History of Celebrity in the United States
Great Britain has Hundreds of years on U.S.history but America has the star power that makes it seem like it has been working on it even before Great Britain was formed. America has been the World’s number one producer of Celebrity and has kept it this way from the beginning.
Celebrity in America first begun in the colonies around the 1600’s. Hero’s from the revolution with England were celebrated and revered. George Washington was the 1st major celebrity in America due to his help to win independence as well as presidency. Along with Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams and others like them were known in the 1st settled colonies. As time passes certain circles gave way to local legends. Priests were local celebrities as well as writers and merchants. As time went on, politicians seemed like the only national celebrities even well into the 19th century after the civil war but at the start of the 20th century that all changed.
The 16th century through the 19th century maintained a steady progression of celebrities made up of Generals, politicians, Royalty from England, even inventors such as George Washington Carver. Still, the 20th century was about to give way to a boom to artist that were going to take over the newly formed celebrity culture that was growing in the US. Music became broadcast over the airwaves around the country. Benny Goodman was the first big artist to hit the airwaves than Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack turned casual public curiosity into national obsession.
The next big wave was out of Hollywood, California. The silent pictures had toped radio in the 1920’s and Character like Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino were the first to get Bodyguards to keep the crowd away.
With the rise of William Randolph Hurst’s ‘Yellow Journalism’ American celebrities in the entertainment industry were getting all the press they needed to make a lifestyle out of it. They had become the new leaders of the western world. A unknown New York socialite asked Babe Ruth at a party after the World Series what he though of his salary being twice as high as the presidents in which he replied ‘ why not. I had a hell of a better year than he did..’’And through the 1940’s and 1950’s every athlete, actor, and musician had a better year than whoever was running the country at the time.
Out of nowhere the 60’s took its part in the textbooks as the ‘wildest decade the world had ever known’ () and a new category of celebrity took its toll.
Colour TV’s were now found in every home. ‘’I Love Lucy’’ became the national television show on Friday nights. Musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and the Beach Boys were starting a new music phenomenon that teenagers worshiped and parents denied. Even crossovers from the UK like the Beetles and The Who were cashing in their Manchester Stadium ticket sales for Madison Square Gardens sold out sales. At that point entering the 70’s and 80’s anyone bringing an organic flavour to the radios, newspapers, and television were turned into a celebrity.
Case Study: Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson (born November 11, 1934) was convicted of ‘conspiracy to commit the murder of Sharon Tate and four friends.’(www.brainyencyclopedia.com). He moved to Los Angeles and gained a group of followers referred to as ‘the family’ which became obsessed with songs off the Beetles White Album which got him convinced of Race Wars and Nuclear Attacks then on August 9th, 1969 Manson and four followers killed Sharon Tate along with four of her friends then the next day murdered a wealthy LA couple.
During the trial, the media became entrenched in letting the public into every detail, which lead to a national obsession with Charles Manson leading to religious hysteria and hate crimes around the US.
As the century was coming to a close, so did the guidelines for celebrity status. Actors, Musicians, and athletes started to appeal to every generation with only a two week to a month spotlight exchange onto a politician, writer, or anyone else that was doing something of headline potential. For instance, in 1994 Susan Smith made tabloid headlines due to her murdering her two baby sons. This media attention only lasted a matter of days before going back to its original coverage of actors and musicians.
Today
In today’s United States, celebrity has overall been reduced to regulars on Reality Television (MTV’s Real World, ABC’s the Bachlor, etc.), Actors (television, film), Musicians, and athletes. There has certainly been a hierchy in the new roman empire of America.
The ‘A’ list consists of Movie stars, MVP athletes, and pop musicians. These actors/actresses demand 20 million a picture (Brad Pitt/Julia Roberts), Athletes get hundreds of millions in shoe deals (18-year old LeBron James), and A List musicians go on tour that regularly sell out stadiums (Justin Timberlake)
The ‘B List’ consists of different types of Actors such as Television stars, Authors (Tom Clancy), and pro athletes from sports like Football and Golf. These celebrities show up weekly and make millions but not to a cinema caliber. The ‘’C List’’ is the ‘’15-minutes or less’’ group such as one-time reality T.V. stars (Survivor), models, and everyone else who is slightly recognizable.
Economics
The economic factor of celebrities and celebrity obsession does not just have to do money involved with celebrities. It has to do with many strategies and situations that affect the public’s interest, supply and demand, and survival skills of each generation’s celebrity. There are routines and rules that the entertainment industry has to follow in order to gain the maximum payout with any kind of celebrity. For instance, a form of these strategies is when newspapers have to come up with the most news about politicians around election time. The economics of celebrity has changed several if not many times over the history of the United Kingdom and the United States but now it seems celebrities and the celebrity industry has found a perment way to maximize there profits and keep themselves in an inelastic demand (1).
