American celebrity culture puts pressure on both the famous and the non famous to act a certain way and maintain the 'ideal' image that society has molded. However, the status that a celebrity holds in American society is regarded much higher than a normal person, and in some cases, they are seen as above the law. With the recent sexual misconduct allegations of celebrities like Louis C.K, Michael Oreskes, and Kevin Spacey a snowball effect has taken hold as alleged victims, both male and female, come out with sexual misconduct allegations by celebrities. These allegations are being taken seriously despite some of the attacks being years old. Since celebrities are held to a difference standard in American society, the backlash in regards …show more content…
Kevin Spacey, a popular actor of the show House of Cards, is being accused by several men of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual contact. One of his victims is another actor by the name Anthony Rapp, who claims that Spacey "made sexual advances towards him in 1985, when Rapp was 14 years old" (Assistant, 2017). One interesting point in the CNN article is that nowhere in it does it mention the fact that if these allegations are true, Spacey is a pedophile. This might have to do with his fame and Daniel Boorstin comments in his book, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, that "we have willingly been misled into believing that fame, well-knownness, is still a hallmark of greatness" (Boorstin, 2012). If CNN was to call Spacey a pedophile, they would be putting him in regards to the likes of what most people consider to be the scum of society, essentially stripping him of his fame and greatness that most people attribute with him. The allegations against him, though some are over twenty years old, are coming to light under the same circumstance as the other victims who felt empowered to share their muffled
While reading “ Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, many opinions can be formed of Chris McCandless. One, in particular, was the author's opinion which he blatantly stated on page 85. He didn't think that Chris was some reckless foolish insane idiot. He believed that competent otherwise he wouldn't have lasted so long. I agree with Krakauer, things Chris did on this journey did not show signs of some careless person. Chris was just an adventurer looking to get away from the expectations society had of him to see the world for what it really was.
Part of that is because some people’s perspectives of celebrities allow them think as if they’re on a pedestal and are more important than the average human. When people vision these celebrities as these quintessential people it enable’s their own thoughts and opinions on the celebrity. It’s like brainwashing, these celebrities only show the media what they want, which allows them to put up a whole façade and mask who they truly are. During the O.J Simpson trial it opened more people’s minds to visualize the concept that celebrities have the ability to be just as deranged as the average person, and that we are all equal, but the only difference that’s separates us is the fact that their job is in the lime
The mass media loves a scandal; it focuses on the most outrageous cases in order to make profit and often blows things out of proportion in order to make a better story. The media coverage of Debra Lafave’s case is a perfect example. The mass media not only hindered the court in leading a fair trial, exposing the teenager at the center of the case by publishing his photo and name in European newspapers, it also allowed the offender to receive a lighter sentence. The crime that Debra Lafave committed, having sexual intercourse with a minor, who was also one of her students, is deviant not only criminally but socially in the United States. Yet the media coverage partially helped her receive a lighter sentence because of the focus on her looks,
Marshall P. David (1997). Celebrity Power; Fame in Contemporary Culture. May 16, 2010. Electronically retrieved from
When considering the issue of celebrities receiving unfair treatment by making their punishment worse than a regular persons is totally un orthodox so it is essential to know that their regular too. Also all people don’t know what rules they are violating or what rules they need to know so they won’t violate them. All people aren’t guilty neither are they all innocent but they should suffer equal consequences.
What about celebrities and people who are constantly in the media? They are just like us, they make mistakes. They have run-ins with the law, they need justice too. When a celebrity needs compensation for a wrongful death case, is it handed to them? When a celebrity has a DUI are their punishments as severe as the usual? When a celebrity is charged with possession of drugs, do they get treated like everyone else? When a celebrity is called for jury duty, are they given a fair chance to participate in this civil duty? Does the legal system go about treating celebrities the same way they would a regular person, why and how?
They all also attempt to discredit the opposing view ,whether it is through logic or simple dismissal. The last main trait I noticed was the tendency to make the title a question but not to answer it. This is most likely to draw people from both sides of the argument. Over all this genres attributes all are in place to reach more people and have them listen to their argument in an attempt to persuade them.
Athletes and celebrities are always the star; when they play in the championship game, star in an award-winning movie, make the #1 album/single of the year, or win any type of award (Nobel, Pulitzer, Fields, Grammy, Tony, Oscar, etc). Even if they break the law, they still are the star of attention. With the cases of several celebrities and athletes, evidence is apparent of notable unfairness. One of the most popular cases of all time, the O.J. Simpson v. the People, also exhibits huge amounts of obvious inequitable treatment compared to the ordinary people’s cases. Though some people beg to differ with the visible proof that celebrities and athletes do receive undeserved special treatment and say that they just had some “good luck,” there
This sort of behavior is constant over time. Celebrities today are posted and paraded all over TV and magazines, no matter what they do. Justin Beiber was caught drunk driving, stealing property, and many more crimes.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The deception of media consumers allows for the abuse of economic infrastructures of society. An obsession with celebrities’ lives passifies ordinary people in accepting the stratification of the elite businesses and the ordinary citizens. Though pseudo-events and celebrity worship may not be exactly complementary, the similarities of both leaves the public to be utterly vulnerable unless they begin to critically think for themselves.
“I can say unequivocally that celebrities are treated with kid gloves by comparison to their day-to-day counterparts. There is great deference given to them by officers, from the moment of custody to the booking stage to getting cells of their own.” - Steven Knowles. (Gornstein). Today, there are several incidents where celebrities are caught breaking the law, but they do not get the punishment for it. Celebrities and wealthy people on the high popularity scale get special treatment in the court of law.
Over the last few decades celebrity and fame has changed dramatically, from Alexander the Great to Kim Kardashian. Talent and achievements no longer play a huge role when it comes to our celebrities. “Much modern celebrity seems the result of careful promotion or great good looks or something besides talent and achievement” (Epstein2) with that being said celebrity-creation has blossomed into an industry of its own. Keeping up with all the gossips from breaking up to hooking up, law suits and drama many might come to an agreement that celebrity culture is starting to be the great new art form in our new generation and that it ...
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
Much of today’s society seems obsessed with what actors/actresses, athletes, and music artists are wearing, eating, who they are marrying, dating, where they are vacationing, what affairs they are having or have had, and how they live their everyday lives. What’s so interesting about this obsession is that as a society we are implacable and often place celebrities on a pedestal, only to destroy them when they are illusive or promiscuous. Media outlets are swift to report when celebrities are in trouble, but quickly forget all their accomplishments. It’s as if we want them to be perfect, but once they are associated with a scandal, we embark on destroying their reputation and character. Should society hold celebrities to higher standards just because they are paid millions for endorsements and a craft they worked hard to perfect?
According to Steven Knowlton, author of Moral Reasoning for Journalists, "Celebrities of all sorts-musicians, athletes, entertainers, and others-make their living from the public and the public therefore in a sense employs them, just as it employs governors and presidents..."(54). Most journalists figure that celebrities voluntarily surrender their pr...