Extended Scholarly Blog – The Positive and Negative Influences of Celebrity Culture

Celebrities possess a strong power to influence the lifestyle trends of their collective audience. They are members of the entertainment industry and are looked up to as role models by a large proximity of the general public. The word “celebrity” is derived from the word “celebrate,” in that a person is supposedly famous because the community celebrates him or her (Rockwell 2004). Their lives are well documented by the media and in turn they have a great deal of power in shaping the ideologies of their audience. It is through convergence of media tools that enable the status and reputation of each celebrity, great or small, to develop rapidly. With such high exposure due to the globalised world that we live in, celebrities essentially hold the power to positively or negatively influence their followers. From fashion trends to behavioural tendencies, the attitudes and lifestyle habits of celebrities influence cultural dispositions and the way in which many people function within society.

To some extent, heavy consumers of entertainment media parallel their lives on the very people that inundate the gossip section of newspapers. (Tunbridge, 2012). “Though we might not have their wealth or fame, we might feel that through consuming goods celebrities might favour, and living a lifestyle we see as similar to theirs, that we are achieving some degree of upward mobility by joining an elite status community” (Sternheimer, 2011). Celebrity influence of the public can be exemplified by society’s response to the globalised event that is the FIFA world cup. High profile players like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo use the world’s biggest sporting event not only to demonstrate their skills but to boast their latest haircuts. “Each World Cup presents a new set of hairstyles—some actually look good, others should never be seen again. If you go to your local field, you will probably see plenty of kids sporting hairstyles similar to those of their role models” (Struhs, 2010). Similarly, stars like Rihanna and Britney Spears do not only exploit their fashion tastes via magazines but they also share their trends via social media, allowing the broader globalised community to be influenced by a primary source. Supporting, forty-seven million Twitter followers between them, Britney and Rihanna essentially have the power decide whether teenage girls will dress conservatory or immorally.

In the recent decade, a small minority of celebrities have become increasingly involved in advocacy and activism, creating a positive image for themselves as well as setting a responsible example for their followers. Not only are celebrities development advocates but they are using their popularity to generate an increased understanding on issues such as homelessness. A number of celebrities are going beyond promoting important sociological issues but they are also creating their own organisations and charity foundations. “Fundraiser concerts and other large charity-oriented events that involve celebrities are part of a new development advocacy, uniquely combining politics and popular culture.” (Biccum, 2012) There are many examples of celebrity advocacy such as “Angelina Jolie’s role as good will ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, George Clooney’s advocacy work on behalf of Sudan, involving the use of satellite technology and Google to monitor the outbreak of civil war and Hugh Jackman’s involvement with the Global Poverty Project” (Biccum, 2012). In times when the world is most at need of charity, it is often the celebrities that come forward as leaders in raising funds. In 2009 music artists from all over the world united in Australia to perform two shows, raising money for victims of the Victorian bushfires and the Queensland floods. All of the artists, publishers and labels involved, provided a free clearance for DVD’s of the event to be sold. Similarly, Sean Penn’s organisation responded to the Haiti earthquake, whilst Bono and Bob Geldoff have been involved in numerous campaigns against poverty. However, considering the size of the entertainment industry, the number of celebrities involved charity is rather limited.

There are also many negatives associated with celebrities holding immense influence over their followers, especially when the development of teenagers is concerned. In an experimental stage when they are constantly reinventing themselves, teenagers are prone to adapting to changes in celebrity trends. With celebrity role models such as Lindsay Lohan, a repeat drink driving offender and Miley Cyrus who was filmed smoking marijuana, teen development is at risk of heading in the wrong direction. Morality is blurred as “teens do not let instances like this hinder their idols’ likeability. They have become immune to things that are wrong because they constantly see celebrities conducting themselves in this manner in the media” (Gauna, 2011, pp.1). In order to protect teens from the colossus that is celebrities, it is up to their parents and the matured society to educate teens on how they should respond to celebrity behaviour.

The media plays an important role in facilitating the amount of influence that celebrity culture has on society. To a great extent it is media outlets that sensationalise the lifestyle of those in the limelight, making them appear much more intriguing than they actually are. “Mainstream media content is most likely increasing in sensationalism due to competition with celebrity news sources, particularly those online” (Wright 2008, pp.3). The public’s interest in celebrity culture has grown so popular that there are now numerous publications exclusive to celebrity news, complete with rumours, photographs and scandalous information. “They have grown extremely popular, mainstays in salons and grocery stores alike” (Wright 2008, pp.9).

