This particular post has been swimming around in my head for a long time now.... notes have been written, discarded, rewritten and reworded many times. My writings on this, or any other subject, are not necessarily penned didactically, so please don't think I'm trying to preach to you. If you don't like what I have to say, feel free to comment, or just stop reading!
I really dislike the word "celebrity". To me, the word invokes the idea of a person who has become famous for doing SFA; the Paris Hiltons of this world.... famous literally for being famous (or often for making a tragically boring sex tape, coming from a famous family, being in Big Brother or any other ridiculous "reality" TV Show, spread eagled across the third page of one of our wonderful newspapers etc). I abhor everything that "celebrity" stands for but I am using the word in this post to emphasise the lunacy and absolute impotence of the situation I'm talking about. I will continue to use inverted commas around the word "celebrity", not because I am suggesting that these people don't exist, but because the word itself is a paradox, and I don't want it to be confused with my use of the term 'famous people' - by which I mean musicians/artists etc. who have genuinely worked tirelessly, with drive and determination to be able to do what they love to do and be able to make a living from it.
The subject of “celebrities” and the relationship between 'us and them' has always intrigued me. I've had an insatiable passion for music for as long as I can remember and I would have actively begun paying attention to the careers of various musicians, writers and artists whose work I enjoyed and found inspiring from quite a young age. I grew up loving art, playing music and, generally being the nerdy girl who liked to read and learn, which meant that I was mostly influenced by different famous people to the majority of my peers. I didn't understand the Jackie magazine dreamboats like Ryan Giggs or East 17. This is not to say I didn't have my own dreamboats decorating my walls, though they were a little scruffier round the edges, had eyes with that something behind them (there I go again with the eyes!!) and aesthetically pleasing as they may have been, they also infused my bedroom with a delightful air of handsome, yet inspirational thought. With my walls covered in musicians faces and handwritten lyrics, paintings, sketches and photographs, LP Covers, illustrations and quotes from books I was reading, and prints from some of the artists I loved like Quentin Blake, Frida Kahlo, Tim Burton and any number of Pre-Raphaelite painters. My room, which was my refuge to create as freely as I cared to, was so full of inspiration, I often felt as if I had my own nine muses in that tiny space. But back to my classmates and their slightly different bedroom walls, which were practically laminated with layer upon layer of images of the latest, dreamiest footballers or boybands, alongside cut-out-and-keep advice taken from Kylie Minogue's latest food plan and '10 ways to tell if he likes you' lists.
I dreaded the question... Which 'one' (referring to a member of the particular boyband or the current hot footballer of the day/week) did I fancy? I just couldn't answer those questions! How can I tell you if I 'fancy' someone I've never even met? Someone who's also from a band whose music I've either never heard or intensely dislike, who I know absolutely nothing about and who enhances my life in absolutely no way whatsoever? Similarly.... I don't watch football, nor have I met this guy... I have no idea or interest in how said footballer plays or if he has any redeemable qualities whatsoever so again, how could I possibly 'fancy' him? If you want to show me photos of each of these people I'll gladly tell you who I find easiest on the eye, but 'fancying' someone is a whole different kettle of fish! I need a little more substance than that. If I am going to give anyone, famous or not, my admiration, they are going to have to work for it. I need to feel like the things I choose to assimilate into my mind allow me to express myself creatively in some way. If someone can inspire me, and therefore help me to release some of my own need to creatively spawn, then they will earn my respect. We are exposed to so much vapid bullshit, all day, every day, which we simply can't avoid, so why on earth would I waste my 'free from bullshit' time adoring a "celebrity" or anyone else in the public eye purely based on how they look or because my friend or someone on Top of the Pops says he/she is 'hot'? That just makes absolutely no sense to me. Life is short and real “free” time is rare, so "celebrity" wise, I believe in getting your money's worth. I don't see the point in giving anyone my time/money/respect if I'm not getting something in return. Self-serving in a way I suppose, and I can live with that. But respect and admiration do not equate to worship, and this is the point that really piques my interest. When I talk about 'The Cult Of Celebrity' I'm not talking about having respect or genuine appreciation for someone's work. I admire a huge amount of people, famous, not famous and infamous! And of course, as far as I'm aware, there's nothing wrong with that. And I'm not even talking about teenage crushes that stay just that... harmless and ultimately, just a bit of fun (though confusingly pointless!). I'm talking about the creepy, obsessive, fanatical veneration of celebrities/pop stars/footballers etc that's so prevalent in our modern lives.
I am lucky enough to have met a lot of the musicians/artists I really admire and in general, it's been an absolute pleasure, so I hope that nothing I write here will cause any offence. But what's led me to actually write these words right now is something that happened at a gig I was at recently..... The musician in question was holding a 'meet and greet' after the show and being one who I have huge respect for, I decided I'd go and say hello. A small queue had formed and as always, the majority of people were there for the same reason I was... to shake the hand of a man whose music they loved and thank him for a great night out. No problems there. That is until the girl just ahead of me in the queue reached the object of her desire. This girl was no teeny-bopper, seemed quite lucid and gave no indication that she was going to behave like this until the rest of the queue and I (and I'm sure the slightly startled musician!) were treated to her odd display of love for him. This late 20s/early 30s girl, with all faculties in seemingly working order, proceeded to fling herself at the poor guy and actually LICKED his face from chin to forehead. Now, it's not my place to be judgemental... it's none of my business.... he could absolutely love having his face licked and the fact that this girl's boyfriend was taking photos of the whole thing might not be half as creepy as it seems to me, but something inside me, maybe you'll think it's prudish or old-fashioned in some way, thinks that licking a total stranger's face without invitation crosses a line. (Not to mention the fact that said musician had just played a two hour set under hot theatre lights and was hardly at his freshest... is that a face you want to lick, lovely and all as he is, or am I just being weird here?) I'm not attacking this girl in particular. The only judgement I'm making is on her behaviour. It's purely to illustrate the kind of madness I'm talking about. I'm sure she's a lovely person.... the very fact that she was at that show proves that she has good taste and I honestly mean no disrespect to her. But I do find her behaviour really baffling. So what is it that makes people behave so insanely when it comes to "celebrities"? Why do some people feel the need to deify other people? When you consider just how bizarre this phenomenon is and the behaviour it has induced in some of us, the subject cannot fail to fascinate.
