ways of seeing, we live in a society

The Seductive-Destructive Siren-Song of Fame

visakanv
September 12, 2016

In 2010, I wrote a blogpost about Justin Bieber. In 2018, I want to expand this post into something broader, about celebrity and fame. Here are some tweets to start.

Bieber is a tragicomedy.

Think about it. He was a young kid who worked hard at singing and playing guitar and the trumpet and whatever. And then he became internationally famous with tens of millions of little girls wanting to fuck him and blow him and what not. He can’t go anywhere without being swarmed by a crazy mob of girls. The only logical conclusion for him to arrive at, at that age, is that it was destiny. He must’vee born for greatness. He must be the next coming of Michael Jackson, etc etc.

Imagine what that would do to you if it happened to you when you were 15, 16. People offering you everything you want, and more. Being treated like a god’s gift to mankind by tens of millions of people, and being demonized by tens of millions of others.

His story isn’t going to end well. It’s not really his fault. He got swept up in things beyond his control, beyond his understanding, and it will twist/warp your entire sense of reality.

2014 Update: He just got arrested. Original post here.

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Is it worth it getting famous? Why do people want to become famous? Why do so many famous people end up in a bad way, one way or another? What are the perils of fame? What are the perks of fame? 

“If anyone besides famous people knew what it was like to be a famous person, they would never want to be famous. Imagine the stereotypical highly opinionated, completely uninformed mother-in-law character and apply it to every teenager with a computer in the entire world. Then add in all bored people, as well as people whose job it is to report on celebrities. Then, picture that creature, that force, criticizing you for an hour straight once a day, every day, day after day.”“If anyone besides famous people knew what it was like to be a famous person, they would never want to be famous,” Sia wrote. “Imagine the stereotypical highly opinionated, completely uninformed mother-in-law character and apply it to every teenager with a computer in the entire world. Then add in all bored people, as well as people whose job it is to report on celebrities. Then, picture that creature, that force, criticizing you for an hour straight once a day, every day, day after day. I’ve been writing pop songs for pop stars now for a couple of years and I’ve become friends with them and see what their life is like and that’s not something I want.” – Sia

“I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that it’s not the answer.” -Jim Carrey

“My personalilty just does not work without fame. Without fame, this haircut looks like mental illness.” – Russell Brand

“I’ve been in the party. I’ve been on the other side of the looking glass. And it ain’t f***ing worth it, the things inside can’t fuel what we’re looking for, I’m still empty inside.”

(There’s a lot more that he’s said that isn’t easily Googleable).

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Lady Gaga’s Five Foot Four conveys some of this.

Think about Britney’s blowout, where she went bald, and all the mad paparazzi around her.

Bojack Horseman, Sarah Lynn.

Amanda Bynes. Lindsay Lohan. The Olsen Twins.

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People in my lifetime who have died, where their fame seems to have been a factor – Amy Winehouse, Robin Williams, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Jonghyun (SHINee)

^ “The public is a monster”

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Frank Sinatra Has a Cold – Gay Talese – Best Profile of Sinatra – will want to reread when studying celebrity and influence