WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.339 Welcome back to the deep dive. Usually when we 00:00:02.339 --> 00:00:05.820 sit down here, we are looking outward. We're 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:09.179 analyzing a historical event, breaking down a 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:12.029 new piece of technology or perhaps you know looking 00:00:12.029 --> 00:00:14.269 at a specific figure in science or literature 00:00:14.269 --> 00:00:17.010 but today we are doing something a little different 00:00:17.010 --> 00:00:19.629 we are turning the camera around we are looking 00:00:19.629 --> 00:00:22.370 at the lens itself it's a bit of an uncomfortable 00:00:22.370 --> 00:00:25.710 pivot honestly it forces a bit of uh introspection 00:00:25.710 --> 00:00:28.769 it really does because today we are talking about 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:31.989 celebrity culture and i think the knee -jerk 00:00:31.989 --> 00:00:34.149 reaction when you hear that phrase celebrity 00:00:34.149 --> 00:00:37.060 culture is to think about right The famous people. 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:39.799 The actors, the musicians, the influencers, the 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:41.759 people walking the red carpets. We think about 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:45.079 the glitz, the scandals, the private jets. But 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:47.859 digging into this stack of research, the articles, 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:51.899 the sociology papers, the history, it hits you 00:00:51.899 --> 00:00:54.100 pretty hard that celebrity culture isn't actually 00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:56.960 about the celebrities. No, that is the fundamental 00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:59.219 twist in all the literature we reviewed. It's 00:00:59.219 --> 00:01:01.679 a complete misnomer in a way. It's about us. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.819 Entirely. If we stopped looking. The culture 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:08.900 would cease to exist. It's a fascinating dynamic 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:11.900 because it's a phantom structure. A phantom structure. 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:14.840 I like that. It feels incredibly solid. I mean, 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:16.659 it generates billions of dollars. It dictates 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:19.560 elections. It changes how we dress. But it exists 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:22.540 solely because of a collective, synchronized 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:26.000 desire to watch other people live their lives. 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:28.959 So it's an atmosphere. It is an atmosphere that 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:32.180 we, the consumers, actively create. It's not 00:01:32.180 --> 00:01:34.810 a thing. It's a behavior. That's a heavy start. 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:36.709 And we are going to get into the psychology of 00:01:36.709 --> 00:01:38.890 why we do that. But before we get into the why, 00:01:39.150 --> 00:01:41.370 we need to ground this with a definition. Sure. 00:01:41.469 --> 00:01:43.950 Because culture is a word we throw around loosely. 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:46.069 We talk about French culture, corporate culture, 00:01:46.170 --> 00:01:48.950 counterculture. But the sources provided a specific 00:01:48.950 --> 00:01:51.370 definition for celebrity culture that I found 00:01:51.370 --> 00:01:53.390 really helpful in distinguishing it from those 00:01:53.390 --> 00:01:56.209 others. Right. And that distinction is key. Usually 00:01:56.209 --> 00:01:58.890 when anthropologists or sociologists use the 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:01.269 word culture, they are talking about a physically 00:02:01.269 --> 00:02:03.769 identifiable group of people. You know, a group 00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:05.989 that shares a language, a specific location, 00:02:06.209 --> 00:02:08.389 shared traditions, maybe a shared religion or 00:02:08.389 --> 00:02:11.169 shared history. You can point to a map and say, 00:02:11.270 --> 00:02:15.110 here is where this culture lives. But celebrities 00:02:15.110 --> 00:02:17.840 don't fit that box. Not at all. Think about it 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:21.460 practically. A linebacker for the NFL, a K -pop 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:24.360 star in Seoul, a politician in Washington, and 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:27.060 a reality TV star in, I don't know, New Jersey. 