Supply and Demand
In the 21st century, supply usually follows demand in the celebrity industry. The public demands a certain amount out of their chosen celebrities than in turn celebrities and the company supply them with their needs but only enough to temporarily fill the order so that the public keeps on coming back for more. This is the basis for the economic draw to celebrities. For example, in 1992, the American sitcom ‘Mad About You’ starring Paul Raiser and Helen Hunt premiered and received rave reviews from the public. Still, the demand for Reiser and Hunt as people were higher than what was actually being supplied, seeing them once a week on television. NBC took notice of this through the Neilson ratings and magazine gossip and decided that in order to gain the most viewers they had to keep the public informed with the two stars on a more personal level. Magazines and newspapers started printing stories about the two stars personal lives. With this, the public’s opportunity cost of watching the show at that point was higher than if they weren’t watching the show. NBC continued to invest money into the stars until their charts showed that the public’s opportunity cost (2) would be greater to watch the show than to not watch the show if they knew less about the stars. Around 1997, NBC started investing their money into other shows popularity which kept ‘Mad About you’ at a balanced elasticity because the viewers were drawn to the mystique of not knowing so much about Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt.
Spending and Profit
Billions of dollars each year are pumped in and out of the western celebrity industry to ensure a healthy cult following with anything involving today’s celebrities from magazines to action figures. Still, the one economic rule that every celebrity or wannabe in the industry abides by is ‘‘spend money to make money’’( up this on the web.com).
This is not a new strategy, spending money to keep themselves in the tabloids and in the minds of the public. Celebrities spend millions of dollars each year of their own investment as well as corporations’ funds to finance their style, houses, cars, and trips to make their lives more glamorous than the normal person. With this they are in magazines such as entertainment, Glamour, OK! Heat, and also shows like MTV CRIBS and I’m a celebrity… get me out of here. With these articles and photographs they are making back what they spent and them some. The More diamonds Elizabeth Hurley purchases the more the public want to know about it. Essentially, this is where psychology and economics meet when it comes to the celebrity genre. Western culture has become obsessed with money and what better people to be fixated with then the ones who seem to have all of it.
Case Study: Katie’ Jordan’ Price
Katie Price a British Glamour model has earned over 2 million dollars in here career just for taking off her clothes. From that her picture is worth over a thousand dollars if sold to a major tabloid.
Times when needed
There are certain times either during the year or even during a decade when celebrity mania is higher than normal and the entertainment industries profit is higher due to their in demand output.
During the winter months, celebrity magazines and shows such as ‘Dez and Mel’, Entertainment Tonight, and Hard Copy grew rapidly in sales and ratings over other season’s shows such as summer or spring. The reason for this is because people are either more in doors or sluggishly despising their 9 to 5 cold days so they need something to divert their attention so they could keep going.’ What better than seeing Jordan on a boat topless to put a smile on our miserable faces’’ (maxim). Again, the entertainment industry knows this and to keep what they want strong they give it to them in different intervals. For instance, ITV based out of London has its annual’ I’m a celebrity.. Get me out of here’ in January. In February, BBC2 puts on its ‘Back to Realty’ where a series of reality stars compete for a prize. On either one of those programs the Sun and Daily Star report it through yellow journalism that the next days commuters can read it on their way to work.
Not only during winter months but during recessions and depressions cause mass hysteria over celebrities. History has concluded that during these times the most ‘legendary’ stars were produced like Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra. The issue at hand is would they be as legendary if they didn’t come at a time the public turned them into Gods? Could anyone for that matter have become legendary?
Case Study: Sea biscuit, The Race Horse
With this they could forget the troubled days and were given hope of better times to come.
Sociology
When we look at the greater scheme of this obsession, we see traces of social psychology that brings up a new area of wonder into why celebrity is so huge in the western world. Looking at history and the geographic of certain groupings of people shows that it is mainly ideas and norms each generation of society that are being passed down specifically in the United States and United Kingdom that has led to this growing cult following in our society. Our ideals and traditions today are not old enough to have any solid religious or ancient ties that move a society so’’ we need to create God’s on earth to worship’’() because of the failure of each society to not be so self-absorbed as the previous generation. The entertianment industry has found ways to profit on this social reform by creating celebrities in the place of Gods and profets showing us the best way to live our lives. And since faith is something unseeable to proof-obsessed people in western society, seeing these celebrities prosper in wealth and “happinness” gives way that this is the way to live and these are the people to learn from. This is the greater difference between eastern and western cultures and the question is posed if ‘religion is the opium of the world’ (Sigmund Freud) than what is celebrity?
