The death of celebrity culture?
November 27th 2009 05:05
Is it possible that our obsession with celebrities may finally be on the wane? According to new reports, this is exactly what is happening: our society is experiencing "celebrity fatigue" and we've gotten to the point where we really just don't care anymore. Rather than following the ins and outs of what Lindsay, Angelina, Katie and all the rest of them are up to, as a group we're more likely to be interested in what's happening in our own lives.
There's plenty of evidence to back up these new claims. According to The Daily Beast, the so-called "Britney economy" has taken a beating over the last couple of years. Now, "a typical celebrity shot sells for 31 per cent less than it did in 2007", and some are selling for much, much less than that. Major gossip rags like US Weekly have greatly reduced their photo budgets, with the aforementioned celebrity-drenched weekly magazine dropping its annual photography expenditure from US$8 million a year to less than US$5 million. Still sounds like way too much to me, but with a cut of nearly 50 per cent, these figures suggest that a major societal shift is underway.
Of course, predictions like these have been made before, and as with all cultural evolutions you never actually know when they'll happen until after the fact.... but it seems to me like now is an ideal time for change. There are so many more pressing issues to be pondered than whether Kristen and Rob have become an item, or if Jennifer Aniston will ever find true love. Our economy is shaky, the environment is in tatters and nearly a decade into the 21st century we're still seeing racism, sexism and homophobia played out in the media on a daily basis. Isn't it time we started to consider what really matters?
Now, I know what you're thinking: this blog is just a perpetuation of celebrity culture, isn't it? And you'd be right, to an extent. Hollywood stars do interest me, but only because they're what I consider to be "real" celebrities; people worthy of admiration and respect for their undeniable talent. Reality stars, novelty singers and wannabes like Tila Tequila, Carrie Prejean and the Kardashian sisters are not real celebrities. As such, you will not find anything about them on this site. They haven't done anything to prove themselves worthy of admiration, so why should we care what they're doing with their lives?
At any rate, it'll be very interesting to see whether these newest predictions of the death of celebrity culture have any merit, or whether it's just another case of wishful thinking. If you want to read more about the apparent decline in our society's celebrity obsession, click here for an excellent article published on the Sydney Morning Herald website, and feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
And it's about time too!
There's plenty of evidence to back up these new claims. According to The Daily Beast, the so-called "Britney economy" has taken a beating over the last couple of years. Now, "a typical celebrity shot sells for 31 per cent less than it did in 2007", and some are selling for much, much less than that. Major gossip rags like US Weekly have greatly reduced their photo budgets, with the aforementioned celebrity-drenched weekly magazine dropping its annual photography expenditure from US$8 million a year to less than US$5 million. Still sounds like way too much to me, but with a cut of nearly 50 per cent, these figures suggest that a major societal shift is underway.
So long, ladies.
Of course, predictions like these have been made before, and as with all cultural evolutions you never actually know when they'll happen until after the fact.... but it seems to me like now is an ideal time for change. There are so many more pressing issues to be pondered than whether Kristen and Rob have become an item, or if Jennifer Aniston will ever find true love. Our economy is shaky, the environment is in tatters and nearly a decade into the 21st century we're still seeing racism, sexism and homophobia played out in the media on a daily basis. Isn't it time we started to consider what really matters?
Are they together? Do we even care?
Now, I know what you're thinking: this blog is just a perpetuation of celebrity culture, isn't it? And you'd be right, to an extent. Hollywood stars do interest me, but only because they're what I consider to be "real" celebrities; people worthy of admiration and respect for their undeniable talent. Reality stars, novelty singers and wannabes like Tila Tequila, Carrie Prejean and the Kardashian sisters are not real celebrities. As such, you will not find anything about them on this site. They haven't done anything to prove themselves worthy of admiration, so why should we care what they're doing with their lives?
That's not a star.
At any rate, it'll be very interesting to see whether these newest predictions of the death of celebrity culture have any merit, or whether it's just another case of wishful thinking. If you want to read more about the apparent decline in our society's celebrity obsession, click here for an excellent article published on the Sydney Morning Herald website, and feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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