Celebrity 2.0: Breaking the barrier between celebrities and the public through social media

As technology is developing these days, people are getting more connected and in tune with each other, particularly through the web and social networking. Along with the majority of western society, celebrities have also jumped on the social online network bandwagon.

Number of social media network services

Before the web, celebrities didn’t really have a proper outlet to connect with the public and they’re fans. Plus a lot of their comments in the media are heavily constructed by publicists to maintain their “popular” status and avoid harsh criticism. Even after the web was established, without social media, celebrities had to hire web designers to construct their own website dedicated to their fans with discussion forums, bulletins and other online elements that made it difficult for celebrities to use. Hence, social networking provides celebrities the chance to connect with their fans and the public first-hand, as well as voice (or “type” in this case) their opinions or perspectives on current issues, updates and matters. It also gives fans a chance to interact with their celebrities by replying or commenting on their posts within the social network sites. The  most popular network sites that are used by celebrities are Twitter and Facebook.

Britney Spears Twitter Account

Twitter is a micro-blogging service where users can post statuses of up to 140 words. Along with blogging, users can also share photos, videos, links and reply to other people’s statuses. It also allows others to “follow” your twitter blog, which keeps those that are following updated on statuses that the creator posts. This networking site has become popular to many celebrities including Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears because it’s simple to interact with fans (just requires a reply) and they can’t mention too much, which suits them due to their busy schedules. 

Facebook is a social network service, similar to Twitter, but with more features that online communities can use to share and interact with each other, such as creating specific groups etc. There’s also no word-limit, so users can post as much as they like in a status. Although celebrities don’t use Facebook as much compared to twitter, there’s an increasing trend with the subscription tool within Facebook. This tool is very similar to the ‘following’ method of twitter in that users ‘subscribe’ to a celebrities page where they are updated on the celebrity’s statuses and posts. Facebook has also been featured on television such as celebrity talk-shows. An example of this can be found on an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, where Ellen ‘hacked’ in to some of the audience members’ Facebook accounts and displayed embarrassing content to the audience which they enjoyed.

Ellen DeGeneres new segment on her show called: In Your Facebook

With all the new kinds of social networks being created for the online community, there is an increasing trend of communication between celebrities and the general public/fans. Through this advancement in technology, the fourth wall between celebrities and fans has diminished.

Gossip Magazines , Why do we NEED them , Why do we WANT them ?

The modern day fascination with celebrities and gossip is all due to those who came before us our ancestors.The magnetic pull to celebrity gossip is all part of our evolution in that our brains are designed to absorb it, in effect is satisfying our evolutionary need

This need is now satisfied in part by the tabloid press

Our interest in the prominence and misbehavior of celebrities and politicians PEOPLE WHO WE SEE ON OUR SCREENS 24/7, and our purchase, sometimes secretly, of tabloid newspapers and gossip magazines is an evolutionary hangover from a time when knowing who was sleeping with whom in our village was important.

Kim Wilson, the editor-in-chief of New Idea magazine, agrees that people read gossip as a way of finding out who is influential and who isn't but also because people are naturally attracted to intrigue. “We do live in a global village," she said.

Now in modern day 2012 so many of us live in apartment blocks or we're dissociating from our neighbours for various reasons.

We’ve become this kind of global village where the people we all know and the people we all gossip about are celebrities. 

“It’s amazing; you can travel anywhere in the world and have a conversation about Nicole Kidman, Britney Spears or Angelina Jolie. “It’s become a social currency, almost, that when you don't know what to do you can talk about the weather and you can talk about celebrities." ITS BECOME THE SOCIAL NORM 




When you gossip over your back fence with a neighbour, that direct contact as well at geographical proximity helps one with strengthening a bond with that neighbour , in contrast to simply gossiping online or reading gossip in the magazines.

A prime example of the gossip about whether or not Brad and Angelina if they are fighting or not has no direct impact on your life, but it is like a representation of how relationships matter at a broader cultural level. 

Celebrities are merely representations on what goes on in ones lives everyday , these include , having kids , getting married , getting divorced , going to clubs , going to dinner , going shopping. Except they are  having numerous paparazzi's in their faces using cameras to gain a photo , a spec of what their lives are like and it is them photos which are printed in the gossip magazines for the world to see. They are human beings we are human beings,  we are one in the same history proves it the only difference is that there careers on the public arena and ours are not.

 

The Worship of Hollywood Marriages

With the announcement of Bradgelina's engagement hitting headlines around the world, everyone's eyes are pointed directly at the couple... and not in a good way. People, everywhere, are holding their breath waiting to see if this will end up being a famous Hollywood Marriage for the right reasons, or the wrong reasons.