Western Culture Vs. Eastern Culture
It is overtly seen that western culture such as the one created by the two main powerhouses (US/UK) that dominate all other countries is vastly different from the eastern culture powered by china, Russia, and Indonesia. Not only geographically but in their ideals. Stereotypically, western culture is based on a solid individualist foundation. The fact that anyone can be as successful as they want to be if they put work into it is the theory that drives the people to keep working and living. This is why celebrities are held in such high regard because they are the Norman Rockwell (3) painting of success. For instance, we model ourselves after celebrities so we can feel we are doing something that makes us more successful even if it is wearing a specific type of clothing our using one of their catch phrases. This is the basis for setting trends or people trying to “emultate that person by dressing or behaving like them.”(Bennentt www.findarticles.com) that companies in the entertainment industry involved with these trend setting celebrities profit on. Still, we don’t only do it with celebrities but with others around us that we see are better looking or more popular, richer than we are. In the end, the grass will always be greener on the other side.
In Eastern culture such as Asia, Russia and the Middle East, celebrity obsession is very weak. In Russia, ties to the old Marxist communist theories that we should all live equally holds many Russians back from worshipping anyone in the pop world which is why many western artist do not do concerts there.”Why don’t singers like Will Young and Justin Timberlake try to make money in Russia and the middle east by doing concerts and promotion there? Because no one out there knows there music or sees what they look like because they cant afford televisons or radios and they are worried more about staying out of poverty.”(Pascal Interview) In the Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, Libya, and Iraq where 60% of the populations practice Muslim sect lifestyles celebrity is rarely worshiped due to their astounding faith in God, which leads to only Muslim clerics and priests being the only form of celebrity. In China and Indonesia, conditions are very bad dealing with poverty, overcrowding, and political unrest that they are working 16-hour days and thinking about family and the bother of celebrity culture does not intersect with their daily lives.
When it comes down to the solid facts the wealth of each country plays a strong role in celebrity hysteria. The more money people have to buy TVs and papers and go to the movies the more it is pushed in their heads that celebrity is the ultimate opium. Countries with less money have historically turned to alternative ways of dealing with life such as God and family values.
Global Effect on the rest of the world
A golden statue of David Beckham in Asia and the rise of ‘’Bollywood’’ in India have shown that that the rest of the world cannot deny its affection for western celebrity worship. Western culture might be engulfed in it but the rest of the world looks at it with envy awake to it but trying not to pay attention. Still, underneath it all in today’s society, it tries to get into the pieces of the puzzle. They do this by sending its talent to the US and Uk. The reason for this is because having their people in the industry they feel they have a place in it and every year countries such as Italy, Japan, and India feel they have the right to take part in the gossip and entertainment of the new world. This is why there are golden statues of Beckham and why Justin Timberlake and BLUE are huge in eastern Africa. Western culture is now global culture.
Psychology
‘’I love reading about celebrities. Who’s in, who’s out….of rehab. -Graham Norton
To understand why there is such extreme celebrity hysteria today we have to look at the individual person and what brings them to become celebrities and the other end, what makes the non-celebrity crave celebrities. This is a study of the psyche that has been around for centuries and there are many aspects to look at involving vicarious behavior, desire for attention, and ego-gratification. When it comes down to it, every person living wants the world to revolve around him or her and if they cant achieve that then what better to feel close to the one that it does revolve around. The psychology of celebrity is rooted from somewhere, still, the dilemma at hand is human nature, are some born to worship and are some born to be worshiped? Or are people bred to do this ritual of God and angel, are they made this way through parts of brainwashing developed by the entertainment industry? To answer that we must look at the mind of the individual, celebrity and celebrity follower to make the best judgment of what personal issues people face that drive this obsession to what it is today.
Psychology of the Celebrity
There is a lot to be said for celebrities. They are driven, smart, beautiful, and creative to every extent to make an impact on the public like they have. Still, what makes a person become this? And when they are a celebrity what goes through their head day by day and how has their new lifestyle changed them? Studies have shown in modern psychology that from an early child hood people always crave attention. Kids with siblings are used to competing with others for attention and this is one of the reasons to want to grasp stardom. They are used to competing with siblings, then they move on to other children then teenagers then after that the rest of the public up to celebrity status. This does not just abide by young people growing up in sibling families. Only children are brought up given all the attention and when they enter school or a job competing with everyone else for attention is new to them. This leads to the only child trying hard to gain the attention they had when he or she was a child, which is where human beings are most comfortable.
