When Brittany Murphy died, when Lindsay Lohan was jailed, when Britney Spears shaved off her hair, the question was asked – what have we done to these kids? We all love rags to riches stories, but it seems that the people are almost as fond of riches to rags – or let’s say, stardom to failure. What happens when a successful young performer becomes a has-been star? The high-profile troubles of celebs like Michael Jackson and Gary Coleman reinforces the truth that nearly every kid who has worked in the entertainment industry has struggled as an adult. Although some may argue that several child stars have gone on to have stable and successful careers as adults, our contention here is that a lot of celebrities who were exposed to the limelight at a young age become scarred for life by their early success and fame and tend to compensate for the childhood they were deprived of during their later years in life.
There is a central notion that there seems to be a mysterious curse surrounding child stars. These young celebrities are often described as having ‘too much too young’ or being ‘scarred for life’ by success (WLVDialogue, 2009). According to Dr. Jane O’Connor (2009), an expert in child stars at the University of Wolverhampton’s School of Education, child stars lack the routine that most children usually benefit from. They often struggle to have a childhood due to the high demands of the show business lifestyle. This strengthens the idea that childhood is a private space for the development of a person’s identity and personality. Childhood is a special time that comes only once and if you miss it, there can be problematic repercussions manifested in the adult identity. Children put together from what they see and hear eve...
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...ildren, and most of their time must be enjoyed in creating their own private space. During our childhood, we build the seeds of creativity that will eventually determine our personality. And during adulthood, we always look back to the wonders of our youth. Show business is very hard for anyone, particularly for kids. Children do not belong in the entertainment industry. Young stars often complain about a stolen childhood, the pressure they have to face at a young age forcing them to mature fast, and the risks of exposure to dirty show business while still an innocent playful child. Celebrities who were exposed to the limelight at a tender age become scarred for life by early success and tend to compensate for the childhood they were deprived of during their later years in life.
“Fame is a fickle-minded thing; it’s just not worth throwing away your life for.”
Walls and Carter both showed resilience despite of their environment. It is a well-known fact that exposure to fame too early in someone’s life can create problems later on and Carter, becoming famous
For many of us “regular folk”, we dream of visiting California and seeing celebrities or even being one. We see Hollywood as a heaven or even a holy bubble that we all want to be in. This is not true for all, but it is for most. We as a society do not generally think of the negative impacts Hollywood and fame has on an individual. Carrie Fisher, with her wit, humor, and extreme honesty, takes us inside her life and gives us her insight on Hollywood based her upbringing. After going through multiple triumphs, tragedies, and revelations Fisher writes about it all in her book, Wishful Drinking, along with three other novels she has written. Now you see why I used the term “regular folk,” because Fisher is the opposite of a “regular folk.” Even
Marshall P. David (1997). Celebrity Power; Fame in Contemporary Culture. May 16, 2010. Electronically retrieved from
Celebrity success is often idolized as a magic solution in which all of an individual’s problems will suddenly be erased and furthermore, the new on-brought attention will bring positive and lifting influence to the individual. Unfortunately, success is often not the solution. In To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar discusses his path to success, as well as the disappointment and turmoil associated with fame to demonstrate that success does not alleviate depression.
“Posts.” Fame is a dangerous Drug: A Phenomenological Glimpse of Celebrity.” N.p. ,n.d. Web 15. Feb 2014
The star text of a celebrity can help to decipher their image and transitions they may undergo. In order to better understand these transitions, one must know the definition of a star text. A star text is the sum of everything we affiliate with celebrities, which includes their body of work, promotion, publicity, and audience participation (Jackson, 08/09/16). One must note that “celebrity doesn 't happen because someone has extraordinary qualities – it is discursively constructed by the way in which the person is publicised and meanings about them circulate” (O 'Shaughnessy and Stadler 424). Destiny Hope Cyrus, “an American singer and actress, became a sensation in the television series
This is exactly what the media does to celebrities. Most celebrities that we have become to know have all changed in a lot of way from before they started their career and when they actually became famous. There are many artists, actors, musicians that were once people you would not even believe. A story that really inspires me is the musical journey of Stefani Germanotta. A small recording artist, not very well know, that is why I choose to discuss her because she has been through this with the media. She went to a small all girls catholic school in New York City. Paris Hilton was in her school. Look where she got, where did she go. She was made fun of everyday for her appearance. She was musically inclined to no extent, she had the talent. She knew how to play the piano by herself by the age of four years old (4).By 13 she wrote her first ballad; by 19 she was writing songs for the Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears. Obviously she had the talent so when she went to go get a record deal, she went to...
