Sunay Bhat

Akers
English 102-21
22 April 2014

The Celebrity Culture Conundrum and its Impact on an Unsuspecting Society

When you think of dangers to our society what comes to mind? Is it nuclear war? Global
warming? Cancer? These are without a doubt some of the most talked about and obvious threats
to our society. We can easily define them as modern monsters the fears that effect entire
nations. But the truth is that our society is faced with many threats, some of which may appear
harmless or insignificant at first. The monster we will be investigating is a part of our culture that
has rapidly evolved in the last few decades, largely due to advancements in technology.
Naturally, our entire culture has changed to reflect a global, constantly connected society. But by
no means are all or even most aspects of this change beneficial. In particular, the monster that is
our modern celebrity culture is proving to be detrimental to society on a scale we should be
worried about. The danger of our celebrity culture is very real, and is effecting nearly every part
of our society. As novelist Joseph Heller is quoted saying about American politics in Schickels
book, No one governs, Everyone Performs. Schickel goes on to discuss the lack of
distinction between a politicians stance and personal life resulting in political figures having to
constantly put on a show that draws more attention then their policy today (Schickel 18). Politics
is only one theatre of this troublesome trend, but it is an impactful one nonetheless. As we will

see, the evolution of celebrity culture in the last few decades has harmed our sense of reality,
political participation, sense of authority, intimacy, and more.
It is important to understand where our celebrity culture came from and how it evolved.
As Schickel discuses in his explanation, there were no celebrities prior to the twentieth century.
In fact, the word celebrity was hardly ever used until the last there decades. People used to be
just famous or successful (Schickel 23-27). The evolution of the modern celebrity and the culture
that followed is closely tied to how technology has evolved. As communication technologies
became faster, portable, and generally more personal in our lives, so to did our ability to follow
famous people. Today, modern technology allows us to get minute by minute updates from
endless sources about very specific topics and people straight to our pockets. Indeed, celebrities
are being commodified and mass consumed at a tremendous rate. Society journalist Frank Furedi
writes how the cultural phenomena is associated with Cable TV/24hr news coverage, and how it
can be attributed to a cultural shift from the valuation of character to that of personality (Furedi
494). The commodification of celebrities has reached such a state that we consume famous
peoples lives just as we would any other produced product. And the producers in this
relationship have responded by creating celebrities specifically for consumption. Of course, we
cannot consume peoples lives like food and electronics, and the damage of this is felt on both
sides of the relationship.
Furedi explores celebrity culture from a very interesting perspective. He argues that
society today has an uneasy relationship with authority and finds it easier to unmask abuse of
authority rather than reinforce it. Those with institutionalized, traditional authority spend more
time defending it and going through the expected motions. So, today people have outsourced a

significant amount of authority to the recyclable, visible, and easy to imitate celebrities that can
simply be disposed of for a fresher face when they disappoint (Furedi 495-96). This argument
starts to explore some of the underlying issues affecting our society since the emergence of
celebrity culture. We do in fact see celebrities today with immense cultural authority with no one
to hold them accountable. For example, movie stars do not have to worry about reelection when
considering their actions. At the same time, we can discard these celebrities by simply moving on
to the next one, thus transferring authority away as quickly as it was given. This sporadic
relationship has an unhealthy appeal to it. When authority is so erratic, where do we look at any
one period for guidance. The recent viral media movement is arguable the apotheosis of bitesized authority. Nearly anyone can briefly dictate the discourse of an immense portion of the
worlds population and then be discarded the next week. One can easily make the argument that
if our societys relationship with authority is so fragile, then so too is the underlying fabric of our
society.
The juxtaposition of politics and celebrity culture is simply one of the most powerful
examples of the the phenomenas dangers. First, let us consider how celebrity culture has
affected peoples involvement in politics. According to the findings of a cultural studies journal
article, people who are more invested in celebrity culture are the least invested in politics, public
issue discourse, and the electoral process. Using diaries, interviews, and a national survey in the
UK, the authors of the article where able to show a correlation between increased tabloid/
celebrity news consumption and lower political and public issue news consumption and
participation (Couldry and Markham 404). This study shows a disturbing trend where the
incredible connectivity of celebrity culture is actually distancing people from essential