In order to put into perspective just how powerful celebrities have become, a glance at Lady Gaga’s Twitter page exemplifies the reality of the phenomenon that is cultural imperialism. Boasting over thirty million followers, it is hard to ignore the effect her obscure approach to life must have on others. “It has been suggested that the public’s interest in certain celebrity figures may be the result of a parasocial relationship with them” (Wright 2008). For instance, blogger Chris Crocker shot to fame with his Youtube video entitled ‘LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!’ The video was uploaded during a time when Britney Spears was suffering from an array of heavily publicized personal issues. An emotional Crocker stands up for Spears in an emotional rant as if he knows her personally; “She lost her aunt, she went through a divorce, she had two kids, her husband turned out to be a user, a cheater, and now she’s going through a custody battle. All you people care about is….. readers and making money off of her. Anyone that has a problem with her you deal with me, because she is not well right now.”

The effects of cultural imperialism and the influences of celebrities ultimately have positive or negative consequences. With correct education and a quality sense of morality and ethics, it would be less likely that celebrity culture would have a negative influence on one’s life. However, overconsumption of entertainment media and an inability to come to terms with the reality of cultural imperialism, the likelihood of being negatively influenced by celebrities would be increased.

References
Rockwell, Donna. (2004) “Celebrity and Being-in-the-world: The Experience of Being Famous. A Phenomenological Investigation.” Center for Humanistic Studies 2004: 15-80

Tunbridge, J. (2012) “The Negative Influences of Celebrity Culture”
Viewed on 12/10/2012. 2012globalmedia.wordpress.com

Sternheimer, K. 2011, ‘Celebrity culture and the American dream : stardom and social mobility.’ New York : Routledge, c2011 pp 11.

Struhs, D (Contributor at bleacher report) 27/05/2010
“2010 FIFA World Cup: Which Player has the Best Hair?,” Bleacher Report
Viewed 12/10/2012
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/397650-2010-fifa-world-cup-which-player-has-the-best-hair

Unknown Author, 29/10/2010, Ronaldo
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/238/695/ronaldo2-copie_display_image.jpg?1274974353

Unknown Authour, 29/10/2010, Cristiano Ronaldo
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/238/700/ronaldo_stec_display_image.jpg?1274975124
Unknown Author, 29/10/2010, David Beckham

Biccum A, (Contributor at George Mason University) 12/10/2011
“Celebrity Activists and Advocates in Development” Viewed on 12/10/2012
http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/2716

Gauna, A, (Contributor at Divine Caroline) 03/2011
“Negative Influences of Celbrities on Teens” pp.1, Viewed on 12/10/2012
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22106/111919-negative-influences-celebrities-teens

Wright, S.A, (Journalism Dept, California Polytechnic State University) 2008
“Blinding Lights: The Negative Effects of the Media on Celebrities” pp. 3-9
Viewed on 12/10/2012 http://www.calpoly.edu/~gkeyclub/SeniorProject.pdf

Leave Britney Alone. 10/09/2007, itscriscrocker, Online Video, viewed on 12/10/2012
http://bit.ly/tyLY

The Negative Influences of Celebrity Culture

Celebrities possess a strong power to influence the lifestyle trends of the general public. To some extent, heavy consumers of entertainment media parallel their lives on the very people that inundate the gossip section of newspapers. “Though we might not have their wealth or fame, we might feel that through consuming goods celebrities might favour, and living a lifestyle we see as similar to theirs, that we are achieving some degree of upward mobility by joining an elite status community” (Sternheimer, 2011). There are many negatives associated with celebrities holding immense influence over their followers especially when the development of teenagers is concerned. In an experimental stage when they are constantly reinventing themselves, teenagers are prone to adapting to changes in celebrity trends.

