Phenomenology Of Fame Essay

“Wealth, as a byproduct of fame, provides immediate, tangible evidence of celebrity’s distinction and staying power. Fame’s windfall goes a long way in lifting financial burdens, opening the celebrity to experiences that are special. Money is no longer a “worry,” and provides “the glory side, the financial side of being famous.” Some celebrities go from “not being able to afford a home,” to multi-million dollar contracts. They are our royalty.”, according to Donna Rothwell’s essay “Being a Celebrity; A Phenomenology of Fame”(Rothwell page 191).Basically, wealth dissolves the concern regarding financial status that the average citizen feels 24/7.Like most people, to acquiring such assets does provide a sense of a luxurious life. It is

normal for one to feel captivated and enthralled by such possessions however, when the want for it becomes a necessity, such as water or shelter, a problem may be present within that individual. When someone becomes dependent on extravagant possessions to such an extent, the want can easily become an obsession. One’s need for wealth and attention has the potential to usher the individual into making foolish and often detrimental decisions both personally (bankruptcy and
foreclosure) as well as professionally (not making wise career choices, unruly behavior in career related settings such as movie shoots ,interviews ,concerts etc).

To become obsessed with fame is often seen as parallel with drug addiction, rightfully so. To feed the need for the world’s attention and impact, individuals deem it necessary to go to
extreme measures in order to maintain their status .This is done to ensure that the individual isn't seen as a “flash in the pan” a “flop”, or a “has been”. As stated towards the end of paragraph four of the writing, they often overstep their own morals and beliefs (and federal laws) in an effort to be seen as relatable and edgy to the general public. Prime examples include Justin Bieber’s
recurrent run-ins with the law and the undeniably sexual imagery the in the music videos of the day’s biggest music acts such as Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Trey Songz and the aforementioned Lady Gaga. Such imagery can be traced all the way back to the days of Prince, Madonna and Grace Jones. Another example is the nonstop drama surrounding the entire Kardashian family.

It has become a part of the promotional campaign for the individual’s product being sold at that time. The rumors and the drama are seen as perfect “promotional opurtunities”that boost TV ratings, album sales, Twitter/Instagram followers, and overall interest in general. They use the tabloids to their advantage and the drama is essentially now a part of the “act’’. We, the public, are the audience and they are the jesters...doing anything for the applause, attention, and adoration. The points made in this section related to the thesis because the act described only a
temporary sense of impact, but will undoubtedly ultimately lead the individual down a dark and lonely path which is the gateway to the dark side of fame itself

As human beings, we are heavily influenced by the things we see.

We are prisoners to our perception. It is a common saying that things are not always as they seem .This philosophy is abundantly true when it comes to the subject of fame, celebrity, furtune and impact. The way we see things is responsible for the set up of our individual ideologies.”Evidence “by Kathryn Schultz refers to ideology as a “conceptual framework” (Schultz, page 373).We see fame as the greatest achievement that one could accomplish in their lifetime. We idolize and fantasize how the wealthy are free of the burdens of life and that they are faced with little to no misfortunes. As pointed out several times throughout this writing, this is a counterfactual way of looking at fame. Schulz’s essay further states that “to exist, to deal with reality, we need a conceptual framework; theories that tell us which questions to ask and which to not, where to look and where not to bother.”(Schulz, page 373).This quote relates to the subject matter because I also feel that individuals tend to overlook the cons of fame and focus too much of the glitz and glamour associated with fame.Basically,some people see what they want to see and ignore what they don't want to accept and

face.

In 2011, a study was conducted by the University of California. The study was conducted to investigate how children and preteens interpret celebrity, pop culture, and fame in general. As part of the study, the adolescents were asked to rank seven values by their level of importance. The values were community feeling (philanthropy), personal image, benevolence, fame, self acceptance, financial success, and achievement. Fifty percent of participants chose fame. In hindsight, the participants chose fame because even at that age they associated the term with everyone knowing who you are and having great sums of money. “Many of the children believed that fame would mean that people liked them and knew who they were.”(Uhlz, 2012).The experiment is linked heavily with the thesis because of how it shows mentality people have on fame, even at a young age,

Fame has a lot of sides. It is very easy for an individual to become unraveled in fame’s traps .Some individuals deal with it correctly and go on to become and remain stable, grounded and successful. Unfortunately, for others, they better isolated and wreckless do the perils of depression, isolation from family, friends, and the general public, drug abuse and greed. I feel that falling victim to fame’s traps and pressures, the celebrity can use it to relate to their fans and highlight it further in their work.

My thesis from this work is simple. Fame has a lot of downsides. As much is given, much is required. I feel that individuals who live in the public eye as well those who are striving to achieve stardom should be well aware of this. In the words of Marilyn Monroe “Fame will go by and, so long, I've had you, fame. If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle. So at least it's something I experience, but that's not where I live.”(Marilyn Monroe, Unknown)