A celebrity is not a person known for his/her talent or achievement, but an individual recognized for his/her reputation created by the media. The phase of stardom is slippery, and media may choose to represent celebrities varying from exaggerated admiration to mockery. The three texts chosen, movie "Sunset Boulevard", feature article "Over the Hilton" and television show "Celebrity Uncensored Six" are texts presenting different perception of celebrities than their usual images - either corrupted by the encircling media, overloads oneself with self-indulgence, or just mocks celebrity in a broad spectrum. Such media items empower and impresses the audience by perceiving celebrities as people who pay the price of privacy to gain well knowness, signifying the vanity of stardom from the commonly accepted images.
Although out the celebrities’ career they face the brutality of paparazzi. They knew that the lifestyle came with paparazzi and other nuisances that have their own opinions. However, nobody initially wants to be hounded all the time and mistreated. A celebrity’s main ambition in life is to fulfill their passion. It is true that the constant attention in the public eye is beneficial for their career, but is the slander and derision worth it all, in other words, is bad news really good news? You cannot force them into the spot light when they aren’t seeking attention. A celebrity’s role is to perform, entertain and persuade.
Bennett, Courtney. "Fan Club Confessions: Teens Underestimate Influence of Celebrity." Psychologytoday.com. Sussex Publishers, 1 Apr. 2005. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
So many young people go into the entertainment business. Most of them do not know that without a support system to keep them grounded and stable their mental development can be compromised. The society that we place so high in our culture and deem worthy of such high praise, eat our children alive. They grow too fast, have to defend themselves constantly, and are watched around the clock. As a society, we must take a look at what we are doing to the people in the entertainment industry.
The fame that comes from being a celebrity or entrepreneur does not render them immune from ridicule, speculations, loneliness, or exploit. Those chasing the American Dream may see this end goal of becoming wealthy enough for all of their problems to disappear, but this ...
If there is one individual in the celebrity world that is known for his or her troubled thoughts or misbehavior, there isn’t anyone better to recognize other than Lindsay Lohan. An American star, model, and singer, Lohan was recognized in all different aspects of Hollywood because of her talents as a young actress. However, as her stardom continued to progress, so did the instability in her mental health. The mass media and people alike had an influence on Lohan’s behavior by distorting how she was portrayed on and off the screen. Lohan’s family life also had a huge impact on her turnout because she was constantly around the instability of her family members, thus affecting her mental
We are part of a generation that is obsessed with celebrity culture. Celebrities are distinctive. Media and consumers alike invented them to be a different race of super beings: flawless, divine and above all the real moral world. In a 1995 New York Times article “In contrast, 9 out of 10 of those polled could think of something
Movie stars. They are celebrated. They are perfect. They are larger than life. The ideas that we have formed in our minds centered on the stars that we idolize make these people seem inhuman. We know everything about them and we know nothing about them; it is this conflicting concept that leaves audiences thirsty for a drink of insight into the lifestyles of the icons that dominate movie theater screens across the nation. This fascination and desire for connection with celebrities whom we have never met stems from a concept elaborated on by Richard Dyer. He speculates about stardom in terms of appearances; those that are representations of reality, and those that are manufactured constructs. Stardom is a result of these appearances—we actually know nothing about them beyond what we see and hear from the information presented to us. The media’s construction of stars encourages us to question these appearances in terms of “really”—what is that actor really like (Dyer, 2)? This enduring query is what keeps audiences coming back for more, in an attempt to decipher which construction of a star is “real”. Is it the character he played in his most recent film? Is it the version of him that graced the latest tabloid cover? Is it a hidden self that we do not know about? Each of these varied and fluctuating presentations of stars that we are forced to analyze create different meanings and effects that frame audience’s opinions about a star and ignite cultural conversations.