The common understanding of a "Hollywood Marriage" is a marriage of celebrities that does not last three years. But there is another definition, and that is if the marriage lasts more than fifty years.

Why is it that we care so much about celebrities? What is it about their lives that we feel we need to shape ours to be similar? The media have caused us to feel this way with their constant obsession with the lives of celebrties, which in turn, causes an obsession within the public. People keep up to date with their favourite celebrties, knowing every relationship they've ever been in, where they grew up, what their favourite hobby is and more. It is like a not so creepy way of stalking someone.
Countless of these marriages have come across the media, sprawled across newspapers and magazines, highlights of the nighttime news coverages. For being a celebrity means that any significant news about engagments, marriages, break-ups, crime, illnesses, or even death that surrounds your life makes headlines within moments. Why? Because the worship of celebrities has taken such a turn that everyone wishes to copy them, including their relationships.

People who worship the celebrities probably encourage celebrities to rush head first into marriage, and then find out that it isn't working, hence ending in divorce. A lot of people would say that these marriages are built on the idea of money or attention, or a reason to throw an extravagent wedding and invite every person from the media to it. It's the attention that they crave hence why getting married and quickly divorced seems to be a popular option.

There is a lot of talk that "Hollywood Marriages" are ruining the sanctity of marriage, given that most marriages should be for a lifetime, and these celebrities aren't even making it to the three-year mark. Some would say that celebrities are making fun out of the unity of marriage, given that the celebrities "till death do we part" vows become obselete when the marriage calls quits within mere months. Gay-marriage supporters have used these marriages as justified reasons why gays should be allowed to wed because gays wouldn't be making such a mockery of marriage like these celebrities are.

Some of these famous Hollywood Marriages include:

• Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds: Married for 2 years.
• Katy Perry and Russell Brand: Married for 14 months. This is the first marriage for both
• Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries: Married for 72 days. It was the First for Humphries and the second for Kardashian
• Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon: Married for ten weeks. She was also married to Kid Rock for six months.
• Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas: Nineteen days. Her second marriage, to comedian Tom Green, lasted a little over a year^.
• Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander: Married in Las Vegas, marriage annulled soon after (56 hours)

Whether or not celebrities do this for media attention is unclear. What is clear is that the worship of these marriages has gone too far, and is disrupting the sanctity of marriage. Most people don't take marraige seriously any more because if celebrities don't follow their vows, why should they? Celebrties are supposed to be a type of role-model, and these Hollywood Marriages are definetly not a good example they are setting...

Forget Sex, Public Images Sell: The Power of a Celebrity's Public Image in the Media

In contemporary western society, the public image of a celebrity has powerful influences in the media. One reason for this is because a celebrity’s public image embodies social values that appeal to the general public by reflecting their desires, beliefs and values. These social values, whether good or bad, can influence the general public (in particular the fans who idolise them) by constantly circulating the image through the media to the extent that the general public considers the image as being socially acceptable. For example, let’s compare Taylor Swift’s public image to that of Rihanna. Both are successful female musicians in their early twenties, yet their public images reflect different social values.

Taylor Swift

Country singer, Taylor Swift, is portrayed/advertised in the media with a wholesome “good girl” public image who embodies virtuous values such as class, innocence and modesty. This “good girl” image is not only reflected in her sophisticated and feminine fashion but also in her clean and inoffensive song lyrics. As a result of maintaining her “good girl” image, Taylor Swift has been very popular in the pre-teen and teen market (which makes up the majority of her fan-base) as parents (who usually pay for Taylor Swift’s music and merchandise), consider Taylor as a good influence due to the well-respected social values she embodies. In addition, Taylor Swift also endorses products that fit with this image like Disney.

Rihanna

Now compare this to Rihanna’s racy public image. Similarly, Rihanna’s racy public image is also reflected in her provocative fashion and her “dirty” song lyrics (e.g. Rude Boy and S&M). Unlike Taylor, Rihanna’s image embodies social rebellion and promiscuity. These values appeal to a more mature demographic as parents consider Rihanna’s image as being inappropriate for young girls compared to Taylor Swift.

Through this comparison, it is clear that a celebrity’s public image has a significant influence in the media, as the social values the image embodies establishes the celebrity as a role model to the general public and fans. 

Is the rise of TMZ leading to the destruction of Journalistic intergrity ?

TMZ , is  celebrity news website created by Journalist Harvey Levin that debuted on November 8, 2005 , however it is more known for the television program which debuted on September 10, 2007. 