Not only attention but also money is often a main cause to be come a celebrity in western culture. People growing up struggling financially work harder to become celebrities so they can own everything they wanted when they were young.Still, many celebrities today grew up having tramatic childhoods and their glamourous job and celebrity persona that lets them be someone else is means enough to enter this industy. “People, like me, have a very severe childhood and acting is a way to escape my memories and experience my character’s(memories) in the movie. Same with being a celebrity. You see and read about yourself in the news and you feel you are that person now.”-(Samantha Morton Interview. What sadie did next BBC4).
Psychology of ‘Normal people’
The psychology of normal people in our culture towards celebrities is a mixture of emotions including love, hate, envy, obsessions, and wonder. These emotions are played out in different ways toward celebrities. For instance, in terms of envy when a celebrity is getting too big the public immediately turns on them but is still willing to read all about them which is why tabliods print only about mainstream stars and why they try to create big stars like socialite Paris Hilton that they know the public would love to hate and read all about it. But when a celebrity like an actor or musician is not up to ‘pop’ standard of living and working, then the public roots for them but only takes it that far. Still, the main connection between celebrities and people is that celebrities live their lives and normal people live their lives through celebrities.“By Tracking celebrity successes and glamorous romances, we get to experience their lives vicariously.”(Brockenbrough ) This is why celebrity magazines like OK! And HEAT has the strongest sell ratio of number printed to number sold. However, people only want to live through the dramatic times of a celebrity but never the good. The reason for this is because it makes the individuals life more interesting, the drama and the excitement of what might happen next. And when people continually here about certain celebrities they feel close to them almost like a friend so when something happens to them it is almost like it is happening to the ordinary person who is reading or hearing about it. “Even if there’s no possiblilty of interacting with an idol,celebrity attachments can still affect people’s behavior and feelings about themselves,”(Boon ) A good example of this is two stories that appeared in the beginning of march one involving Prince Harry and the other involving the late Princess Diana. Prince Harry left for central Africa in February to do charity work to help kids with AIDS. The media ran stories on it when it first was discovered but then dropped the story after that only to have occasional royally allowed pictures published months later. However, recordings of Princess Diana were found and the American Network NBC aired them on Thursday, the forth of march. This sent England into a wide spread hysteria because the tape recording had Diana ‘Bashing’ her marriage to Prince Charles. This went on for two weeks before it dies down. The actions that took place in March, the living Prince doing AIDS charity work that got little to no attention and the recordings of the deceased princess Diana causing an uproar are a prime example of the relationship between ordinary people and celebrities. Still, this could have not always been the case if it wasn’t for the media’s involvement and knowledge of what we want.
How it’s Done-Media
With no television, radio, and newspapers, celebrities such as actors and musicians would be lobbying for higher minimum wage rates so they could pay off their mortgage like the rest of society. Visual and print media has been the main ingredient of celebrity culture for the past hundred years “ Magazines and newspapers are the toolbox for the entertainment industry no matter what field they are in”(Pascal Interview). The reason there is such a craze for these otherwise normal people is because people see and hear celebrities in the paper and on television knowing that many other people see the same thing around the world. Still, certain types of media only create certain types of celebrity. Without television, people like Trevor McDonald and the entire cast of ‘Friends’ would not be the superstars that they are today. Even the computer is a bridge for celebrities and people like porn star Jenna Jamison and Welsh Rock band Funeral For a Friend. Today the power of technology and mass production are the building blocks for virtually all types of entertainment that people turn to and the are the main tools for celebrities to have a chance to live a more than ordinary life.
Print Media
The origins of Print Media dates back to the form of a fishing pamphlet. 300 hundred years later the London Gazette started printing articles on politics which then evolved to the likes of HEAT and OK! Discussing hair extensions that posh spice just put in.
How celebrities use them
The simplest way to put it is celebrities use print media such as newspapers and magazines when they want to talk to the public and the public use print media to listen to what they have to say.“Celebrity creates a persona appropriate for the movies they are promoting, of for their own publicity purposes-something that will the narrative arc that their publicist have created for the.”- John Powers. Celebrities along with intellectuals use print media when they want to get across their words and views on anything from venting about a haircut to discussing the economic repercussions of a coup in Chile and in return newspapers and magazines us them to sell their paper and even get people to read other stories through them.”On days when there was an engaging celebrity photo or headline, the other headlines around it—often more serious ones—attracted more interest then they otherwise would have.”(Brockenbrough ) So why can’t they just do what the rest of us do and talk about these things over lunch with friends? Because living in the spotlight entails speaking to the masses if they want to make it big and get paid for it. Still, when it comes down to the cold hard facts, a celebrity’s job is to sell themselves and getting their face, private lives, and words in the tabloids is just doing their part to earn their pay check. In the celebrity world, an absence does not make the heart grow fonder.
