Their behavior shapes ideas about gender roles and, in a sense, helps define the American Dream. Celebrities tell us not only what movies to see but also what products to buy and what social causes to support. A well-constructed image of a celebrity as accessible and yet larger-than-life increases ticket sales, television ratings, endorsement opportunities and can even garner influence in cultural and political realms. Images, after all, are valuable commodities. Friendly media outlets allow celebrities to present a painstakingly defined version of themselves, while simultaneously concealing their less desirable or contradictory behaviors, traits and utterances. Celebrities craft for themselves a mediated persona - good parent, wholesome boy or girl next door, vixen or bad boy - through which they establish societal influence.Ĭelebrities enlist staff - agents, publicists, bodyguards, stylists - to project and protect a consistent image to the public, as they themselves appear across media and engage directly with fans through social media. Over the past century, since the beginnings of the studio-controlled movie industry, celebrity livelihood has depended on defining a seemingly authentic self-image, which includes an offscreen life of friends and family, of amazing parties and vacations, of stunning homes and cars. Celebrities, including actors, athletes, musicians and reality TV stars, must build their reputations on more than talent. They endanger their celebrity victims, their families and even bystanders.īut there is another way to examine this conflict: namely, as a struggle for survival - not in a primitive sense for food or shelter, but for control of one’s image. Justin Bieber lunging at an allegedly insulting photographer Alec Baldwin chasing down a photographer who got too close to his family Kanye West attacking a photographer at LAX - the paparazzi in these stories are often seen as hunters, stalkers, bullies, lawbreakers. ![]() The nature of this struggle is most often defined by celebrities, by those in their employ and by those sympathetic to their perceived plight, all of whom speak in terms of a fight for privacy - the right to be left alone. Every day, celebrities and paparazzi are engaged in an ongoing struggle in cities, nightclubs and other public places around the world.
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