democratic processes. As the article concluded, there were few, if any, cases where people
themselves linked celebrity narratives to public issues of any sort (Couldry and Markham 414).
Since people are not connecting celebrity news with public affairs, they are simply isolating
themselves from the issues that are more important and likely to affect them. Also, the way we
consume news at such a voracious rate leaves us with little time to contemplate what we hear and
see. As Schickel offer, the rush of news, and the rush of our lives, effectively prevents us from
behaving as reflective political creatures (Schickel 141). Barely grasping the news we come by,
it almost makes sense many people gravitate to the filler that is tabloid news since it hardly needs
any reflection.
Ironically, the relationship between celebrity culture and politics has changed how
political figures act and market themselves as well. Today, celebrity figures are constantly
endorsing politicians who seek to use the charismatic authority of these figures to better their
political standing. Barrack Obamas presidential campaign was filled with the endorsements of
talk show hosts, athletes, singers/rappers, etc, who contributed greatly to his success. Even the
politicians themselves have taken on a celebrity like status. Nearly every part of Obamas life
(and his familys life) is scrutinized to the point of them having almost no privacy. As Schickel
discusses in his book, Franklin D. Roosevelt had an affair for many of his presidential years with
a secretary, and no one found out at the time (Schickel 18). The morality of this personal issue
aside, President Roosevelt was judged base on his policy and his political actions, a stark
contrast from the way we judge our political leaders today.
Celebrity culture is already proving to be disruptive to society, but perhaps there is
nothing more dangerous than how it could affect our sense of reality. Indeed we live today in

period of celebrity contrivances, where reality TV and news is actually manufactured for people
to consume limitless amounts of pointless information. As writer David McNair puts it, reality
has proven to be no match for the power of our celebrity culture. He goes on to use Arnold
Schwarzeneggers quick progression from movie star to governor as a prime example (McNair
par. 3-8). By watching his public relations and image at the time, it is easy to see how
Schwarzeneggers celebrity identity outshone his political stance. This is simply a small result.
McNair, and Schickel in his entire book, touch on an underlying issue: celebrity culture creates a
false sense of intimacy without risk where people can get close to someone without having to
expose themselves (McNair par.11). What is left but for people to feel disappointment in such a
pseudo relationship that is often manufactured to gain attention? Such a relationship is unhealthy
from conception, since it can hardly even be called a relationship. We can easily pass judgement
on famous peoples lives based on the news we see about them, yet the reality is that we hardly
know them. We are simply presented with their public images, twisted or not, and we have
almost know meaningful connection to the people behind them.
While the false sense of intimacy may be a one way relationship, celebrity culture is still
a two way streak. As much damage as it does to society and the masses of ordinary people,
celebrity culture is nearly as destructive to the very people who are revered. This is highlighted
by the myriad of stars who have found themselves in very public drug, criminal, and family
fallouts that are dissected by the media. The stresses of performing can seem almost trivial
compared to the pressures of being the object of false intimacy by millions of people. At times, it
seems like we tarnish the public image of those who fail publicly, but we laud them
simultaneously with more attention for their realistic behavior. This disturbing contradiction

