Week 8 - Fame & Celebrity

This week's class is very similar to the topic I discussed for my Dialectical inquiry on Fans and Fandoms. I believe they go hand in hand with one another as it helps you understand more on the celebrity from an industry standpoint and can link it to how fans and fandoms receive or appreciate it. That was my take on the whole lesson - which is super interesting btw. Hence, despite my illness (not being able to speak), I contributed to the class through text.

Pre Class (and some post class research)

While reading the online lecture, a few things really latched on to me as it gave me a different approach to seeing celebrity fame. It was particularly from the Celebrity Industry segment. I find it interesting how “celebrities” are a form of product that is “manufactured” in the industry. It is fascinating to realize that different places concentrate on different types of celebrities, like the examples provided in the lesson - “Nashville's country music made it famous; public art celebrities did so for Seattle; film for Los Angeles, and so on” . However due to globalization, these sectors have grown beyond these particular places and evolved into a decentralized celebrity industry. It has also evolved into a fusion of segments because Celebrities do not remain in one sector anymore. They diversify from being a musician to an actor/actress, maybe? And so on…

I have particular examples for these, once again going back to the research I gathered for my topic on Kpop fans & fandoms. They are as follows:

1) Trainees - Training period

So kpop idols go through this intense period of training and are termed as "trainees" until they debut as a soloist or in a group, which is usually after a minimum of 5 years.

2) Trainee life/abuse

This training period can get exceedingly toxic from the harsh dorm life, to super-strict unhealthily Paper cup-dieting that could lead to eating disorders, dating bans, 20+ hour work schedules everyday with $2 pay per day and so much more that's honestly painful to write about.

3) Slave Contracts

Its called so because it is usually a contract between 7 to 10 years of service with a particular company, which means the idol cannot leave the company unless it goes bankrupt or they release you, and if you get released from doing something like breaking a rule, you’ll be paying a HEAVY fine even if was something like dating. It's insane...

This intense training period is mainly that "manufacturing" process Korean idols must go through to become "fit" for the industry, which is....traumatizing. It sad that this is how the industry has always been. Even though things are getting a bit better on the Korean Government banning certain rules and contracts, it's still very far from an ideal industry to be in.

However, there are a lot of kpop singers who eventually stream into acting and make a huge mark in their acting career even without a degree in it. This goes back to the idea of decentralizing the celebrity industry into different segments. Some even go onto becoming talk show hosts, which is interesting because they keep branching out into streams in the industry that may be affected through their Military Service.

During Class (and post class research)

During class, we discussed a LOT. The presentations that were done were mainly based off the aesthetics of fame and celebrity in the music industry and so the topics we discussed were super interesting. Here are some of them that i made note of:

1) How a Celebrity’s look affects their fame and popularity

Some artists choose to conceal their identity as their way of standing out from the crowd and being noticed bit also for other reason, of course. Some of the examples include Marshmello - who has never shown his face before, Sia who goes with a black and white fringe look, Daft punk and so many more... However, it is also stated that you need to have good looks to be famous in the music world.

2) How an outfit can make a song memorable

Yes, sometimes its the packaging that makes a product twice or even thrice as memorable. Sometimes you can just look at the outfit of a signer and immediately relate to a particular hit song. An example of this is the Thriller outfit Micheal Jackson wore and his anti-gravity pose that got the world questioning.

3) How a singer/musician may have a unique voice/sound that is immediately recognizable

Its the aesthetic of their voice that makes a musician recognizable. Some artist's voice can be so strong that you easily identify with who the artist is without even seeing them, and i think thats the best thing for a musician to be identified by their unique sound. A particular example I was reminded of was gazelle in Zootopia who sounded like Shakira when she hit the stage with the song Try Everything.

4) A Virtual celebrity made entirely in 3D and is worshipped as a real life celebrity

Miquela @lilmiquela - that's all I'm going to say (haha). You need to see it for yourself to understand why this is such a thing. All I have to say is that I never knew this existed until Elen brought it up in class.

5) Celebrities branching out into other streams and being successful

It can be successful for celebrities with huge and loyal fanbases because no matter what the celebrity may do, their fans will support. Even to the point where it could be a cover up for the crimes of these celebrities, fans will come rushing in. I've explained this in my presentation but here's another video that was incredibly insightful to watch.

6) Collaborations between artists

Although I find this to be an awesome thing for celebrities to collaborate and exchange styles to come up with new music trends, I find it to be problematic at times too. Especially when they are being forced by some toxic fans to collaborate for the hype of it. Some collaborations feel very excessive right now as well. Some artists collaborate for clout too, and that cannot be denied when someone becomes extremely famous. Everyone just wants a taste of it.

7) Lindsay Lohan lives in Dubai???

So apparently she does because the UAE is very secure for celebrities to live a normal life - without having paparazzi constantly at your face 24x7. It feels good to know that there's a place in the world that bans photographers from freely invading someone's privacy.

Post Class (creative media project)

This following week, we will be recording our voiceovers and skits. Super excited for this to see how it turns out.

We also discussed how to evenly spread the work. Since josh can't edit some "scary" clips, I will be doing that while editing some of my shots in too. So to even it out, I will be editing mine and Mayur's parts while Josh will edit his and Naya's. Let's see how this goes.