Does Modern Celebrity culture ruine your enjoyment of media? (Movies, TV, Books)

[mathew101281]

We know next to nothing about the actors, authors and directors, that create our media. But modern social media makes us think we do. It use to be that the art superceded the artist in many ways. No one knows who created the various Greek myths Paul Bunyan etc. But know I’d argue it’s reversed. Now we follow “stars”. We even have stars that are famous for no reason. Does this worship of creators, and talent actually cheapen the creative fields?

[C_Miller]

I don't think it does inherently. By you're definition, I don't think there's a single person alive right now who hasn't lived in the "celebrity culture." Celebrities by that definition have at least existed since the turn of the century when creative media became easier for the average person to consume (I'm only talking America, because that's what I know). Hell, it goes back even earlier with people like P.T. Barnum. So, I don't think one can objectively say one was better than the other, because no one really has any frame of reference to say otherwise.

Now, I'll try to chime in. While I think worship of creators is probably taking things a little too far, I don't think interest in and giving recognition to creators and talent is necessarily a bad thing. When you look at Greek Myths and folk tales, the reason that you don't know who created them are because they weren't written down in their initial form and they were created over time. Their roles in society was different too. Folk tales and myths were meant to tell lessons, they weren't meant to entertain. That's what plays and poems were for. And we do know who wrote those. We know about plays written by Sophocles, we know about the cult of personality around Socrates and Plato. People in Elizabethan England looked forward to the new Shakespeare Play.

But I think your question is about social media. Now, I'm not a proponent of social media, but I don't think it hurts the art. I'd like you to maybe be a little more specific on how you think it cheapens art.

[Kieran_Frost]

ANSWER: NO
Simple reason: the stars who are famous based on talent don't run to the tabloids to sell every meaningless moment of their lives for a quick buck. The ones who sell their stories have far less talent to rely on (or issues with self-worth). Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Mark Rylance; you won't see them "selling their darkest hour" for the cover spot on Heat magazine.

I avoid 95% of all reality TV, and I would never, EVER read an article on any of them (outside of drag queen, obvs ). My advice is avoid it like I do, don't click on links about Kim K, don't read a blog about a celebrity spat, don't watch the "tell all documentary" on Katie Price... it's trash, it's meaningless. But it doesn't hurt (or effect) the greats. In fact, if anything, it highlights how brilliant the true celebrities (for talent) are.

[Powerboy]

We know next to nothing about the actors, authors and directors, that create our media. But modern social media makes us think we do. It use to be that the art superceded the artist in many ways. No one knows who created the various Greek myths Paul Bunyan etc. But know I’d argue it’s reversed. Now we follow “stars”. We even have stars that are famous for no reason. Does this worship of creators, and talent actually cheapen the creative fields?

There's definitely this false sense of familiarity that has always been there where people feel they know the actor when they really know a character or characters the actor portrays. There's also been the illusion of knowing the celebrities going back decades to the arranged marriages of the 1950s.

I don't know whether knowing something about a director/ writer/ actor has ever made me more likely to watch something. I certainly know that what I see in interviews may or may not reflect anything of the person's real personality and we certainly don't know their real lives.

While I may agree or disagree with some of who they are, I generally just accept that I know the characters and they are what interests me.

At work, they are always watching that "What's his name knows best" reality show and I certainly understand that what we are seeing on television are fictional characters, not the actual people.

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

Culture, no. People, yeah. I can't enjoy House of cards or The Usual suspects anymore because of Kevin Spacey. The only thing I can liken it to is how the brits must have felt when they learned about Jimmy Saville.

[Old Man Ollie 1962]

Culture, no. People, yeah. I can't enjoy House of cards or The Usual suspects anymore because of Kevin Spacey. The only thing I can liken it to is how the brits must have felt when they learned about Jimmy Saville.

Separating the artist from the art is more than a notion.

[BeastieRunner]

It's pretty easy to ignore the tabloids.

When it hits the Big news outlets, not so much.

[Vegan Daddy]

Culture, no. People, yeah. I can't enjoy House of cards or The Usual suspects anymore because of Kevin Spacey. The only thing I can liken it to is how the brits must have felt when they learned about Jimmy Saville.

Oscar Wilde, Whalt Whitman, Leonardo Da Vinci, Beethoven, and Michelangelo, among many others, were pederasts. Do you still enjoy their work?

I think it's unhealthy to lionize people you don't actually know, even if you admire them. 'Separate the artist from the art' and all that.

[Clark_Kent]

Oscar Wilde, Whalt Whitman, Leonardo Da Vinci, Beethoven, and Michelangelo, among many others, were pederasts. Do you still enjoy their work?

I think it's unhealthy to lionize people you don't actually know, even if you admire them. 'Separate the artist from the art' and all that.

This is me in a nutshell. The absolute last thing I consider when watching a movie is the actor’s personal life, no matter how much of an asshat they may be. Mel Gibson remained one of my favorite actors of all time after his tirade, because goddamn was he a PHENOMENAL actor. It’s the same with guys like Spacey (although Spacey is hit or miss for me as an actor, I will still enjoy him in the performances I’ve always liked). I will continue to watch their films just fine (I watched a Spacey movie the other night, actually). I don’t condone their personal lives, but as entertainers I am entertained.

Are the people who won’t seperate art from artist also going to stop watching any movie they enjoyed produced by the Weinstein Company? Because there goes a LOT of good movies made by innocent cast & crew lo

[Kieran_Frost]

Culture, no. People, yeah. I can't enjoy House of cards or The Usual suspects anymore because of Kevin Spacey. The only thing I can liken it to is how the brits must have felt when they learned about Jimmy Saville.

I'm watching House of Cards right now from series 1, in-case Netflix takes it down soon... and it's still awesome. I feel slightly guilty maybe, at my soulless seperation (), but my enjoyment of the work is not decreased.

[Joker]

I'm still gonna love Se7en any time I watch it.

[JCAll]

I suppose it does explain why he was so convincing as a complete and total bastard.

[Joker]

He's also a very good actor. Lots of horrible human beings are also very talented.

[Duskman]

We know next to nothing about the actors, authors and directors, that create our media. But modern social media makes us think we do. It use to be that the art superceded the artist in many ways. No one knows who created the various Greek myths Paul Bunyan etc. But know I’d argue it’s reversed. Now we follow “stars”. We even have stars that are famous for no reason. Does this worship of creators, and talent actually cheapen the creative fields?

I would say the cult-of-personality or celebrity worship as it were is it's own industry unto itself, which ties into the entertainment industry in some ways, but doesn't really intrude on the work itself. The entertainment industry is much more ruined, I feel, but the relentless, spiraling juggernaut of the Hype Machine ramming every little bit of gossip, speculation, and leaked info it can about the product. Marketing account for half the budget of making a movie, apparently. Ridiculous. Advertise the movie, sure, but goddamn, waiting for the next Marvel or Star Wars movie should not be this years-long courtship of movie news cockteasing.

[GOLGO 13]

He's also a very good actor. Lots of horrible human beings are also very talented.

That's a very good point actually.

Maybe Spacey will be revered again some day by future generations. I understand that Marlon Brando was a monumental ass but he'll always be considered one of the finest American actors ever. We'll see about Spacey.