However, with celebrity role models such as Lindsay Lohan, a repeat drink driving offender and Miley Cyrus who was filmed smoking marijuana, teen development is at risk of heading in the wrong direction. Morality is blurred as “teens do not let instances like this hinder their idols’ likeability. They have become immune to things that are wrong because they constantly see celebrities conducting themselves in this manner in the media” (Gauna, 2011). In order to protect teens from the colossus that is celebrities, it is up to their parents and the matured society to educate teens on how they should respond to celebrity behaviour.

References:

Sternheimer, K. 2011, ‘Celebrity culture and the American dream : stardom and social mobility.’
New York : Routledge, c2011 pp 11.

Gauna, A. 2011, ‘Negative Influences of Celebrities on Teens,’ viewed 14th September, 2012 http://www.divinecaroline.com/22106/111919-negative-influences-celebrities-teens/3

Convergence – Global Identity vs National Culture

The converging environment that is the social media world is slowly eroding our sense of national culture. With Facebook boasting approximately one billion users worldwide, it would support the third highest population in the world if it were a country.

Similarly Twitter is also effective in developing a global identity, allowing people to come together and give there opinion (in 140 characters or less) via the simple use of a hash tag.

With social media taking becoming a major part of people’s lifestyles all around the world, the gap between foreign nations is becoming smaller as they share more and more lifestyle trends in accordance with the digital revolution.

“Social networking is most popular online activity, with 22% of time online spent on channels like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.” (Pring, C. 2012)

The consequence of such a process is inevitably causing national culture to vanish. What happened to the Australian way of throwing another shrimp on the barbie or watching the footy with a meat pie in hand? Instead the average Australian is cramped up inside, most likely browsing social media pages.

“Nations exist when their members recognize one another as compatriots, and believe that they share characteristics of the relevant kind,” (Miller, D. 1995, pp.22) Social networking sites take away any sense of national culture in that users are not colonised nor share any cultural similarities. The continual growth of social media is ultimately detrimenting our culture. Internet culture is having a poor effect on society, bringing about cultural imbalance in countries all over the world.

References
Miller, D. (1995) ‘On Nationality’
Oxford University Press, 23/11/1995 – 224 pages pp. 22

Pring, C. 2012 ‘The Social Skinny’
’99 New Social Media Stats for 2012,’ published, 10/05/2012
http://thesocialskinny.com/99-new-social-media-stats-for-2012/

webpronews, 2012 ‘What is Social Media Really Doing To Society’, online video,
http://bit.ly/RetyGH

Facebook Browsing Image

Al-jazeera – A Mirror Version of Fox News

Before engaging in this topic I was unaware of who or what Al-Jazeera was. I associated the term with terrorism attacks and the al-Qaeda broadcasts. It was rather surprising to learn that it was in fact a news and current affairs channel that supported a willingness to broadcast dissenting views and reaching a predominantly Arabic audience.

As I continued to delve into the Al-Jazeera broadcasting network, I couldn’t believe how little I knew about it, especially considering that it was voted by brandchannel.com users as the fifth most influential brand in the world. Considering the station’s immensely strong following due to its positive reputation for televising non-biased, trustworthy and accurate information, the opposite can often be said about the fox news style propaganda. This suggests to a certain extent that the two broadcasting organisations mirror each other. “Al-Jazeera presents an array of views: secularists debate fundamentalists, Israelis debate Palestinians, Iraqis debate Kuwaitis. There is no bias.” (El-Nawawy, M. 2003, pp51) Comparatively, Fox News has been tied up in numerous controversies in recent times. For instance, Fox news extensively altered photographs of two New York Times employees, making them appear less attractive than they were. “Fox aired photographs of Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and television editor Steven Reddicliffe on its morning show, “Fox & Friends,” in a segment firing back at a June 28 Times report that referred to “ominous trends” for Fox News’s ratings.” (Unknown Author, UPI, 2/07/08) This particular instance exemplifies the biased attitude that Fox news possesses, a trait that is very much non-existent in Al-Jazeera broadcasts.

