The celebrity-paparazzi relationship has always been questionable. Yes, it must be difficult to live your life under a public microscope and have millions of cameras zooming in on you at all times, however, I question if some celebrities expose too much of their personal life, inviting this constant scrutiny and attention?
Celebrity reality TV shows have become extremely popular over the last few years. Celebrities claim they want to have an open relationship with their fans and allow them to see all aspects of their lives. Some of the most recent celebrity reality TV shows include: The Real Housewives, and all of their many seasons, Snooki and Jwow, Jon and Kate plus 8, later known as Kate plus 8, and of course, the infamous, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The “celebrities” in these shows aim to act as they do in their everyday lives, pretending the camera is not even there. However, one of the first problems P. David Marshall discusses in his chapter, The Promotion and Presentation of the Self,” regarding the celebrity lifestyle, is the fact that they strive to lead a normal life, but often do not succeed. David states, “The gaze provided by the paparazzi and distributed to magazines, television programmes and on-line sites makes their often everyday activities a kind of performance to be read further” (Marshall, 430). He then dissects a study done by Erving Goffman, that examined the presentation of the self in a social setting. Goffman claims, “performance of the self is a conscious act of the individual and requires careful staging to maintain the self - a composed and norm-driven construction of character and performance” (Goffman 1959, cited in Marshall, 431). What do you think? Can you see the truth behind this “staging” in current celebrity reality TV shows?
One A-lister who is stepping forward to defend the claim that her families reality TV show is fake and scripted, is Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the Kardashian clan. Chloe Melas reflects on Kris Jenner’s appearance on The View, where she repeatedly denied any accusations of her families show being staged. In Chloe’s article,“Kris Jenner On ‘The View’: ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ Isn’t Fake,” she recalls that anytime Kris was asked about certain scenes being staged or scripted, she firmly stated, “No Way!” (Melas). Kris also stated, “there is no chance any of this is scripted because there’s too much going on all the time to make this all up!” (Melas).
So, if their show isnt’t fake, and all of the crazy and dramatic antics that happen inside of the Kardashian household aren’t all grand performances, then why all of the cries for help when the paparazzi come running to continue the exclusive look into their personal lives? Kim Kardashian has frequently blamed the fame and the paparazzi for her failed relationships. In an article, “Kim Kardashian blames paparazzi for ruining relationship with ex-boyfriend Reggie Bush,” the author, Samantha Greaves, remembers one particular episode of KUWTK, when Kim explained to her friend that the paparazzi constantly snapping photos of her and Reggie together and always following her around proved to be too much for Reggie who was much more reserved (Greaves).
Another celebrity who has suffered severe attention from the paparazzi, is Kate Gosselin, the mother of the famous twins and sextuplets. Kate has also been quoted standing up for her reality TV show, stating it is as real as it gets. Then why, if she is so willing to allow cameras to follow her and her family on a day to day basis, does she get so irritated when the paparazzi come to do the same thing? In a recent article by The Huffington Post, Kate is quoted, stating, “If I could minus that part it would be the best thing ever. And I will tell you why -- they are only harmful” (The Huffington Post). She continued to say, “They never post the truth so how is that helpful to me?” (The Huffington Post).
How do you feel when celebrities that have their own reality TV shows, claim the paparazzi is too invasive? Do you feel sympathetic for them having to deal with cameras that they haven’t signed up for, following them around all of the time, or do you feel that in some way, by creating and allowing their lives to be open to the public via a TV show, they know paparazzi are part of this deal?
Goffman, E., 1959. The presentation of self in everyday life. New York, Doubleday.
Greaves, Samantha. “Kim Kardashian blames paparazzi for ruining relationship with ex-
boyfriend Reggie Bush.” Examiner.com. 2 August 2010. Web. http://
Marshall, David P., “The Promotion and Presentation of Self: Celebrity as Marker of
Presentational Media,” in The Media Studies Reader, Laurie Ouelette, ed. (New
York: Routledge, 2012), 427 - 438.
