http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/opinion/inequality-and-the-modern-culture-of-celebrity.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0
Consider the author's tone, structure of the article, validity of evidence, persuasive techniques, and your personal reaction.
2. Please add an intelligent comment (minimum 5 sentences) in response to the linked articles from The New York Times. Be sure to use a minimum of one quote in your response.
3. Optional: Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)
*Use only your first name, last initial and class period.
As George Packer stated in this New York Times article, "The celebrity monuments of our age have grown so huge that they dwarf the aspirations of ordinary people, who are asked to yield their dreams to gods..." I can't help but agree with Packer. In so many cases do celebrities get put on a higher pedestal. When one celebrity commits suicide like Cory Monteith, its tragic or when one celebrity is one drugs like Lindsay Lohan, its tragic, but when someone does it in everyday life no one cares. No one cares to talk to teenagers about suicide, and now they're just getting started on drugs. Suicide occurs everyday. Its not just the celebrities that we should mourn, but we should mourn every victim of suicide. These victims will never get to tell us what drove them off the cliff. I just feel like in so many ways a pretty face determines someones status. Why do teenage girls like Justin Bieber or Cody Simpson, cause they're attractive. People who get the celebrity status are gorgeous, skinny, and they seem to have their life put together. So many girls fall victims to eating disorders trying to look as gorgeous as Megan Fox, or Ariana Grande. Girls fall victims to bulimia and so many other tragic disorders and they aren't satisfied until their literally skin and bones. The media also helps with this. The media heightens everything. I feel bad for celebrities constantly being trailed and hounded by the press, but at the same time they should know about the press when they get into the spotlight. I think in a lot of ways people forget that celebrities are humans and are perfectly capable of making a mistake or making wrong choices. Celebrities are role models, so is it so hard to see that twerking went beserk cause people do look up to Miley Cyrus? Then there are also good role models like innovators such as Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook, and Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft. These inspire kids. All in all celebrities aren't bad, all I'm saying is that in a lot of ways people treat celebrities like the higher power in America where we are supposedly "equal". The problem is that normal people don't have the pedestal.
ReplyDeleteMiranda S. Period 6
"The person evolves into a persona, then a brand, then an empire, with the business imperative of grow or die — a process of expansion and commodification that transgresses boundaries by substituting celebrity for institutions." Today's celebrities are not like they used to be. During the 20's celebrities started to show up, either they were moviestars or sportsheroes. The press started to become more like the one we have today, and we got to know them. Back then they were supposed to make a good role model and be what they really were like. However, in todays society this has changed. In the quote George Parker says that they grow around what people want them to be, because they make money this way. Its understandable, but kind of stupid as well. "They are as intimate as they are grand, and they offer themselves for worship by ordinary people searching for a suitable object of devotion. But in times of widespread opportunity, the distance between gods and mortals closes, the monuments shrink closer to human size and the centrality of celebrities in the culture recedes." Back then celebrities were different, but that was also another time. We do not have the same social rules as them, and we do not live under the same circumstances. Whatever they were like, it seemed like a more "fuzz" around what they really were, and I think that sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteChristian F
period 6
Celebrities in the 20's are completely different than now. Now as days celebrities are just a norm but back then with the war celebrities were huge. The article states, "generation’s faith in man shaken by World War I, celebrities were the new household gods." Celebrities took people's minds off the war and made people have hope for something better. What we seem to forget is that celebrities are people too. Too often the media tries to depict them of being either these awful people or these heros.
