People say that if you work hard your dreams can and will come true. Some even say if you fight for your dreams hard enough and do whatever it takes you will reap the results of your dedication. Dreams vary though and depending on what your dream is, there is a degree of hard work and dedication that can help make your dreams come true. But what if your dream is to have fame? Many people want to be famous but what kind of famous and at what cost?
In the book Film and Television Stardom, Dr Donna Rockwell explains in a chapter she wrote “Ready for the Close-up: Celebrity Experience and Phenomenology of Fame” how the life of the famous can turn into an unending cycle that some what turns into a “merry-go-round”. Additionally, in an article she wrote for Saybrook University in 2012, she spoke about the effects of fame on a person’s house, including the substance abuse, isolation, dysfunctional adaptations that come with activities famous people associate with and at times the psychological effects that lead to some forms of paranoia or mistrust. Various celebrities do experience a whirlwind kind of life and it is no secret that this life entails eventually feeling like a captive being so why do people still long for this lifestyle? Why are people so enticed by fame?
Dr Rockwell suggests that it might have more to do with the money, being waited on hand and foot having the public’s adoring admiration and being part of the coolest clubs around. When you think about it, it’s kind of like being a high school student. In a high school there are different groups and each group has a certain rank in the school’s hierarchy. This is called the social hierarchy and all the way at the top we see the really popular kids in school who are the envy of those who are lower on the social hierarchy. It is either you are the well-known and popular kind of person, an overachiever with a bit of popularity, the invisible kind who are doing just fine and go unnoticed or the kind who stand out for the wrong kind of reasons.
You know you want to be at the top of the social hierarchy, everyone does. But why? Well for one, all cool kids have either a lot of boys or a lot of girls drooling over them. They have no problem making friends and some even have that added advantage of being popular amongst the teachers so they are most likely to be voted as the head leaders or captains of teams.
No one wants to go unnoticed. Drawing back to being an adult of course you want to be famous, have the money, the cars, the clothes and memberships to the best golf clubs where you are most likely to make acquaintances that are popular in many circles. When we look at fame from a distance it is enticing because we have no idea what it entails. Yes, we know a lot of famous people who have died from drug overdoses but can we give up the luxury out of fearing the unknown? Many people wouldn’t.
The constant yearning for fame does dilute in many people as they get older and they take on their responsibilities as adults. But some hold on to the idea of posthumous fame, according to psychologist Dr Orville Gilbert Brim. Dr Brim suggests that many people hold on to that last hope of fame like mediaeval communities hold on to the belief of an afterlife. For many people fame seems to mean that their live would have had a deeper meaning or some sort of importance. It is evident however that in order to fulfil a certain purpose that will need you to acquire people’s attention you do have to be someone who is well known. Hence why the UN uses people such as; Beyoncé, Emma Watson, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ian Somerhalder, Priyanka Chopra, David Beckham and Danny Glover to name a few, as their ambassadors. As people who are well known they are able to reach a broader audience and have a bigger influence.
Seeking fame for many people may at times be about having the wealth or being seen, adored and so forth but for others it could be about having an impact on people for various reasons. But as in the words of Alanis Morissette we have to remember that
“Fame is hollow. It amplifies what is there. If there is any self-doubt, or hatred or lack of ability to connect with people, fame will magnify it.”
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