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:29.159 Right. They don't form a cohesive group. They 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:30.639 don't all hang out in one village. They don't 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:32.659 have a shared religion. They barely have shared 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:35.139 values. So a serious method actor in New York 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:37.039 might have absolutely nothing in common with 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.280 an influencer in Los Angeles. Less than nothing, 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:41.699 probably. They might actively dislike each other's 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:44.120 entire way of life. So if they don't share a 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.379 location or values, how is it a culture? What 00:02:47.379 --> 00:02:49.860 holds it together? The culture is defined entirely 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:53.419 by the audience. Ah. It is defined by the willingness 00:02:53.419 --> 00:02:57.280 of regular people, you and me, to alter our own 00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:59.759 lives, to partake in the lives of famous people. 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:02.379 How so? What do you mean by alter our lives? 00:03:02.909 --> 00:03:04.669 I mean, we change our schedules to watch them. 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:07.189 We change our spending habits to mimic them. 00:03:07.310 --> 00:03:09.610 We change our conversations to discuss them. 00:03:09.789 --> 00:03:13.110 The cohesive element isn't the celebrity. It's 00:03:13.110 --> 00:03:15.849 the reaction to the celebrity. So the culture 00:03:15.849 --> 00:03:18.729 is the reaction, not the source. That is a crucial 00:03:18.729 --> 00:03:21.449 distinction. Precisely. The working definition 00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:23.830 we found in the source material is that celebrity 00:03:23.830 --> 00:03:29.449 culture is the high volume exposure to celebrities' 00:03:29.629 --> 00:03:33.009 personal lives on a global scale. High volume 00:03:33.009 --> 00:03:35.030 feels like the understatement of the century 00:03:35.030 --> 00:03:37.389 these days. It does. It feels like the volume 00:03:37.389 --> 00:03:39.469 knob broke off about 10 years ago and it's just 00:03:39.469 --> 00:03:41.530 been stuck on max ever since. Right. There is 00:03:41.530 --> 00:03:44.689 no off switch. So our mission today is to figure 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:46.949 out how this machine works. We want to tear apart 00:03:46.949 --> 00:03:49.409 the mechanics of it. How does this function as 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:52.349 an industry? How does it drive consumer behavior? 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:55.289 And how do we get from reading gossip columns 00:03:55.289 --> 00:03:59.449 in the 1930s to having algorithmic feeds dictating 00:03:59.449 --> 00:04:01.550 our self -worth today? And to understand the 00:04:01.550 --> 00:04:02.889 algorithm, you have to understand the gossip 00:04:02.889 --> 00:04:05.469 column. The DNA is remarkably similar. It's just 00:04:05.469 --> 00:04:08.370 faster now. So let's go back, because it feels 00:04:08.370 --> 00:04:10.610 like celebrities have always been with us. I 00:04:10.610 --> 00:04:13.740 mean... Fame isn't new. We've had famous kings 00:04:13.740 --> 00:04:17.660 and generals from millennia. But the research 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.920 suggests this specific ecosystem, celebrity culture 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:24.800 with a capital C, has a start date. It wasn't 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:26.639 always this way. It does have a start date. I 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:28.420 mean, yes, fame is ancient. We can touch on that 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:30.459 later. The pharaohs, Alexander the Great, sure. 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:35.139 But the system. The industrial complex of fame. 00:04:35.220 --> 00:04:37.339 That really begins in the United States in the 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:39.800 late 19th century. We're talking the Gilded Age. 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:42.540 Exactly. The late 1800s. And this distinction 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:45.920 is crucial because it changes the why of same. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:50.240 Okay. If you look at New York in, say, the 1870s, 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:52.620 the concept of being well -known was very different. 