ReplyDeleteTeagan
In today’s world, celebrities represent something everyone wants to achieve, but is often unachievable. Through stories of celebrities, their backgrounds and their everyday life, people feel connected to them. Celebrities, or at least who people believe them and idolize them to be, are often fake. The average person has no more connection to them than any other corporate enterprise, which is essentially what they have turned into. “The person evolves into a persona, then a brand, then an empire, with the business imperative of grow or die — a process of expansion and commodification that transgresses boundaries by substituting celebrity for institutions.” This translucently artificial part of society consumes people. Celebrities have become an obsession in our society, interestingly similar to the mindset in the 20’s. “As mindless diversions from a sluggish economy and chronic malaise, the new aristocrats play a useful role. But their advent suggests that, after decades of widening income gaps, unequal distributions of opportunity and reward, and corroding public institutions, we have gone back to Gatsby’s time — or something far more perverse.” Like many aspects of our society, the current age mirrors many events during the 20’s to 40’s. People have taken a vacation from their problems and dived into the glamorous lives of celebrities through their whereabouts and problems. The solution is as clear as the problem: if Americans stopped worshiping people who represent everything that’s caused such inequality and focused on making things better, celebrities would not have the domination their current status has over the average person.
ReplyDeleteCaitie Perricone
Period 6
Michael Caminear Period 6
ReplyDeleteCelebrities have always played an interesting role in our society. They are role models, figures of interest, and bastions of fame and popularity. They seem to be something that someone aspires to be: a person with wealth significant acclaim for their work. At the same time, however, celebrities are pinned with an enormous amount of pressure. The media and paparazzi is always around them trying to get the latest scoop on what they did. One little slip up with virtually anything could leave their reputations tarnished. Going along with this, the article makes some very interesting points in regards to the fact that celebrities can get away with doing certain things that other, normal people wouldn't be able to. The article even states, "These new celebrities...live by the hacker’s code: ask forgiveness, not permission." This basically means that celebrities can do whatever they want as long as they apologize for it and acknowledge their wrongdoing(s). This is not only unfair, but it is completely illogical because, most of the time, people aren't sincere in their "apologies" to society. In a way, some people use their popularity as a way to side step the law. In total, I think even though celebrities have a great deal of pressure put on them, I also believe that this does not permit them to bad things and always expect forgiveness.
Jackson Mariotti
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
Celebrities have been around for a long time. In this era , it is hard to imagine life without celebrities. Every day you can hear someone discussing the personal lives of actors, singers, and any other famous person. Yet, it was not always that way. Before the 20s, celebrities were nonexistent. Then during the Gatsby Age, they came into the public view. Celebrities like Joe DiMaggio and Henry Fonda were famous in the 20s, but it was a different type of fame than today. Today, people recieve much more attention and are the main event. George Packer, of the New York Times, writes that the celebrities of our age are "the ultimate costume ball, far more exclusive and decadent than even the most potent magnates of Hollywood’s studio era could have dreamed up". Honestly, celebrities have exploded up on a new scene. I think we care too much about their personal lives, it makes it hard for them to live.
I think the word "celebrity" encompasses too broad of a spectrum of people to say that all celebrities possess some kind of level of popularity or power that can't be achieved by "ordinary people" in their dreams. You can't compare a professional athlete's success with Martha Stewart. The two scenarios are just too different. "We have celebrity bankers (Jamie Dimon), computer engineers (Sergey Brin), real estate developers/conspiracy theorists (Donald J. Trump), media executives (Arianna Huffington), journalists (Anderson Cooper), mayors (Cory A. Booker), economists (Jeffrey D. Sachs), biologists (J. Craig Venter) and chefs (Mario Batali)." These people aren't celebrities because of what they do, the are celebrities because they had chances at fortune via fame and they took it. So much of this comes down to money. Furthermore, the only reason anybody is achieving so many things in a lifetime as a celebrity is because of how they are fueled by us "normal people." What makes it worse that that a lot of people I've seen put celebrities on a high pedestal just because they're celebrities. I recall once a video of some random guy in a mall saying he was in actor in one of the Hunger Games movies. He had dozens of people asking for pictures and his autograph without having anything to do with the movie! People weren't intrigued by his ability to act, they loved that he was "famous". I for one, hold many small time Youtube "celebrities" to a higher standard than movie stars or athletes. The whole idea of celebrities receiving too much praise is the fault of the people as a whole.
ReplyDeleteSomething slightly unrelated that I thought I'd mention anyway is how celebrities act towards fans. Sure, some of them are grateful people, but I have to say I'm not surprised by other celebrities' seemingly rude attitude towards fans. People have to understand that even if you watch every single one of some actor's movies/shows, and feel like you know them, you're just another face in the crowd.