Melas, Chloe. “Kris Jenner On ‘The View’: Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ Isn’t
Fake.“ Hollywood Life. 7 February 2013. Web. http://hollywoodlife.com/
Unknown. “Kate Gosselin Won’t Miss ‘Kate Plus 8’ Fame.” The Huffington Post. 19
September 2011. Web. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/19/kate-gosselin-
I think it’s interesting that you pose the question of whether or not celebrities are inviting the attention of paparazzi by exposing their personal life. When it comes to reality TV stars, I think that answer is almost always yes.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, the Kardashians are a prime example of a reality TV family with a lot of paparazzi attention, but the Kardashians wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful as they are if they weren’t in the news all the time. It’s true they have multiple brands – DASH, Kardashian Kollection, Khroma Beauty, Kendall and Kylie for Pacsun – but their business model and marketing would be nothing without the exposure they get on TV and from constant camera attention. Their DASH stores is even the sole focus of some of the episodes that air, therefore serving as marketing while entertaining their audience. Also the fact that paparazzi constantly stalk Kim and her sisters can also help their reputation as fashion icons. With pictures constantly surfacing of the sisters’ outfits it lands them on shows such as Fashion Police as best dressed and even featured in entertainment magazines like People and Cosmopolitan for their fashion. In David Marshall’s chapter entitled The Promotion and Presentation of the Self he says, "Because of celebrity's centrality in what can be defined as self-production, the elaborate celebrity gossip can be seen as providing a continuity of dis-course around the presentation of the self for public consumption.” This basically means that by staying in the spotlight celebrities are promoting themselves and their brands and therefore progressing their careers.
While the Kardashians may claim that their reality show is not staged, the story is completely different from MTV’s hit reality series “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills.” Kristin Cavallari told Bravo’s Andy Cohen that the relationships, fights and scenes are all fake and that they even had outfit changes on set to make the scenarios seem more realistic (Huffington Post). Lauren Conrad, who also stared in both Laguna Beach and The Hills choose to leave the show around Season 5 and was able to successfully break away from the reality TV mold, as many other stars cannot. Conrad now has her own beauty blog and fashion line at Kohls and has been able to stay off of television for now. She has even become a successful author. Conrad can therefore be compared to actresses such as Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens whose image rehab was discussed in the article “'Spring Breakers' and the art of image rehab” by Owen Gleiberman. While Gomez and Hudgens both took a risk to be seen as more mature and less of a Disney child star, Conrad tried to break away from her irresponsible reputation as a boy-obsessed partier and become a respected businesswoman and fashion icon.
So in response to whether or not I think that paparazzi are too invasive on the lives of reality television stars – I say no. These stars chose to have themselves in the spotlight at all times and were basically signing away their privacy in doing so. They wanted attention and they got it and in most cases that attention lead them to successful lucrative careers.
Sieczkowski, Cavan. "Kristin Cavallari Says 'The Hills' Was 'Fake,' But Lauren Conrad Feud Was Real." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
Marshall, David P., “The Promotion and Presentation of Self: Celebrity as Marker of Presentational Media,” in The Media Studies Reader, Laurie Ouelette, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012), 427 - 438.
Gleiberman, Owen. "'Spring Breakers' and the Art of Image Rehab." EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
In response to your question about whether or not I feel bad for reality TV show stars having paparazzi follow them around all the time, the answer is definitely no. In my personal opinion, I do not feel as though any person that signs on to be on a reality TV show is in it for anything other than recognition from the public eye. It’s like the saying goes; everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame. For reality shows like “The Biggest Loser”, or “Survivor” the object of the game is not necessarily to become a public icon, but to win an award either in cash, or to lose weight and change your life. When it comes to reality TV like “The Real Housewives” or “Snooki and J-Wow”, I do not believe for a second that the stars of these shows are acting natural in front of the cameras, or that they are doing it for anything other than attention.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, “The Promotion and Presentation of Self” by P. David Marshall, he writes, “Celebrities are allowing themselves to expose their lives further in order to gain a following and an audience.” A perfect example of this would be the success of “Snooki and J-Wow”. Both of these reality TV stars started out by gaining spots on the MTV reality TV show “Jersey Shore”. Before this show, both of these girls were considered average Americans. They were women in their 20’s getting through school, working, and spending times with their friends and families. After starting on the “Jersey Shore”, both women became famous almost overnight for nothing more than having their summer partying in a shore house in New Jersey taped and broadcast for the world to see.
After many seasons of partying and escalating fame, “Jersey Shore” went off the air, but to gain more popularity and attention from their audience, Snook and J-Wow began their own reality TV show that documented their lives together, Snooki’s pregnancy, and J-Wow’s relationship. To this day, the two women are having their lives filmed and are promoting themselves in a way to gain a larger audience.
One thing that I noticed as I was reading the article titled, “Spring Breakers and the Art of Image Rehab,” by Owen Gleiberman was when they were talking about how innocent actresses switched into more risqué roles. Gleiberman states, “What’s the key to a role that successfully transforms you? The trick is to call attention to what you’re doing, yet to transcend the gimmickry and make the new image feel organic.” Though in the article it does not relate to reality TV stars, I found that it related well to “Snooki and J-Wow”.