00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:55.069 The people who were famous were philanthropists, 00:04:55.089 --> 00:04:57.310 politicians, generals. Public figures. Public 00:04:57.310 --> 00:04:59.730 figures who did things for the civic good. Fame 00:04:59.730 --> 00:05:01.889 was tied to achievement or contribution. You 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:03.870 were famous because you built a library or you 00:05:03.870 --> 00:05:06.829 won a war or you passed law. The fame was secondary 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:10.269 to the act. Exactly. The fame was a byproduct 00:05:10.269 --> 00:05:13.149 of the work. It wasn't the goal. But fast forward 00:05:13.149 --> 00:05:16.589 just 20 years to the 1890s and you see the emergence 00:05:16.589 --> 00:05:19.670 of the new elite. The nouveau riche. The nouveau 00:05:19.670 --> 00:05:21.709 riche. And the sources point out a fascinating 00:05:21.709 --> 00:05:25.089 shift here. They weren't necessarily seeking 00:05:25.089 --> 00:05:27.990 respect in the traditional sense. They were seeking 00:05:27.990 --> 00:05:31.250 publicity. This is the birth of famous for being 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:34.610 famous. In a way, yes. This is the seed. They 00:05:34.610 --> 00:05:38.490 wanted to be in the society columns. By the 1890s, 00:05:38.490 --> 00:05:40.709 sociologists note that people were being celebrated 00:05:40.709 --> 00:05:44.110 specifically for their gossip value. Gossip value. 00:05:44.290 --> 00:05:46.230 That's a term that needs a definition. What does 00:05:46.230 --> 00:05:48.209 that actually mean in this context? It means 00:05:48.209 --> 00:05:50.660 your life is interesting to narrate. It's not 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:52.579 about your moral standing or your professional 00:05:52.579 --> 00:05:55.279 output. It's about the drama, the aesthetics, 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.420 the social maneuvering, who you're seen with, 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:00.740 what you're wearing. It's the shift from value 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:04.699 to society to value as entertainment. Yes, that's 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:06.959 it. It's the realization that one's personal 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.379 life could be a spectator sport. And the technology 00:06:10.379 --> 00:06:12.379 was shifting at the same time, right? You can't 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:14.300 have a spectator sport without a way to broadcast 00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:16.959 it. Correct. This is the other half of the equation. 00:06:17.389 --> 00:06:20.790 You hit the period between 1895 and 1920, which 00:06:20.790 --> 00:06:24.050 one film historian we read cites as the birth 00:06:24.050 --> 00:06:26.670 of the modern celebrity system. The film era. 00:06:26.910 --> 00:06:28.750 This is when the film industry kicks into gear. 00:06:29.149 --> 00:06:32.509 Suddenly, you have faces, human faces, that can 00:06:32.509 --> 00:06:34.470 be seen by millions of people simultaneously, 00:06:34.949 --> 00:06:36.829 up close. That must have been psychologically 00:06:36.829 --> 00:06:39.310 jarring. I mean, think about it. Before that, 00:06:39.449 --> 00:06:41.269 you only saw people you knew or maybe a painting 00:06:41.269 --> 00:06:43.370 of a king if you were lucky. It was revolutionary. 00:06:44.110 --> 00:06:47.009 It created a pseudo intimacy. You saw their eyes, 00:06:47.069 --> 00:06:49.589 their expressions, their emotions, huge on a 00:06:49.589 --> 00:06:52.029 screen. And the media infrastructure, it just 00:06:52.029 --> 00:06:54.310 built up around it instantly. Which brings us 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:57.769 to the 30s and 40s. Right. By the 1930s and 40s, 00:06:57.769 --> 00:07:00.250 this culture is cemented through figures like 00:07:00.250 --> 00:07:02.490 Walter Winchell. Winchell, the name came up a 00:07:02.490 --> 00:07:04.370 lot in the notes. For those who don't know, paint 00:07:04.370 --> 00:07:06.430 the picture of who this guy was. Walter Winchell 00:07:06.430 --> 00:07:09.509 was the gossip columnist. If you imagine a fast 00:07:09.509 --> 00:07:12.730 -talking newsman in a fedora from an old black 00:07:12.730 --> 00:07:15.250 and white movie, Speaking in that staccato rhythm. 00:07:15.389 --> 00:07:17.529 I can hear it now. You were imagining Walter 00:07:17.529 --> 00:07:21.769 Winchell. He had that urgent voice. But he realized 00:07:21.769 --> 00:07:23.930 something profound about the American public. 00:07:24.290 --> 00:07:26.790 He realized that people didn't just want to know 00:07:26.790 --> 00:07:30.430 what movie a star was in. That's boring. That's 00:07:30.430 --> 00:07:33.050 trade news. It's an advertisement. They wanted 00:07:33.050 --> 00:07:34.870 to know who they were dating. They wanted to 00:07:34.870 --> 00:07:36.850 know what they were eating. They wanted to know 00:07:36.850 --> 00:07:38.829 who they were fighting with at the stork club. 00:07:38.990 --> 00:07:41.689 He commodified the private life? He did. He was 00:07:41.689 --> 00:07:43.829 the most celebrated gossip writer in America, 00:07:43.970 --> 00:07:47.310 and he proved that there was an insatiable market 00:07:47.310 --> 00:07:50.589 for the trivial. He proved that the public would 00:07:50.589 --> 00:07:53.029 consume information about the personal lives 00:07:53.029 --> 00:07:57.009 of strangers as if it were vital news. It's interesting 00:07:57.009 --> 00:07:59.149 because we often look down on that impulse today, 00:07:59.250 --> 00:08:00.990 right? We call it trashy. We say, oh, I don't 00:08:00.990 --> 00:08:03.129 care about the Kardashians or I don't read the 00:08:03.129 --> 00:08:06.250 tabloids. But there is a psychological reason 00:08:06.250 --> 00:08:09.189 we crave it. There is a quote in our reading 00:08:09.189 --> 00:08:11.689 from Louis Lapham from his book, The Wish for 00:08:11.689 --> 00:08:13.709 Kings, that really stopped me in my tracks. I 00:08:13.709 --> 00:08:15.829 know exactly the one. It's quite provocative. 