Jackson Mariotti
DeleteI loved your comment about people liking people for just being famous. That is how our society is now. This makes me think of the Kardashians. They are a household name, and they do not even do anything. It amazes me how they can have no talents and become so famous. It is the new era of celebrities, being famous for being famous.
In the 1920s, celebrities were becoming more and more numerous. Celebrities at that time were often models of ideal lives, rich, intelligent, talented people that the rest of the country wanted to be like. Now, some people seem to focus more on celebrities to forget about their own lives. "They loom larger in times like now, when inequality is soaring and trust in institutions — governments, corporations, schools, the press — is falling." When people lose faith in the government and society, and their own lives are falling apart, celebrities seem to have it all together - to be perfect. But more and more we're seeing how NOT perfect our celebrities are, and that they probably aren't the best people to model our lives on. And the fact that we know so much about their lives is odd, too. People should spend less time focusing on every detail of a celebrity's life, and instead focus on their lives and society as it is. Jessica L. Period 6
ReplyDeleteCelebrities in the 1920s were people who were emulated for their extravagant lifestyles, wealth, or talent. Celebrities seem to be fairly similar nowadays. However, today people tend to obsess more over the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Social media enables us to gain access to their day to day lives and more specific details about them. The author of the article said, "The person evolves into a persona, then a brand, then an empire, with the business imperative of grow or die — a process of expansion and commodification that transgresses boundaries by substituting celebrity for institutions." This quote embodies the biggest change in who celebrities are and what they stand for today compared to in the 1920s. I believe that the obsession with celebrities in our generation is toxic to the image we have of ourselves and others.
ReplyDeleteCassidy M.
Period 6
The 1920's established the beginning celebrities way. We started looking at them as idols. During the Gatsby Age they became a public view and people were intrigued. This is still around in today's society. We after look up to these celebrities.The article said,"The obsession with celebrities goes far beyond supermarket tabloids, gossip Web sites and reality TV. It obliterates old distinctions between high and low culture, serious and trivial endeavors, profit making and philanthropy, leading to the phenomenon of being famous for being famous." The urge top follow celebrities have increased since the 1920's. Now we have technology that makes it easier. We have gossip sites online that makes keeping up with the celebrities life style more possible. I feel that celebrities inst always a good thing. Especially because some aren't famous for good things.
ReplyDeleteRachel C per 6
Today, celebrities are our main source for entertainment, gossip, and envy. They're in the spotlight at all times, whether it be in magazines, on tv, or in ads sprawled along our highways. To quote the article, "Our age is lousy with celebrities. They can be found in every sector of society, including ones that seem less than glamorous." However, it was not always this way. Before the 1920's, celebrities were basically nonexistent. There were a few well known people, but no celebrities. When the 1920's roll around, celebrities became a thing, and came into the eye of the public. And this may not be a good thing. People today get too rapped up in celebrities lives, and act as if its their own.
ReplyDeleteAidan Deane
Per 6
Today, celebrities are a little different then from what they were in the 1920's. Before the 20's there was no such thing as a celebrity, there would rarely be someone that everybody would know or would be talking about, then the 20's came and as did celebrities. In the 20's celebrities were successful and intelligent individuals that were looked up to and could be used as role models. Nowadays, with all the media, people can become obsessed with a celebrities life (and usually they're far from a role model) "They are as intimate as they are grand, and they offer themselves for worship by ordinary people searching for a suitable object of devotion." In my opinion celebrities don't really deserve all the spotlight that they obtain, unless they actually did achieve something like some sort of an award. Celebrities should stay as role models, and the media should stop putting news out about people who clearly aren't like the Kardashians.
