In 1911, J. Stuart Blackton and Eugene V. Brewster co-founded The Motion Picture Story Magazine. Considered the first “fan mag”, it was aimed at the average moviegoer and designed to address questions or common misconceptions about filmmaking itself. It was well-circulated from the beginning, averaging about 200,000 copies by 1914. But things really accelerated when in that same year they decided to drop the “Story” out of their name, a change which heralded a pivot toward industry access, fiction stories, and—most critically—celebrity news. In 1917 they released a “Gallery of Picture Players” which featured portraits of all the brightest movie stars of their day. In doing so, Motion Picture Magazine had become the prototype for what we see in publications like People, Vanity Fair, and GQ today. But with the recent waves of social reorientation, the very concept of celebrity itself has come under considerable question. What does it do to our culture when we venerate a certain group of people so highly and for so long? How do we set ourselves up for disappointment and even sorrow by investing in their personalities? And is it possible to appreciate their contributions without turning them into idols?
On-Screen Persona ≠ Real Life Persona
A celebrity’s image is their most powerful tool, whether because of how easily they can manipulate it or because of how constant it is. Meryl Streep is a familiar name to even the most inconsistent of movie watchers, which is a testament to just how long she’s been doing it. But she’s also known to take on drastically different roles, from Zofia Zawistowski in Sophie’s Choice to Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada; shifting regional accents, hairstyles, and even weight on the fly. The equally influential Denzel Washington isn’t necessarily known for the same kind of chameleonism, yet his sheer presence as a performer overrides that because you simply buy into his power on screen or stage. It’s easy to say a certain actor “only plays themselves”, but as film critic Angelica Jade Bastién said in this tweet, we only know the curated compilation of traits and appearances that have been made available to us by this person’s works. The most popular celebrities have tens to hundreds of times more fans than family members or close friends and all those people cannot possibly hope to truly know that one person’s true nature.
The Reality Behind The Reality Show
This is why it’s so easy for us to become disheartened when we hear less-than-ideal things about a celebrity’s personal life. There are the more minor, uncomfortable things like Ben Affleck’s struggle with alcoholism and his divorce from Jennifer Garner. There are disturbing, mutually toxic situations like the dissolution of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s marriage. And then there are acts of impropriety or actual assault committed over the course of years and even decades. The “Me Too” movement had a profound effect on the echelon of male stars in Hollywood. Many instances of abuse and assault were rightly identified and those individuals responsible faced the consequences (Well, some of them). Of course it isn’t always men—the college admissions scheme swept up a few celebrity women in its wake. I believe what’s disorienting for fans of these celebrities is squaring these accusations and crimes with the person they’d come to enjoy and be entertained by for so long.
While the accountability that the movement has created is necessary, nuance and self-reflection often get lost in the tidal wave. Fan bases may be fun and good for publicity but if their favorite celebrity is accused of wrong-doing, devoted fans may not have the capacity to criticize the celebrities they look up to. This could default into a sort of mob mentality against their accusers. Victims are doubted and blamed while the accused are commensurately rallied around. Ansel Elgort erupted as a heartthrob with The Fault in Our Stars, but when accusations of grooming and underage sexual assault began to circulate around him his fanbase was torn, with some criticizing him for taking negative advantage of his influence and others decrying the accuser as an attention seeker. This process can be further confused by the interpersonal relationships of celebrities themselves. Many form bonds through their collaborative work that deepen into friendship, so we may want to believe their statements about each other’s character. Director Woody Allen has been repeatedly accused of sexual assault by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, but several high profile actors have continued to support him, including no less an A-lister than Scarlett Johansson in this interview.
Fame
At the same time, with fame comes power and influence. As Uncle Ben once said, “with great power comes great responsibility,” and some celebrities haven’t used their powers responsibly. As mentioned above, with Ansel Elgort, some celebrities have used their power to groom victims. Others have used their influence to push conspiracy theories, like Madonna and COVID-19.
Also, fame comes with vested interests and economic incentives to hold certain beliefs over others—indeed, an actor’s entire career could be at stake depending on how they react to a current event. Sometimes the reaction is favorable by the public. Other times celebrities have some non-PR friendly responses and we see the celebrity for who they really are. Nonetheless, a celebrity’s image is worth a lot of money, so they plan a meticulous apology tour, or they simply disappear for a few years and then slowly start making public appearances again, as though nothing major happened. The public is once again duped into believing the curated image of a celebrity and they’re once again raking in money through gigs and endorsements.
What’s Next?
In any case, I think what’s becoming clear is that we shouldn’t put all of our faith in someone just because we like the movies they’ve been in, or the music they’ve made, or the championships they’ve won. It is so difficult to discern truth in our narrative-spinning, image-obsessed culture, and there is no shortage of competition for an influential spot in the developing minds of young people. And at the end of the day, everyone is flawed anyway! So if you can develop the discipline of mind to understand that, it will lead to a lot less head and heartache in the future.