00:08:16.110 --> 00:08:18.850 He doesn't pull any punches. No, he does not. 00:08:19.930 --> 00:08:22.009 He wrote, to people who have grown tired of self 00:08:22.009 --> 00:08:24.149 -government, the belief in kings and queens and 00:08:24.149 --> 00:08:26.769 fairy tales seems easier than the practice of 00:08:26.769 --> 00:08:30.329 politics. It cuts deep. It frames celebrity culture 00:08:30.329 --> 00:08:33.730 not as a hobby, but as a retreat, as an escape. 00:08:33.990 --> 00:08:36.750 It sounds like he's saying we are lazy. I think 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:39.710 he's saying we are exhausted. Okay. Lapham is 00:08:39.710 --> 00:08:41.929 suggesting that celebrity culture is a form of 00:08:41.929 --> 00:08:45.029 surrender. Think about what democracy asks of 00:08:45.029 --> 00:08:48.090 you. Citizenship is demanding. It really is. 00:08:48.330 --> 00:08:50.269 It requires you to pay attention to tax policy, 00:08:50.450 --> 00:08:53.230 to economics, to zoning laws. It requires compromise 00:08:53.230 --> 00:08:55.850 with people you disagree with. It's hard intellectual 00:08:55.850 --> 00:08:58.789 work. But a monarchy or, you know, a celebrity 00:08:58.789 --> 00:09:01.529 dynasty. A monarchy is a fairy tale. It's a soap 00:09:01.529 --> 00:09:03.250 opera. You don't have to do anything. You just 00:09:03.250 --> 00:09:05.730 watch. You admire the jewels. You critique the 00:09:05.730 --> 00:09:07.549 wedding dress. You pick a favorite character. 00:09:07.809 --> 00:09:09.830 You can project your fantasies onto them. It's 00:09:09.830 --> 00:09:12.769 passive. It's a comfort mechanism. It simplifies 00:09:12.769 --> 00:09:15.620 the world. So in a way, we treat celebrities 00:09:15.620 --> 00:09:17.879 like modern royalty, not because they deserve 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:20.039 it, but because it comforts us. It simplifies 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:22.960 the world into regular people and people on the 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.460 pedestal. It imposes a hierarchy. A hierarchy 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:28.139 that feels natural, even if it's completely artificial. 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:30.620 It orders the universe. And the sources point 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:34.019 out that this isn't entirely new. The pharaohs 00:09:34.019 --> 00:09:36.840 of ancient Egypt used massive architectural devices, 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:41.139 pyramids, statues. to ensure their fame lasted 00:09:41.139 --> 00:09:43.200 for centuries. Right. They were branding themselves 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.240 for the afterlife. Exactly. Religious texts are 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:49.299 full of well -known figures. Humans have always 00:09:49.299 --> 00:09:51.740 looked up. But the difference today is the scale 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:53.759 and the machinery. Right. The pharaoh didn't 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:56.200 have a 24 -hour cable news network analyzing 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:58.500 what he had for breakfast. Or an Instagram feed 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:01.679 tracking his every move. The globalization of 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:04.240 media means that celebrity culture is no longer 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:06.720 contained within a single village or nation. 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:10.320 It's ubiquitous. You cannot escape it. It is 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.500 the wallpaper of modern life. Okay, let's talk 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:14.100 about that machinery. Because one of the key 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:16.299 takeaways for me was that you cannot separate 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:18.799 celebrity culture from consumer culture. No. 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:21.120 They aren't just cousins. They're conjoined twins. 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:24.080 They're the same organism. We have to stop looking 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.559 at celebrity as art and start looking at it as 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.059 an industry. The celebrity industry treats the 00:10:31.059 --> 00:10:34.139 celebrity as a product to be sold. It is a weird 00:10:34.139 --> 00:10:36.909 kind of product. It's a recursive loop. It feeds 00:10:36.909 --> 00:10:39.350 itself. Walk us through the loop. How does the 00:10:39.350 --> 00:10:43.929 money actually move? Okay. Step one. You, the 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:47.750 consumer, buy a magazine or download an app to 00:10:47.750 --> 00:10:50.159 follow a celebrity. That's the first transaction. