite musicians in modern society.
The
The second half of the century saw television and popular music bring new forms of celebrity, such as the rock star and the pop group, epitomised by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, respectively. John Lennon's highly controversial 1966 quote: "We're more popular than Jesus now",[20] which he later insisted was not a boast, and that he was not in any way comparing himself with Christ,[21] gives an insight into both the adulation and notoriety that fame can bring. Unlike movies, television created celebrities who were not primarily actors; for example, presenters, talk show hosts, and newsreaders. However, most of these are only famous within the regions reached by their particular broadcaster, and only a few such as Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer, or David Frost could be said to have broken through into wider stardom. Television also gave exposure to sportspeople, notably Pelé after his emergence at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, with Barney Ronay in The Guardian stating, "What is certain is that Pelé invented this game, the idea of individual global sporting superstardom, and in a way that is unrepeatable now."[22]
In the '60s and early '70s, the book publishing industry began to persuade major celebrities to put their names on autobiographies and other titles in a genre called celebrity publishing. In most cases, the book was not written by the celebrity but by a ghostwriter, but the celebrity would then be available for a book tour and appearances on talk shows.[23]
Wealth
Forbes Celebrity 100
Forbes magazine releases an annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the highest-paid celebrities in the world. When the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans was first released in 1982, only two artists were selected: Yoko Ono and Bob Hope. At that time, only $150 million in net assets were needed. In the next twenty years, only six people barely entered.[24]The total earnings for all top celebrity 100 earners totaled $4.5 billion in 2010 alone.Taylor Swift has been named the highest earning celebrity in the world today, and the Forbes Annual Celebrity Rich List has been released.[25]
For instance, Forbes ranked
Forbes also lists the top-earning dead celebrities, with singer Michael Jackson, fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien and children's author Roald Dahl each topping the annual list with earnings of $500 million over the course of a year.[30][31]
Entrepreneurship and endorsements
Celebrity endorsements have proven very successful around the world where, due to increasing consumerism, a person owns a status symbol by purchasing a celebrity-endorsed product.[34][35][36]Celebrity endorsement is a communication tool that can make products and brands more attractive and attractive to potential customers; Therefore, many consumers are willing to purchase and pay a high price for products endorsed by their favorite celebrities. Similarly, with the increasing influence of celebrities on social media, there is evidence that celebrity recommendations on social media platforms are becoming increasingly important in changing consumer behavior.[37] Although it has become commonplace for celebrities to place their name with endorsements onto products just for quick money, some celebrities have gone beyond merely using their names and have put their entrepreneurial spirit to work by becoming entrepreneurs by attaching themselves in the business aspects of entertainment and building their own business brand beyond their traditional salaried activities. Along with investing their salaried wages into growing business endeavors, several celebrities have become innovative business leaders in their respective industries, gaining the admiration of their peers and contributing to the country's economy.
Numerous celebrities have ventured into becoming
Tabloid magazines and talk TV shows bestow a great deal of attention to celebrities. To stay in the public eye and build wealth in addition to their salaried labor, numerous celebrities have participating and branching into various business ventures and endorsements. Many celebrities have participated in many different endorsement opportunities that include: animation, publishing, fashion designing, cosmetics,
In addition to various endorsements, some celebrities have been involved with some business and investment-related ventures also include: and toddler related items, sports team ownership,
Although some celebrities have achieved additional financial success from various business ventures, the vast majority of celebrities are not successful businesspeople and still rely on salaried labored wages to earn a living. Most businesses and investments are well known to have a 90 to 95 percent failure rate within the first five years of operation. Not all celebrities eventually succeed with their businesses and other related side ventures. Some celebrities either went broke or filed for bankruptcy as a result of dabbling with such side businesses or endorsements. Though some might question such validity since celebrities themselves are already well known, have mass appeal, and are well exposed to the general public. The average entrepreneur who is not well known and reputable to the general public does not the same marketing flexibility and status-quo as most celebrities allow and have. Therefore, compared to the average person who starts a business, celebrities already have all the cards and odds stacked in their favor. This means they can have an unfair advantage to expose their business ventures and endorsements and can easily capture a more significant amount of market share than the average entrepreneur.[42]
Mass media phenomena
Celebrities often have fame comparable to royalty. As a result, there is a strong public curiosity about their private affairs. The release of Kim Kardashian's sex tape with rapper Ray J in 2003 brought her to a new level of fame, leading to magazine covers, book deals, and reality TV series.[43][44]
Celebrities may be resented for their accolades, and the public may have a love/hate relationship with celebrities. Due to the high visibility of celebrities' private lives, their successes and shortcomings are often made very public. Celebrities are alternately portrayed as glowing examples of perfection, when they garner awards, or as decadent or immoral if they become associated with a scandal. When seen in a positive light, celebrities are frequently portrayed as possessing skills and abilities beyond average people; for example, celebrity actors are routinely celebrated for acquiring new skills necessary for filming a role within a very brief time, and to a level that amazes the professionals who train them. Similarly, some celebrities with very little formal education can sometimes be portrayed as experts on complicated issues. Some celebrities have been very vocal about their political views. For example,
Famous for being famous
Famous for being famous, in popular culture terminology, refers to someone who attains celebrity status for no particular identifiable reason, or who achieves fame through association with a celebrity.[47] The term is a pejorative, suggesting the target has no particular talents or abilities.[48] British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge made the first known usage of the phrase in the introduction to his book Muggeridge Through The Microphone: BBC Radio and Television (1967) in which he wrote:
In the past if someone was famous or notorious, it was for something—as a writer or an actor or a criminal; for some talent or distinction or abomination. Today one is famous for being famous. People who come up to one in the street or in public places to claim recognition nearly always say: "I've seen you on the telly!"[49]
The coinages "
Internet
Also known as being internet famous.