References
El-Nawawy, M. 2003, ‘The battle for the Arab mind’, Al-Jazeera, the story of the network that is rattling governments and redefining modern journalism 2003, Westview Press, Boulder CO, pp. 51-53

Unknown Author, UPI.com, Entertainment News 2/7/2008

‘Report: Fox News altered photos,’ New York, USA

Al-jazeera Emblem

Altered Photo – Reddicliffe

Altered Photo – Steinberg

Australian Cultural Stereotypes

Stereotypes of Australian culture have been developed through advertisements and famous films. The 1980’s blockbuster ‘Crocodile Dundee’ is an example of Australian culture being depicted to the rest of the world. Paul Hogan’s character resembles the stereotype of the genuine aussie bloke from the outback. His role in this film gives an account of an Australian lifestyle compared to the American way of life and develops somewhat of a positive reputation for Australian culture. The film perceives Australian culture in many different ways and establishes the mindset that Australians are tough, kind, layed-back and respectful.

Australian culture can also be defined by the vast array of slang terms.“Billabong” and ”sticky beak” are Australian slang for creek and sticking your nose into someone else’s business. Both were snipped out of ”Crocodile Dundee” by Paramount Pictures in an attempt to make the most successful picture in Australian history palatable to American audiences.” (Harmetz, A. 1986). Slang is a part of Australian identity, so much so that the Australian government use terms such as ‘through another shrimp on the barbie’ or ‘where the bloody hell are you’ in their online and overseas television advertisements. Although changes in the usage of words in English are emerging through globalisation and travel, Australian slang has kept its strong ties to Australian
culture.” (Bartolo, K. 2008, pp.7). It is these advertisements that promote Australia in a favourable light, escaping from the term ‘Bogan’ that all to often used to describe Australian culture. The ads portray Australia as natural beauty and a home to nice and welcoming people.

References
Harmetz, A (Journailst at NY Times) ‘The Importing of Crocodile Dundee, 14/10/1986
Special to the New York Times (The New York Times); Cultural Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section C, Page 13, Column 4, 812 words

Kay Frances Bartolo (2008) ‘Bogan’: polite or not?
Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication 1, 1 (2008), pp.7‐20

Crocodile Dundee Image

Peter Breitkreutz 2012, ‘Where the Bloody Hell Are You,’ online video,
http://bit.ly/RtGsOS

The Olympics as a Globalising Force and a Global Event

The Olympic games are certainly a globalising force, bringing the every nation together to celebrate one of the biggest events in the world. As exciting as the Olympics are, the chances of a terrorism attack are however heightened. Whilst security at the games is incredibly tight, such a high-profile event which integrates numerous countries inevitably attracts the opportunity for an attack.

In the lead up to the games Israel’s prime minister said Sunday that “his country is on alert for plots to kill more of its citizens overseas, after speculation that the deadly bombing of a tour bus in Bulgaria was a rehearsal for a spectacular attack on Israel’s Olympics team”(Politico 22-07-12). In saying so, the timing of his comments marked the 40th anniversary of a Palestinian act of terrorism that took place at the Munich Olympics in 1972. The attack resulted in the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.

With numerous attacks such at 9/11, the Munich Olympics and the recent bombing being committed by the same racial groups, the chances of racism issues and stouches taking place are also increased.

“Previous research on terrorism has shown that one of the most striking features of mass media coverage of terrorist acts has been the recurrent use of certain ethnic identifiers to create a cognitive model of terrorism and, in so doing, account for the characteristics of the terrorist type by aligning them with those of the broader culture from which the terrorists emerge” (Martin & Phelan 2002).
Media coverage prior attacks does not help peoples perceptions of terrorist attackers but the memories that the media portray of such events, certainly make people feel on edge during the Olympic Games.

References:

Patrick Martin & Sean Phelan (2002): Representing Islam in the Wake of September 11: A Comparison of US Television and CNN Online Messageboard Discourses, Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation, 20:3, 263-269

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78821.html

My Media Empire

The year is 2030. Tunbridge Broadcast Media is an Australian media corporation that owns and operates numerous media businesses The company’s primary assets are radio and television networks, operating throughout Australia. It is the leading media provider in the country, reaching a prospective audience of approximately 25 million people.

Whilst traditional media corporations place most of their communicative focus on capital cities, Tunbridge Broadcast Media is unique in that it takes a diversified approach to media delivery. In saying so it linking intrinsically with regional areas providing the audience with news and programming that is most relevant to their interests. A majority of the radio and television networks substance will be produced within Australia. This is for “as far as local populations are concerned, locally produced programmes, whether based on formats or not, are likely to attract larger audiences” (A. Moran & M. Keane 2005).