beggars belief when we step back and try to understand it from a larger perspective. An interview
by the Oxford Union with Game of Thrones star Jack Gleeson shows how even a celebrity can
get disgusted with the idea. Gleeson describes shying away from the public eye and being
uncomfortable with how, Having ones image, and effectively life, democratized dehumanizes
and sometimes objectifies it into an entertainment product (Oxford Union min. 12-13). Gleeson
is an unusual example of an insightful young mini-celebrity that is actually choosing to step back
form his acting career after contemplating the dangers of celebrity culture. His assertion that the
immediate danger to celebrities involved in the cultural phenomena was not worth all the fame
and money that coincides is a powerful implication of just how much detriment is occurring to
the celebrities themselves. With no identifiable winners in the celebrity culture relationship and
plenty of losers, there is little reason to justify its continued acceptance in society.
When you think of dangers to our society what comes to your mind? It is probably still
issues like war, the environment, disease, etc. But now you can consider some of the more subtle
but still dangerous issues as well, such as celebrity culture. The issue at large is not something
that is incredibly hard to fix. In fact, it would be as simple as each of us adjusting how and what
news we consume, as well as how we respond to that news. Then again, nothing that is culturally
engrained is so simple. We have come a very long way in a very short time to our present
isolation, subjectivity, and desperate hope that the cult of personality may substitute for a sense
of organization, purpose, and stability in our society (Schickel 22). It is almost reassuring that
celebrity culture has evolved so far in such a short period of time. Our society and its culture is
evolving at an incredible rate. While it seems the current celebrity culture is here to stay for the

upcoming generations, this cultural phenomena is ideally a passing phase with an expiration date
like all the celebrities it involves.

Sources Cited with Annotations

Couldry, N., & Markham, T. Celebrity culture and public connection: Bridge or chasm?
International Journal of Cultural Studies 10.4 (2007): 403-21. Print. This journal
article discusses the link between celebrity culture and political engagement. According
to the article, a greater investment in celebrity culture means less participation in political
issues. This article will be useful for establishing celebrity culture as a deterrent to
important aspects of society (politics in this case).

Furedi, Frank. "Celebrity Culture." Society 47.6 (2010): 493-97. Print. This journal article
attempts to explain how the increased popularity of the celebrity is a result of people
attempting to find validation and outsourcing authority. The article focuses on modern
societies struggle with assigning and trusting authority, and how this affects celebrity
culture. I will use the ideas about authority from this source to help define the source of
celebrity culture.

McNair, David. "Celebrity Culture in America: Has Personality Finally Replaced Reality?"
The Rutherford Institute. The Rutherford Institute, 11 Nov. 2003. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
This online article explores how the recent development of celebrity culture and a
psuedo-reality is potentially replacing our sense of actual reality. It uses Arnold
Schwarzenegger as an example of the effects of celebrity culture, and it also discusses
how this phenomena originates from the Great Depression. I plan to use this article for

examples as well as expanding my argument to include how celebrity culture affects our
perception of reality.

Oxford Union. I Hate Celebrity Culture | Jack Gleeson | Oxford Union. Youtube. The
Oxford Union Society. 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. This youtube video is an
interview with TV show Game of Thrones star Jack Gleeson. In the interview, he
expresses his dislike for modern celebrity culture, and his reasons why he thinks it is
harmful to society. I plan to use this primary source as a celebrity perspective on the
harmful effects of celebrity culture.

Schickel, Richard. Intimate Strangers: The Culture of Celebrity in America. Chicago: Ivan
R. Dee, 2000. Print. This book focuses on how the relationship between a powerful,
famous few, and the regular masses has created a sense of false intimacy. This intimacy
has blurred the lines between private and public life while confusing society as a whole. I
plan to use this source, and its overarching topics, to further my argument of the
devastating effects modern celebrity culture has had on society.

Sternheimer, Karen. Celebrity Culture and the American Dream: Stardom and Social
Mobility. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print. This book is an academic perspective on
the history of modern celebrity culture and how it impacts society today. Using references
to celebrity fan magazines ranging from 1911 to the recent present, the book discusses
how celebrity culture relates to class, social mobility, gender, race, politics, and all sorts

of social changes. The content in this book is mostly qualitative, since it involves
observations and examples of how celebrity culture formed and its effects from an
academic perspective. I plan to use this as my primary source in establishing the history
and the importance/prevalence of celebrity culture in our modern society.