Asia
A report by the
Social networking and video hosting
Most high-profile celebrities participate in social networking services and photo or video hosting platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.[51] Social networking services allow celebrities to communicate directly with their fans, removing the middle-man known as traditional media.Through social media many persons outside entertainment and sports sphere become celebrity in their own sphere. Social media humanizes celebrities in a way that arouses public fascination as evident by the success of magazines such as Us Weekly and People Weekly. Celebrity blogging have also spawned stars such as Perez Hilton who is well known for not only blogging but also outing celebrities.[52]
Social media and the rise of the smartphone have changed how celebrities are treated and how people gain the platform of fame. Not everything is as concealed as it was back in old Hollywood because now everything is put out on the internet by fans or even the celebrity themselves. Websites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube allow people to become a celebrity overnight. For example, Justin Bieber got his start on YouTube by posting videos of him singing and got discovered. All of his fans got direct contact with his content and were able to interact with him on several social media platforms. Social media has substantially changed what it means to be a celebrity. Instagram and YouTube allow regular people to become rich and famous all from inside their home. It also allows fans to connect with their favorite celebrity without ever meeting them in person. Everything is being shared on social media so it makes it harder for celebrities to live private lives.[53]
Social media sites have also contributed to the fame of some celebrities, such as Tila Tequila who became known through MySpace.[54]
Access restriction
Access to celebrities is strictly controlled by their entourage of staff which includes managers, publicists, agents, personal assistants, and bodyguards. Even journalists find it difficult to access celebrities for interviews. Writer and actor Michael Musto said, "You have to go through many hoops just to talk to a major celebrity. You have to get past three different sets of publicists: the publicist for the event, the publicist for the movie, and then the celebrity's personal publicist. They all have to approve you."[55]
Celebrities also typically have security staff at their home, to protect them from similar threats.[56]
Fifteen minutes of fame
"15 minutes of fame" is a phrase often used in reference to short-lived publicity, and mistakenly attributed to Andy Warhol. Certain "15 minutes of fame" celebrities can be average people seen with an A-list celebrity, who are sometimes noticed on entertainment news channels such as E! News. These persons are ordinary people becoming celebrities, often based on the ridiculous things they do. "In fact, many reality show contestants fall into this category: the only thing that qualifies them to be on TV is that they're real."[57]
Health implications
Common threats such as
Fame might have negative
Recently, there has been more attention toward the impact celebrities have on health decisions of the population at large.[66] It is believed that the public will follow celebrities' health advice to some extent.[67] This can have positive impacts when the celebrities give solid, evidence-informed health advice, however, it can also have detrimental effects if the health advice is not accurate enough.
See also
- Acquired situational narcissism
- All-star
- Celebrity bond
- Celebrity branding
- Celebrity Worship Syndrome
- Cult of personality
- Diva
- Fame in the 20th century
- Farce
- Glamour
- Infamy
- Infotainment
- Invision Agency
- List of celebrities
- List of celebrities with advanced degrees
- List of celebrity inventors
- List of entertainment industry topics
- Look-alike
- Q Score
- Radio personality
- Scientific celebrity
- Selling out
- Superstar
- Teen Idol
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General and cited references
- ISBN 978-0-292-72339-9.
- Grinin, Leonid (2009) "'People of Celebrity' as a New Social Stratum and Elite". In Hierarchy and Power in the History of Civilizations: Cultural Dimensions (pp. 183–206). Ed. by Leonid E. Grinin and Andrey V. Korotayev. Moscow: KRASAND/Editorial URSS, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-436-28022-1.
- ISBN 0-385-12336-1.
Further reading
- Marcus, Sharon (2019). The Drama of Celebrity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. OCLC 1059270781. Retrieved July 29, 2019. On the history of Sarah Bernhardt, one of the first "global superstars", and her celebrity.)
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External links
- Quotations related to Fame at Wikiquote
- Media related to Celebrities at Wikimedia Commons