Instant success
The other day I was chatting with a friend about British ’success’ culture after reading a multitude of Apprentice tweets. What is our fascination with the idea of instant success?!
Is hard work overrated?
Jade Goody rose to fame after being an unreserved extrovert (to put it nicely) on Big Brother and by publicizing and capitalizing on her battle with cancer. She became famous with very little effort, and the British public somehow idolized her.
Then, of course, there are the magazines filled with page upon page of ‘invite only’ parties showcasing the young socialites out partying on daddy’s cash and not having to care about getting a great job because an alumnus from their posh school will hire them…
And it’s not just the UK that worships socialites; take Olivia Palermo for example. She’s the daughter of a real estate developer who made a name for herself by being photographed at social events in NYC. She is depicted on MTV’s The City as a real-life Blair Waldorf whose judgemental and condescending nature are hardly redeeming qualities. While viewers love-to-hate her, the fact remains that she is receiving $12K per episode for being a snob.
Or there’s Nadya Suleman whose exploitation of reproductive technology by giving birth to octuplets gave her the international attention she was looking for.
The family of the thirteen year old dad (who turned out not to be the father after all) must have okayed selling his story to the tabloids, probably in exchange for money and hopes of instant-fame.
It’s sickening, actually, the things people will do to grab and hold onto the spotlight. And, much like slowing down to look at a car accident, the rest of us can’t seem to look away!
Totally agree. People seem to be taking their 15 minutes of fame for all it’s worth these days, it’s kinda freaky. Octomom is so weird, too, reading about her exploits just makes me cringe!!
I agree, it’s fucked up. I personally only have respect for “celebrities” that have risen to their fame through hard work or exceptional talent. These Socialites and famous-by-association types are just leeches. But are they stupid? Hell no!
They are taking advantage of the real stupid ones; The tabloid readers and Heat magazine subscribers who think that these people are important enough to read about.
The way I’ve always looked at it is; the fact that we know who Paris Hilton is, is an indictment of the culture that takes an interest in her. Hilton, herself is just riding the gravy train.
I have always had dislike for these people. They are famous because they are in the news, or their parents are successful. I’ve always lumped people like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Ashley Simpson (no talent, but sister was talented) Heidi Montag into this category.
There are socialites, and there are socialites. This is something which is perhaps slightly lost on a North American audience, because in the UK we have a class system which is independent of financial status.
In a nutshell, you’ll find that the lower and lower middle classes are riveted by the adventures of Jade Goody and her ilk, the upper middle classes by noveau riche socialites, and the Upper classes by themselves. At the end of the day, it boils down to narcissistic gratification – people identify with these individuals, and therefore effectively bask in their reflected glory, rather than achieving anything themselves. These so-called celebrities don’t need to do *anything* – they’re merely dolls which the public dress up.