ReplyDeleteAodhan Dunn
Period 6
Celebrities of the 1920's, I think, set the ideal for how most people wanted to live. They were rich and seemingly carefree, throwing extravagant parties and traveling all around. But I also think the basis of what made you a celebrity was different back the. Today celebrities are generally famous actors and actresses or singers and bands. While in the 1920's, sure those people were celebrities, but a celebrity also seemed to be the richest people in a town like Gatsby was, who lived in a grand house and threw parties and just generally made their wealth known. I think the way celebrities are viewed today is a bit different from back then because yes people still do look at their lives and wish they could live in such a carefree and extravagant way. But then there are people who view them not as having the ideal 21'st century lifestyle in the way that they don't really have any privacy or how many of them seem to go down the wrong roads. I think that today's celebrities are still idolized like those of the 1920's but many more people are content with living a much less glamorous life.
ReplyDeleteLeah B Period 6
There comes a point where some people become so involved in a certain idea of belief that they can criticize every aspect of it, whether good or bad. This article makes that very blatant when it states "Instead of robust public education, we have Mr. Zuckerberg’s “rescue” of Newark’s schools. Instead of a vibrant literary culture, we have Oprah’s book club. Instead of investments in public health, we have the Gates Foundation. Celebrities either buy institutions, or “disrupt” them." Maybe it;s just me but I don't feel disrupted by a celebrity buying the name to an organization or starting one for that matter. I don't care if Bill Gates wants to name a foundation after himself. If he gives money to a cause then that's more then enough to ask for. I seriously don't understand why some people criticize people just because they are famous. They are still people and they have done a lot more then most people have done to help their causes.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with celebrities. I have no problem with the people who decide to become their fans. Personally, I think that the spectrum of celebrities has grown to be a little bit larger then necessary but then again, as the spectrum grows so does the population. I just think that the author of this story may have taken things a little bit to the extreme.
Shoshanna Longo
Period 7
*period 6, sorry.
DeleteAhmad Zaidi
ReplyDeletePeriod6
This article explains how today people like to follow celebrity and look at them as role models. But this article also mentions that we just don't follow them but instead we follow the blindly thinking they are perfect in anyway. The trend of celebrities started in 1920s as we have learned and ever since then they have been the center of our culture and even if they are irresponsible, they are still followed. This is a quote in the article “Jay-Z’s history as a crack dealer isn’t just a hard-luck story — it’s celebrated by fans (and not least himself) as an early sign of hustle and smarts. " This shows how even though celebrities do bad things but they are still celebrated.
Celebrities play a big role in our society weather they are singers, actors, politicians, athletes or anyone who is well known by many. They are worshiped, praised, and ridiculed which puts a lot of pressure on the individual to remain on top and keep a good image."The person evolves into a persona, then a brand, then an empire, with the business imperative of grow or die — a process of expansion and commodification that transgresses boundaries by substituting celebrity for institutions." Being in the spot light can have a negative impact on celebrities as well. We've seen it time and again with child actors who become very famous at a very young age and spiral out of control unable to handle their fame and fortune. One thing about celebrity worship that I find interesting is the type of people who are glorified in America vs elsewhere in the world. In places such as China where education and hard work are the staples of society, those who make the cut as celebrities are Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and other wildly successful businessmen. While here in America Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and One Direction have the larger fan bases. Celebrity worship has definally evolved into a large part of American society and culture.
ReplyDeleteHannah Beatty
Since the 20's, celebrities are household names, that have cult-like followings. With the Internet and all of its uses being more deeply investigated, YouTube is becoming a huge source of Fame for many people. People called YouTubers have millions of subscribers and accumulate hundreds of thousands of views in just a few days. This is a very different kind of celebrity than we are used to, but it is recognized in this article, as an instance where there is equal opportunity for fame. "But in times of widespread opportunity, the distance between gods and mortals closes, the monuments shrink closer to human size and the centrality of celebrities in the culture recedes" I thought that was a perfect way to summarize the internet-ization of fame. While unattainably beautiful and talented people like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt still reign supreme, there is a trend for more relatable, relaxed celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence. What makes people listen and devote their time to is the whole purpose of celebrities, and as it goes on, I think we will see that those who are more similar to us will be the ones who are most successful in their task whether that is selling movie tickets or getting us to donate to a charity.
ReplyDeleteEmma O per.6
Emma P*
Delete