– News Bulletin at one of my radio stations

The organisation disseminates viewing material to its audiences in professional and unbiased style. To a great extent, this statement made by Rupert Murdoch reflects the way in which I would run Tunbridge Media Broadcasting as CEO of the organisation – “For better or for worse, our company (The News Corporation Ltd.) is a reflection of my thinking, my character, my values. I try to keep in touch with the details… I also look at the product daily. That doesn’t mean you interfere, but it’s important occasionally to show the ability to be involved. It shows you understand what’s happening. (Rupert Murdoch)”

Mission Statement:

Producing and disseminating exceptional news, sports and entertainment around Australia.

References:

Keane, Michael A. and Moran, Albert (2005) (Re)Presenting Local Content: Programme Adaptation In Asia And The Pacific . Media International Australia (Culture and Policy).

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/rupert_murdoch/

News Intro Music Courtesy of YouTube User – ‘Screanut’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgEO22IgWm8

What is missing from current definitions and accounts of Globalisation?

Globalisation definitions and writings often appear to be central communication and its expansion on a worldwide scale; however the effects it has on those that fall behind is not well documented. Amid the foray of refugee discussions within the media and the government, the reason why people are seeking refuge unlawfully in the first place is rarely brought up. “Among the most public signs globalisation have been the rise of unemployment in the advanced economies of the west and inflation in the Third World, the steady dissolution of the social welfare state and the advent of trade liberalisation.”

 

With strict immigration laws enforced towards the end of the twentieth century, the number of asylum seekers rose, developing from an issue of human rights into an issue of immigration control. “The paradigm has now shifted to criminology, moving from border control to fight against transnational organised crime. How refugee and asylum seeker policy have become mired within the world of smuggling and trafficking, and the effect this has had on ‘right to asylum itself is the focus here.” (Morrison 2003).

 

As first-world countries continue to develop through globalistation, struggling countries will continue to battle, resulting in the asylum seeker issue growing into an even bigger problem. “Globalization refers to the growing interconnectedness of different parts of the world, a process which gives rise to complex forms of interaction and interdependency”(Thompson, 1995:149) What is missing from this is definition is the fact that there are limitations on third-world countries interconnecting and developing with developed countries.
References:

Morrison, J 2003, ‘“The dark side of globalisation”: the criminalisation of refugees’, in R Robertson & KE White (eds), Globalization: critical concepts in sociology, Routledge, London, pp. 474–7.

 

Thompson, J. (1995). ‘The Globalization of Communication’ In Thompson, J. The Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media, (pp.149-173). London: Blackwells.

Defining Globalisation

The Princeton University dictionary defines globalization as “Growth to a global or worldwide scale.” As soon as I read this interpretation of the word, shamefully the first thing that came to mind was Justin Bieber. I think that Justin Bieber’s status within world exemplifies the meaning of globalisation quite well. In 2008 he was an average 14-year-old boy in the possession of unique musical talent. Less than a year later, Bieber became a global phenomenon transforming himself into a successful music artist, recognisable around the world.

His 2010 single ‘Baby’ broke the world record for the most watched Video on Youtube and he was the most talked about topic on Twitter in the same year. The global exposure of Bieber’s image is incredible consider that Youtube has approximately 490 million unique users each month and Twitter boasts a number of active users in excess of 500 million.

Record number of YouTube hits

As much as I dislike his music and image, he is considered to be the third most powerful celebrity in the world by ‘Forbes’ magazine 2012 at just eighteen years of age. I feel the amount of attention he gets is quite ridiculous but when bearing in mind the extraordinarily broad reach of Bieber’s stardom across the planet, the amount of power and influence that he holds cannot be ignored. When the global marketplace is concerned “The dominant media have the power to set political agendas and shape the cultural landscape. But although these ‘cultural industries’ have grown to an immense size and their power has become even more concentrated, they are not omnipotent” (Steven 2003, p37). To some extent this statement can be exemplified by the number of dislikes on Bieber’s Youtube Video ‘Baby’ heavily outnumbering the amount of likes. I noticed this stat “and I was like baby, baby, baby YES” (slightly altered lyrics from ‘Baby’).

References:

Steven, P 2003, The no-nonsense guide to the global media, New Internationalist, Oxford, pp. 37–59.

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