Though some people that gain fame through reality TV shows, there are many that never make careers out of filming their everyday lives. You can see what reality stars stand out amongst their peer, and in a way these stars are the ones that are able to successfully transform themselves into celebrities and not only TV stars. Out of all of the people that were shown on “The Jersey Shore”, only Snooki and J-Wow were able to have their own successful reality show after it. This makes sense because they know what they’re doing with reality TV and they are able to make the shows they tape seem natural.
I’m still convinced that the majority of reality TV is staged, but the stars that are able to make it seem the most natural are the ones that will gain the most from this new type of stardom. And as I said, these types of celebrities started out looking to be in the public eye, so I see no reason why we should feel bad for them if they are hounded by paparazzi, especially if they continue to pursue a career in reality TV after their initial fame has diminished.
Marshall, David P., “The Promotion and Presentation of Self: Celebrity as Marker of Presentational Media,” in The Media Studies Reader, Laurie Ouelette, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012), 427 - 438.
Gleiberman, Owen. "'Spring Breakers' and the Art of Image Rehab." EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up some really great points in comparison to the relationships with reality TV stars and paparazzi. I feel like this can be a controversial topic, even though these “celebrities” sign up to be on TV I believe these reality stars are entitled to some type of privacy. I actually do feel sympathetic for them because paparazzi can be too harsh and invasive. Paparazzi have the ability to construe the truth just for some quick money or exposure on a reality star that can affect the stars in a negative way. Sometimes I feel like the Paparazzi will do too much and should just let them live their lives like normal people because at the end of the day they are just people. I know it sounds hypocritical but this is a tricky topic to discuss. Even though there are shows like “Keeping up with the Kardashians, “Jersey Shore” and other reality shows in that nature, I believe they don’t want to show every single detail that goes on in their lives. It’s just for entertainment and they show the scenes that people would want to see. I am pretty sure if we did follow them around every single day, every hour of the hour, it would get pretty boring. People don’t realize how much editing or cutting out there is when it comes down to these shows. We always see the drama fulfilled parts because that’s what the producers and editors want you to see.
In the article, “The Promotion and Presentation of the Self” starts off with some intriguing information that brings me back to the idea of Paparazzi doing too much. The first paragraph of the article states “ there have been two moments where the regular decrying of the vacuity of celebrity culture appeared to gain some taction….one can recall Diana’s death in 1997 and the second was the chorus of the famous proclaiming that the hounding of celebrities must stop”. Due to paparazzi going over the top, they are the cause of ruining people’s lives and even causing death. According to story the death of Princess Diana was caused by the paparazzi. They blame the Paparazzi for her death because she was being chased and ended up crashing her vehicle causing instant death for the Princess. It just goes to show you that Paparazzi is starting to get out of control and taking things to another level. Going back to one of your questions you asked “Do I feel they deserve it or feel sympathetic to these stars?” this is my reasoning why. I understand that they are putting themselves out there but you can’t control fame and Paparazzi just knows how to get under people’s skin and show all their flaws. These stars don’t deserve this and I believe they are entitled to have their privacy.
Another article that I thought was interesting that related to this topic in a different perspective was the “Selena Gomez in an 'awkward' transition in R-rated 'Spring Breakers' “. This article itself I felt was too Paparazzi for me, meaning they took things to another level. Just in this short article it bashed Selena Gomez as an artist and an actress. They discussed her risqué behavior in the movie then switched off to her break up with Justin Bieber with a single she released “Rule the World”. I just thought this article itself was interesting, it pointed out a lot of negative things about her which I don’t even believe. They even quoted her for saying strange things to her fans like “they shouldn’t go see this”. It just goes back to the topic of things being misconstrued by other person’s words, actions or even photos. At the end of the day celebrities are just people and they have their rights as well.
Work Cited
DeleteMarshall, David P., “The Promotion and Presentation of Self: Celebrity as Marker of Presentational Media,” in The Media Studies Reader, Laurie Ouelette, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012), 427 - 438.
Pearson, Ryan.“Selena Gomez in an 'awkward' transition in R-rated 'Spring Breakers' “. Associated Press, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
Gleiberman, Owen. "'Spring Breakers' and the Art of Image Rehab." EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
this is not good thing to be a jealous with the celebrity they are always be happy ,http://fashionsglobe.com/love-life/sex-relation
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