The Culture of Celebrity

Did you ever wonder how we seem to have so many celebrities these days that are famous for no particular reason? Here I shall offer possible explanations for the rise in celebrity culture, and reasons why we need to be wary of its more seductive applications, and the many mixed-signals it can present.

Major reasons for the rise in celebrity culture, are the intense peddling of celebrities by the mass media and the huge increase in the use of celebrities in commercial advertising (doubling since 1995). Also, in a secular society the celebrity lifestyle has come to represent the ideal, the promised land of the holistically satiated ego.

The culture of celebrity is marketing’s most potent weapon. It is the bastion of the hard-sell, which adds rocket fuel to the flames of consumer culture. Celebrities are idolised for all they possess, and are offered by advertisers as living proof of the happiness derived from an intense materialism. We are sold the notion, that to be as content, successful, and happy as our celebrities, we must indulge in the consumer products they recommend. The celebrity lifestyle is a marketing dream, we must all be persuaded that this lifestyle is attainable, and the way to attain it is simply by some hardcore consumer spending.

In a highly secularised society, the power wielded by the culture of celebrity can be significantly weightier. This is a consequence of heightened fascinations with narcissism, material wealth, success, over indulgence and the self, all of which are embodiments of celebrity culture (as presented in the mainstream). We should be mindful that all of these values are in opposition to society strengthening values of charity, community and commitment.

Thus, the purposes of the rebellion, against the preoccupations with celebrity culture, emerge. The rebellion will attempt to reignite some of the core society-building values; to make highly secular societies more aware of the potentially deconstructing and mixed-signals coming from the pervasive peddling of celebrity ideals, and to alert us to the subtle hard-sell wielded by celebrity leveraged marketing.

The Culture Renaissance begins.