How Celebrities Have Changed And The Specular Economy

Celebrities are people who are probably just like us, there is probably nothing too special about them and they act and think in similar ways just like us, however our current society has put them into a category as special or deemed them as role models who people everyday want to look, think and act just like. As Marshall stated celebrities have ‘developed into a particularly powerful and pervasive trope for contemporary culture' (2013 p.1). Global celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black have shaped the way people act and behave and sadly usually serve as a bad role model for people everywhere.

The term “celebrity” has changed over the last years, celebrities used to be people that mattered, people who were leaders or people who made a real difference to the world. But lately the term ‘celebrity’ can be literally given to anyone who owns a YouTube account or ‘accidently’ leaks a sex tape (I really hate you Kardashians). This is all due to the rise in social media, where anyone who is entertaining on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube can become one of the most known people in the world. For example the Global celebrity Rebecca Black is an individual who clearly has no talent or has anything to truly say, however she made one horribly laughable music video that was so bad became a worldwide hit. Now Rebecca Black is (I can’t believe I am saying this) one of the world most successful singers with more than 167 million views on her hit song Friday.

Thanks to Global Celebrities people are doing everything they can to be just like them, people buy cloth that celebrities wear, people dress like celebrities and even try to act like celebrities. Marshall (2010) suggests the specual culture is spreading with the rise in technology and that “we are becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves and how others perceive us (Marshall 2010, p. 499).” Due to this we are acting more and more like someone we are not (e.g. Global celebrities) and I personally think it is important to maintain who we are and not who we can be.

 

On the topic of who celebrities should be, I consider the man in the picture above. Do you know this man? No didn’t think so. This man is David Justino who is currently being called a hero who helped saved a young tourist women’s life after she was hit by a taxi and lost both of her legs. People like him are what I personally think should be celebrities of this world, the only reason no one knows about this man is because global celebrities like Miley Cyrus taking advantage of the media by posting videos of her twerking has overshadowed people who really matter.

 

With Globalization and the power of social media, literally anyone can become a celebrity, while people who are probably more worthy of the title are overshadowed by not so talented global celebrities who take advantage of the media.

References: 

Link 1: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/09/25/13/53/hero-claims-he-was-fired-for-saving-woman

Image 1: http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1432607!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/plumber22n-4-web.jpg

Image 2: http://www.worthashare.com/assets/miley-cyrus-twerking.jpeg

Marshall, D, (2010). ‘The Specular Economy.’ Society, 47, 6, pp. 498 – 502, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 31 August 201

Marshall, P. David, 2013. Persona Studies:Mapping the Proliferation of the public self. Sage Publications,  pp 2-18.