So where did all this begin? Where does this astonishing compulsion to put famous people on pedestals to be worshipped and adored in such a seemingly unnatural way originate? I don't necessarily believe that it is an unnatural phenomenon, though it is most certainly an outdated and what should be an obsolete one. The phenomenon of idolising another human being probably dates back thousands of years, to a time when we lived in a completely different type of society, made up of tribes and packs, where having a leader, the strongest and most powerful of said pack, and the one who could provide the best level of 'public service', was absolutely necessary for the survival of everyone. That's just human history and logic.
Perhaps a modicum of this instinctive trait which has been so ingrained into our DNA remains, and has now been relegated to an entirely unsuitable modern day purpose. Maybe we genuinely have an inherent need to idolise; to follow another human being we perceive to be superior to us.... who we subconsciously believe will guide us and show us the way to safety, shelter and our next meal. Needless to say, if such a natural, DNA based need does exist, it must purely be an evolutionary leftover that hasn't quite been expunged yet. The fact that the vast majority of the population can function perfectly normally without the need to deify other humans proves that the gene holding this strange desire for outside intellectual reinforcement is utterly useless. So if we assume for now that there is some biological, explainable reason for our misplaced exaltation of “celebrities”, while also acknowledging that the defunct hierarchical pack society our ancestors lived in bears no resemblance to at least most of our modern day cultures, then we must be able to see the huge chasm between the two things and realise that to revere another person to such high degrees is extremely dangerous and dysfunctional. And yet, the behaviour continues, and is rampantly encouraged.
I am of course capable of somewhat understanding the notion of being 'starstruck'. I can accept that the obsession with "celebrity" exists and that people do feel the need to raise these individuals up, far beyond the stature they should have. But what I have a huge problem with, is the idea that so many of us seem to think it's OK to glorify “celebrities” to such an extent that they truly believe them to be superior... a better class of person, one with something that bit better than the rest of us, one who we should all strive to be.... the epitome of human perfection. If this is something that you truly believe, if you assign almost godlike qualities to another human being, then of course you would be anxious and tongue-tied should you ever be graced to be in their presence. This type of spurious and downright scary idolisation of another person leads to people acting in ways they would never normally act. It's as if giving another person an almost supernatural grandeur removes some of your own ability to remain rational and humane, not to mention denying your own self worth. I'm afraid no matter what way you word it, designating one person as being of a higher calibre than another is wrong, so yes, while I can understand the concept of being 'starstruck' it is about as foreign a feeling to me as walking on the surface of Mars.
Maybe at this point, when we are awaiting the birth of the 7 billionth human being, our need to find a “celebrity” or someone in the public eye that we can relate to, gives us a sense of identity that we can't find in our own over-populated, swarming, communities. Surely that can't be an unhealthy thing? I'm afraid I can't agree with that either. We don't need to relate to someone in the public eye to the point where we're licking their faces, or bursting into tears and screaming should we come face to face with them.
Using one of the biggest popstars of the moment as an example, Lady Gaga, and briefly looking at her vast and incredibly intense army of fans, I can't help feeling that that's all gone a little too far. Lady Gaga refers to herself as 'Mother Monster', her fans being 'Little Monsters'. Which is all well and good for her legion who feel the need for such an identity... if Lady Gaga wants to label them and they're pleased with that label, then go right ahead, but I wonder what will happen on the day they wake up and discover the the title 'Little Monster' actually bears little to no resemblance or relevance to their actual lives, and they need to start trying to find their OWN identity, as opposed to one given to them by a pop star. I know she's spoken out many times against bullying and encouraged young people to believe in themselves etc., which is great, but if she wants to encourage young people to find their own niche, why insist on dressing like a hooker and singing about getting shit-faced and bluffing with her muffin? Personally, I don't find that hugely empowering (I refer back to my previous blog post about prejudice and homophobia, and how the modern prevalence for political correctness has helped a lot of people gain a lot of public kudos, while not really having much to back it up with) and it reminds me that the reason we are constantly bombarded with her interestingly quirky and very p.c. image on our screens and in the press is purely for increasing her concert ticket/itunes/dvd sales. She's an extremely talented and innovative girl, though with her musical talent, I would have expected a little more quality than what I've heard from her albums. The potential is there for her to make great music. Just don't try to tell me that she's the mystical leader the world has been waiting for to free it from the shackles of bigotry and shame, when all she appears to want to do is get as much coverage as she can by wearing foodstuffs and telling her audiences they can be whatever they want to be. Yes, Gaga, I know I was 'born this way'. Thanks. You'll have to do a little better than that to get me to part with my cash.
To be continued...
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