HNC Photography, IFC - Coursework, Introduction to Film Culture Blog, Project 4 - Star-crossed lovers, Research & Reflection IFC
Part 2: Project 4 Research Point 7
As discussed in earlier post a star is many things to many different people for example:
• Thye are someone to admire
• They are object of fantasy
• Provider of escapism – either through their films or out desire to copy them
• They are the living embodiment of our fantasy’s and desires.
Cinema (and other media TV Music) is a major part of everyone’s lives and takes over everyone to some degree. The desire to fill our lives with the lives of the rich and famous varies from person to person, but in general, everyone looks to a degree; even, if they are not obsessive and filling their bedroom walls with posters.
A magazine such as “Hello?” feed on and feeds, our desires for celebrity gossip and information. They pay stars sometimes as much as they would receive for a movie for fights to the wedding, child christening or just and interview.
Our desire to follow the famous feeds their wealth but does our desire strain their private lives. Having every second under the microscope?
The original fanzines were full of studio press shots and where magazines such:
The paparazzi have grown and grown any one can be paparazzi with a digital camera, but the professional paparazzi can swoop at a minutes notice on celebrities when they are spotted. And these images don’t have to wait 24 hours or more to hit the newspapers they can be on social media in seconds.
This does not say that previous to social media there was gossip the life on Joan Crawford was full of tabloid rumours although perhaps not to the detail contained in this article from the Daily Mail.
I’m not a follower of any celebrity on twitter or facebook partial I’m not a fan of twitter and fell it is a potential rabbit hole you could vanish down and never be seen of again. However, it is a valuable tool for stars to air what they are thinking and also fight off the rumours trigger by the gossip and paparazzi.
Autographs vs. Selfie: it just progress, I don’t it is in any way more intrusive to the life of the celebrity – you just need to be respectful when you ask.