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:53.759 You are paying either with money or, more likely 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:56.220 today, with your attention and data to watch. 00:10:56.460 --> 00:10:57.980 Okay, I'm watching. I'm scrolling through my 00:10:57.980 --> 00:11:00.240 feed. Step two. You see what the celebrity is 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:02.039 wearing. You see what coffee they're drinking. 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:04.159 You see what car they drive. You see the lifestyle. 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:06.620 And because I admire them or I want to be like 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:08.940 them or I just think they look cool, I go buy 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:11.399 that coffee or that handbag. Right. So now consumers' 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:13.299 choices are influenced by celebrity choices. 00:11:13.850 --> 00:11:16.669 But here is step three, which is the insidious 00:11:16.669 --> 00:11:19.309 part. The trap. The trap. By buying the products 00:11:19.309 --> 00:11:21.769 that the celebrity endorses, or even just the 00:11:21.769 --> 00:11:23.450 products that allow you to watch the celebrity, 00:11:23.629 --> 00:11:26.710 you are unknowingly perpetuating the culture. 00:11:27.190 --> 00:11:29.830 You are funding the machine that keeps them famous. 00:11:30.490 --> 00:11:33.470 You are paying for the pedestal. So we are actively 00:11:33.470 --> 00:11:35.990 building the cage we are staring into. Constantly. 00:11:36.289 --> 00:11:38.629 Every click is a brick in the wall. Every purchase 00:11:38.629 --> 00:11:41.100 is another bar on the cage. And the celebrities 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:43.600 know this. They aren't passive victims of this 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:45.820 machine, at least not the successful ones. Oh, 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:48.580 not at all. They're operators. The concept of 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:51.399 self -branding came up a lot in the notes. Define 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:53.659 that for us, because branding usually applies 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:56.360 to toothpaste or sneakers. It feels strange to 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:58.840 apply it to a human being. Self -branding is 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:01.080 the conscious effort to package your personality 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:04.789 as a marketable asset. Celebrities are keenly 00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:07.289 aware that they can brand themselves to achieve 00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:09.929 financial gain that is totally separate from 00:12:09.929 --> 00:12:12.230 their actual talent. So you might be a mediocre 00:12:12.230 --> 00:12:15.750 actor, but a genius brand. Exactly. Or you might 00:12:15.750 --> 00:12:18.730 be a great actor, but your brand as a lifestyle 00:12:18.730 --> 00:12:21.529 guru or a fashion icon might make you more money 00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:23.870 than your movies do. Look at this shift in the 00:12:23.870 --> 00:12:25.950 last 20 years. It used to be that an actor acted, 00:12:26.029 --> 00:12:28.679 and that was it. Now they have a tequila brand, 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:32.019 a makeup line, a podcast, and a production company. 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:33.899 It's the difference between being an actor and 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:36.600 being a mogul. It's all about diversifying the 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.960 brand portfolio. And this is where the role of 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:42.279 mass media becomes the critical engine. There's 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:44.940 a theory by Oliver Driesens mentioned in the 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:47.580 research that traces celebrity social prominence 00:12:47.580 --> 00:12:50.639 directly to the success of mass media technologies. 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:53.940 It makes perfect sense. The medium dictates the 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:57.039 message, and it dictates the star. You can't 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.379 have a radio star without radio. You can't have 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:01.820 a TikTok star without a smartphone. Let's trace 00:13:01.820 --> 00:13:04.379 that evolution because it explains how we got 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:06.840 to where we are now. We started with film visual, 00:13:07.139 --> 00:13:09.980 distant, larger than life. Then came television. 