Case Study: Peter Andre
Print media can make or break a celebrity but either way it will give them the final word on their 15 minutes of fame.
Print Media creates a certain type of celebrity
If you picked up the February 2nd, 2004 Sun tabloid paper you saw a huge picture of child killer Ian Huntley on the front page. The fact of the reality is that magazines and newspapers turn ordinary people into national celebrities. Still, the person has to do something out of the ordinary to gain print. For instance, Cardiff Wales commoner Steven Johnson cheated on ‘teen queen’ charlotte church and gained national fame. Julie Herrold lived on welfare 16 years without a job and was discovered by London’s Daily Mirror tagging her ‘Britain’s Laziest Women’ and was forced to get a job and sort out 16,00 hate letters sent to her after the story was read by the public. Between Reality television and print media, ordinary people doing less than ordinary things from an MP making a racist statement to a homeless man stopping a bank robber are ensured to gain fame.
Sound Media
Radio, CD’s, MP3’s, tapes, and records are the ‘Guardian Angel’ of singers and comedians for the past century but now in the past ten years are being replaced by elusive television such as MTV and VH1. Still, in the artist’s mind it still depends on how many records they sell and not how many music videos they got to let them know how big of a success they are.
Celebrities such as musicians use sound media as a form of currancy. The more CD’s they sell or the more times their hits are heard on the airwaves the more they profit. Still, in the past few years sound media has taken a turn for the worse for the celebrities that rely on it. The pirating of music over the internet and the burning of CD’s has left the entertainment business in question as their over-pricing strategies are being called out. However, the more CD’s sold means the bigger the celebrity leading to the bigger obsession which in the end leads to more money for the industry.
Sound Media creates different types of celebrity
In the past, Radio has been the main provider for up and coming artists. The technique starts with a record label signing an artist to create a album then paying a radio station to play the singles off the album until the listener gets a feel for the artist/artists then requests start coming in for the music and then the radio station starts to pay the label to play the artist’s songs. After that, the CD is put on the market which leads to a newly created celebrity with the creditability to get any of their up and coming music played on the radio free of charge.
Still, radio has helped more than musicians. Celebrities like NYC radio’s Howard Stern and Comedian Bill Cosby owe their following to radio which has led to Cosby putting out a platinum record and Howard Stern Staring in his own Movie based on his book.
Picture Media
‘‘Kids want to imitate what they see in the cinema…’’-Black Eyed Peas song Where is the Love
Today, picture media consists of television, cinema, and the computer. Each of these has played a separate role in aiding the celebrity industry and celebrities in their careers. In the 1920’s movies gave way to stage actors looking for an alternative way to present their craft. In the 1950’s broke into the homes of almost 3 million families worldwide giving jobs and stardom to actors who couldn’t quite reach the silver screen and had the right look and personality to become evening ‘dinner-time’ entertainment for people. Today, comptuers are the new television in the homes of millions creating an obsession for a broader range of celebrities from pornographers to Swedish death metal groups.
How Celebrities and the entertainment industry use them
To put it simply, actors, television newscasters/reporters, and presenters use cinema and television as a job; a way of making money to support their newly founded lifestyle. Many screen actors do a picture then use television to promote it in order to get the maximum turnout for their film, which in turn ups their status as an actor getting paid more.
Through computers celebrities find an outlet for them to bestow all their information, such as biographies, filmographies, etc. getting people to feel a sense of knowledge into the actor or musician so they would buy their products and see their films.
Picture Media creates celebrities
Film and television in the past have only created the actor but now musicians and everyday 20 something’s have found through music television and reality television boom that getting their face on the screen is the only way to break through in today’s culture. Shows like ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Back to Reality’ have turned everyday people into celebrities just by living their life. Before it took actors years moving up from commercial roles to break through roles in films to gain celebrity status. But in day’s culture it only takes normal guy with a temper or a Garage band with a video six months to become a celebrity.
Case Study: Jade from Big Brother
Conclusion
As I walk though the Louvre on an idle Friday in Paris, I make my way into the Italian Painting Section on the 1st floor. As I come into this particular room I see crowds of people with cameras around one painting, the Mona Lisa.