Celebrity & Fame — Are they the same?
American artist Andy Warhol once said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” In an era of reality TV and YouTube, it appears that his prediction has come true (National Public Radio, 2008). But what happens when your 15 minutes is over?
There are many people in the world that are well-known but why is one considered a celebrity whilst the other is thought of famous, or are they the same thing?
Fame has changed so much over the years. At one time a famous person would be thought of as a historical figure, royalty or maybe one of the big film stars from Hollywood. Nowadays, there are still many people who are famous but who aren’t what we would call celebrities. The reason for this could be that they are well-known but their lives are just not interesting enough. They don’t have an eye catching persona.
So, if someone is to be classed as a celebrity, is it because of the way they portray themselves? Do some celebrities generate their own fame and revel in the attention given to them by the mass media?
It appears that there may be two contrasting types of celebrities. There are the people with genuine talents, usually singers or musicians, sporting heroes, actors or film stars.
Then we have the ‘Famous for being Famous’ celebrities. “There are many celebrities who have no skills, no talent and are actually value-less in terms of giving the public anything other than sensation. These kinds of celebrities are called ‘celetoids’ — from celebrity and tabloid” (Sigee, 2020). Reality shows such as Big Brother and Love Island can escalate someone to massive fame very quickly. These programs tend to feature mostly young people who strive to be famous. A poll taken of 1000 teenagers shows “More than half of teenagers do not want a career, they just want to be famous” (Kershaw, 2010).
What is interesting is ‘why do they aspire to this’? Perhaps it is associated with their character: self-obsessed, vain and egotistical. Or it could be the thought of being wealthy. According to Orville Brim (2009a)”, This has come out of the basic human need for acceptance and approval and when this need is not fulfilled because of rejection by parents, or adolescent peer groups, a basic insecurity develops and emerges as the fame motive”.
I suppose one way to know if someone is really famous is if they are lucky enough to have a life-like, wax model made of themselves and displayed in Madame Tussauds Museum. In 2010 a model of Cheryl Cole was unveiled, only to be removed nine years later because its curators reportedly believe she is “no longer relevant” (Stolworthy, 2019). Similarly, the pop band One Direction’s model was revealed in 2013 and then removed in 2020 with the Museum quoting that it ‘’reacts to the celebrity landscape’’ (Wynne, 2020).
An interesting read is “How Does it Feel Not to Be Famous Anymore?”, an article featuring interviews with several American Actors who were widely recognized years ago but are no longer popular (How Does it Feel Not to be Famous Anymore?, 2013). Actors discussed their feelings about losing their fame and the reasons why. Becoming typecast or getting older, no longer interesting and new celebrities emerging. This led them to feel worthless and unable to cope, suffer mental health problems and turn to drugs and alcohol. “To have had fame, even very minor fame, and to have lost it, got older and maybe put on a little weight is a kind of living death” (Nicholls, 2010).
This perhaps answers the question Celebrity & Fame — Are they the same? It appears to be that celebrities are of the moment, whilst fame lasts a lifetime.
Reference List
Brim, O. (2009a) Look at Me!: The Fame Motive from Childhood to Death. Michigan, University of Michigan Press
How Does It Feel Not to Be Famous Anymore?” (2013). Available at URL: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/how-does-it-feel-not-to-be-famous-anymore/1774766.html (Accessed 24 November 2020).
Kershaw, A.(2010) ‘Fame the career choice for half of 16 year olds’. Independent, 17 February. Available at URL: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/fame-the-career-choice-for-half-of-16-year-olds-1902338.html (Accessed 24 November 2020)
Michigan Publishing, (2009b) Look at Me!: The Fame Motive from Childhood to Death. Michigan, University of Michigan Press
National Public Radio (2008) Warhol Was Right About ’15 Minutes Of Fame’. Available at URL: Warhol Was Right About ’15 Minutes Of Fame’ : NPR (Accessed 24 November 2020).
Nicholls, D. (2010) One Day. Great Britain, Hodden & Stoughton
Paparazzi pics (2013) Paparazzi Pics. Available at URL :https://creoleindc.typepad.com/rantings_of_a_creole_prin/2013/08/paparazzi-pics.html (Accessed: 18 November 2020)
Sigee, R. (July 2020) Is the Age of the Celebrity Over? Available at https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200724-how-the-world-turned-on-celebrities (Accessed 24 November 2020)
SpyMedia (2015) 2016 Walk of Fames Stars List. Available at URL: http://spyhollywood.com/2016-walk-of-fame-list-announced/ (Accessed: 19 November 2020)
Stolworthy, J. (2019) ’Cheryl waxwork removed from Madame Tussauds because she’s no longer relevant’. The Independent, 17 August. Available at URL:https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/cheryl-madame-tussauds-cole-london-waxwork-liam-payne-one-direction-girls-aloud-x-factor-a9063391.html
Wynne, A. (2020)’One Direction’s waxworks are removed from Madame Tussauds after seven years on display… four years on from the band’s breakup’. Mail Online,9 September. Available at URL: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8712001/One-Directions-waxworks-removed-Madame-Tussauds-seven-years-display.html
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