The initial concept of TMZ website was to site primarily feature and consist of Hollywood gossip, including interviews, photos and video footage of celebrities and information pertaining to industry news on movies, television shows.The site was described as "an effort to further feed the current American obsession with celebrities". Mike Shields of MediaWeek.com wrote, "the site also boasts of an expansive collection of archived star photos and videos", allowing fans to "trace changing hairlines and waistlines of their favorites performers over the years". 
  

So has TMZ allowed our curiosity of a celebrity to reach to pure obsession ? 


Since the launch of TMZ.com, the website has faced criticism, varying from attempted boycotts to criticism of its journalism tactics to its website's focus. The TMZ website has been criticized for its usage of photographs and videos obtained from paparazzi. Some have questioned the effect that aggressive and obtrusive photographers have on the subjects they cover. Many of their videos on the site show, in the footage, that their paparazzi chase people (mainly celebrities) , a practice that has been called dangerous and "creepy". Over the years, some have called for a boycott of TMZ.com and the accompanying show.


Jennifer Metz and David Muir of the ABC Network USA acknowledged that TMZ.com has long been criticized for their "aggressive tactics, antagonizing stars with video cameras" and noted that those "encounters, capturing at times violent celebrity confrontations with photographers, receive hundreds of hits online, and critics ask if entertainment reporters are crossing the line."
Publicist Ken Sunshine stated that his clients disliked the website because it has a tendency to always be negative towards celebrities when reporting on them. "I hate that they have anything to do with trying to put celebrities into the worst light possible and that they play the 'gotcha' game". 

The website has been harshly criticized for having a cult of figures such as Brittney Spears , Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton now recently Kim Kardashian these celebrities are known more as targets for paparazzi than for the work they do. In defense for TMZ's coverage, Levin said that certain celebrities are main subjects on the Web site because of their 'relevancy' and because their relevancy helps draw viewership to the Web site.Liz Kelly, of Washington post Newspaper attacked both Levin and TMZ.com in an article, stating: "I know this is like spitting in the wind, but I have to say it: Harvey Levin, please stop it.


Lindsay Lohan in court  

The Question still remains , has TMZ allowed our curiosity of a celebrity to reach to pure obsession and has the paparazzi's methods to get a story finally gone to far ?


These question still remains Un answered! 




The Fact and the Fiction: Shifting from public movie screens to private cameras

In today's western society, we are constantly consumed with stars and celebrities (mostly actors and actresses) as seen in the large amount of exposure in several media outlets. One of these outlets is television. 
Originally, actors and actresses weren't even given credit in movies in the early 20th century as the publicity revolved around business and politics.  According to research by theorist Daniel Boorstin, it wasn't until the 1920's when half of the media coverage focused on the entertainment industry and fan magazines brought more attention to the private lives of actors and actresses. As a result of the new attention, the film industry (to this day) use popular actors and actresses as a main strategy in film-making and marketing to attract the fanatical public.After the invention of television in the 1950's, there has been more media coverage on stars and celebrities than ever before.

Famous actresses Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn 
backstage at the Academy Awards.

First it began with the movie award ceremonies such as the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, which praised actors and actresses for their work.
Now, however, as western culture has an ever-growing obsession with stars and celebrities, the public wants to form a closer connection with their idols by joining in their personal lives. In response to this demand, television has dedicated even more exposure by establishing a channel entirely on stars and celebrities known as Channel E! which includes its own news segment on the private lives of celebrities known as E! News and Entertainment Tonight.

Popular entertainment broadcast, E! News.

Popular reality TV series:
Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Another form of celebrity exposure that has become a trend on television is celebrity reality TV. This documentation-style genre involves private cameras following celebrities around as they live their everyday lives. The TV series, Keeping up with the Kardashians is an example of a popular reality TV show which allows viewers to enter the family's life where they can watch every happy, tear-shedding, awkward, scandalous and heart-warming moments that the family experiences. As a result of the increasing popularity of the series, the Kardashian franchise has branched out with similar series which focus on specific family members such as Khloe and Lamar and Kim and Kourtney take on New York. 
Other celebrity reality TV shows that have followed suit include Joan and Melissa (Joan and Melissa Rivers), The Hills, Jersey Shore, Mel B: It's a Scary World and many others.

In examining this shift from the public to the private sphere, it is clear that society has a huge fascination on stories about individuals--the more exposure the public has on the individual, the larger the fascination. This exposure through TV, in turn, forms a connection between the idolised celebrities and the average home-viewers and fans.