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Pondering on celebrity culture
By Chen Yanru (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-16 13:27
Issues and debates over celebrities' public images constantly appear in the
media, especially recently. This reminds me of an episode I encountered a while
ago.
I overheard a conversation between two high school students.
Student A: "Do you know actor so-and-so?"
Student B: "No, I have not heard of him."
Student A: "How can you not know anything about him! Everybody knows about
him!"
The interesting logic underlying this scene is revealing: These days people
may feel they need to know a celebrity (especially those in the performing arts
circle) just because he or she is well-known, not because of the person's
merits.
In the late-American historian Daniel Boorstin's words, celebrities are
people who are "well known for their well-knownness." The better known they are
among the public, the more they "deserve" to be known.
On the other hand, tradition and wisdom teach us that heroes are those who
rise to public recognition by their great thoughts, words and deeds.
In the contemporary society, within the reach of the electronic media, which
can elevate an obscure singer to stardom overnight, the line between a bona fide
hero and a media-made celebrity is not always as clear as it used to be.
For more than a decade since the early 1990s, concerned officials, experts
and educators have been voicing their worries about the tendency among the young
to become "celebrity admirers" instead of "hero worshipers."
Celebrities or heroes?
According to sporadic surveys, many young people, including college students,
have little idea of and regard for the great heroes who established the People's
Republic of China and those who had fought to safeguard its sovereignty.
Instead, youthful minds are occupied with popular singers, especially those
based in Taiwan and Hong Kong, famous actors and actresses, and sports stars.
At first glance, such facts may not raise eyebrows. But the underlying truth
is that these celebrities have greater appeal to youngsters because they stand
for "cool public images," "making easy money," and "instantaneous fame." This is
a rather misleading and an ill-channeled trend.
If our youth grow up with the mentality that they might be able to reap where
they have not sown, will they be competent builders of the nation? Can the
nation's future rest safely on their shoulders?
Despite our serious concern, celebrities have subtly taken the place of
heroes in our social life. Shall we blame it all on the media?
Manufactured celebrities
The media industry is one that manufactures celebrities. Even when heroes do
come to the media's attention, if they are still living, the media (especially
TV) tend to turn them into celebrities by featuring them with programmes such as
talk shows, variety shows, and song and dance parties.
What is the result? The audience forgets about the spiritual essence of the
heroes, but remembers their images on TV. Such a phenomenon is nothing new. It
has been in vogue in the United States since TV turned the nation's presidential
election from a contest over ideals to a contest of images. But we hope it will
not imperil China's tradition of hero worship.
TV can turn heroes into celebrities, but it cannot create true heroes.
Getting on TV is a great temptation to young eyes and hearts. One American
friend who has been a long-time TV professional once told me: "For many people,
especially the youth, appearing on TV seems to instantly make them outstanding,
lifting them above the earthly crowd. Those smiling on the TV screen may develop
a false sense of power and control over the environment, because in their
imagination they are being admired and appreciated by many watchers. Such
temptation easily erodes unguarded youthful hearts."
Now the important point is to alert young people to the distinction between
celebrities thus made and the true heroes who must endure hardships and combat
difficulties with diligence and persistence. Young people should be fully aware
that no hero is created overnight.
Chinese heroes
Some observers may argue that young people in Chinese society today have
their own "heroes." Who are they?
Heroes stand for ideals and fight for ideals. Ideals are like stars in the
evening skies, beyond our reach, but mariners sailing life's great sea chart
their course by the stars.
Mere celebrities rely on images and shine only on TV screens. In the last
analysis, they are nothing but an image. But it is precisely their image that is
often called into question.
Western social scientists' social learning theories inform us that examples
function mightily on youthful minds. Adolescents nurse a psychological void that
needs to be filled by something or someone. If that "someone" turns out to be a
true and great hero, chances are the one who cherishes the hero will take his
spirit to heart and learn from him. If that "someone" happens to be a mere
celebrity who does not withstand the test of time, chances are great that the
youthful heart later will turn to some other newly made celebrities for comfort
and repose.
Dwelling upon an image is not the same as resting on an ideal. The Chinese
Government has been making great efforts to cultivate the new generation into
one that has, foremost among other qualities, lofty ideals. And such qualities
are more likely to develop where there are heroes as examples.
Successful people
Now we come to another concept that defies easy definition and often blurs
the distinction between heroes and celebrities. That is the concept of
"successful people." It typically refers to those who own big enterprises, drive
sleek cars, live in luxurious villas, work in high-rise office buildings, and
are waited upon by assistants with attractive appearances. Guess where we get
that idea from? TV! And most of such images can be ascribed to TV commercials
featuring celebrities.
The above concept compels us to draw a fine line between "achievement" and
"success." Boiled down to its essence, many nation builders such as scientists
and workers and farmers achieve a lot, but they seldom get the limelight in the
media.
Take a recent example to illustrate this point. The whole Chinese nation is
commemorating the 100th anniversary of the late national leader Deng Xiaoping.
Deng is definitely a hero, and the media have justifiably presented him as a
"hero and celebrity." He best exemplifies how a genuine hero may sometimes
unwittingly become a celebrity, yet he remains a hero. If the generation born
during the reform era has little or no memory of the equally great late Chairman
Mao Zedong, it should at least remember Deng Xiaoping, who masterminded the
reform policies from which this generation has benefited the most.
While orchestrating events and turning out cultural products to commemorate
Deng, media practitioners need to bear in mind the key distinction between
"hero" and "celebrity." Otherwise, the public's attention may be unduly drawn
toward less relevant details while overlooking Deng's theoretical legacy and
spiritual essence.
To be realistic, with the ubiquitous modern mass media inserted in our daily
lives, there is basically no escape from media-made celebrities. What we can do
is to suggest that the media also work concertedly to present more true heroes.
Let heroes compete with celebrities for youthful hearts and minds - the
result of the competition to a greater extent depends on the performance of the
media.
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