00:13:10.379 --> 00:13:13.139 Television was a massive shift because it brought 00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:17.340 people into our homes. That phrase is a cliche, 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:20.480 but it's psychologically potent. It is. It created 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.580 a sense of familiarity that didn't exist with 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:24.889 silent films. You heard their voices in your 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:27.049 living room. You saw them every week. They became 00:13:27.049 --> 00:13:29.490 like neighbors. The barrier of the screen got 00:13:29.490 --> 00:13:32.169 thinner. But then came the 24 -7 news cycle. 00:13:32.429 --> 00:13:35.129 And the source material argues this was the real 00:13:35.129 --> 00:13:37.649 turning point for manufactured celebrity. That 00:13:37.649 --> 00:13:39.590 was the game changer. Think about the logistics 00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:44.139 of a 24 -hour news network. CNN, Fox. MSNBC, 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:47.059 you have to fill 24 hours a day, seven days a 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:49.279 week. So much time. There simply isn't enough 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:53.240 hard news, enough wars, enough elections, enough 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:56.580 natural disasters to fill that time responsibly. 00:13:56.679 --> 00:13:59.139 So you have a void, a silence that needs to be 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:02.080 filled. A massive gaping void. So what fills 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.600 the time? Entertainment, gossip, speculation. 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:08.679 What does this mean? Exactly. And this need for 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:11.580 content led to manufactured celebrities. In the 00:14:11.580 --> 00:14:14.860 1930s or 50s, stars were often self -made in 00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:16.779 the sense that they rose through a studio system 00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:19.480 based on a skill singing, dancing, acting. You 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:20.779 had to be able to do something. Right. There 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:23.320 was a craft involved. But with 247 coverage, 00:14:23.580 --> 00:14:25.820 the media needed bodies to fill the airtime. 00:14:26.190 --> 00:14:28.590 They needed faces to talk about. This paved the 00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:30.909 way for reality TV. Which fostered a culture 00:14:30.909 --> 00:14:33.110 where fame is interchangeable. You don't need 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:34.549 to be the best singer. You just need to be the 00:14:34.549 --> 00:14:37.110 most willing to live your life on camera. And 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:40.429 highly recognizable. Reality TV proved that you 00:14:40.429 --> 00:14:42.389 would take an ordinary person, put them in a 00:14:42.389 --> 00:14:44.809 pressure cooker environment, and create a celebrity 00:14:44.809 --> 00:14:47.889 product that is just as valuable to advertisers 00:14:47.889 --> 00:14:50.950 as a movie star. Maybe even more valuable. Maybe. 00:14:51.429 --> 00:14:53.429 Because they are cheaper to produce. You don't 00:14:53.429 --> 00:14:56.399 have to pay them $20 million a film. This brings 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:59.279 us right up to the present day, or at least the 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.019 last decade, the digital shift. If TV brought 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:05.820 celebrities into our living rooms, social media 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:08.519 put them in our pockets. In our beds, even. And 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:11.740 it changed the texture of fame completely. It 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:13.860 changed the texture because it changed the expectation 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:16.799 of intimacy. Let's break down the platforms because, 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:18.960 as you said, the medium dictates the culture. 00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:22.279 Each platform incentivizes a different behavior. 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.940 Okay, let's start with Twitter. Or X as it's 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:26.960 known now. The research points out that this 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.139 platform increased the frequency of interaction. 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:32.299 Right. Before Twitter, if a fan wanted to communicate 00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:34.759 with a star, what did they do? They wrote a letter. 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:37.980 They mailed it. Maybe six months later, they 00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:40.019 got a signed photo from a publicist. So there 00:15:40.019 --> 00:15:43.940 was a huge buffer. A huge buffer. Time and distance 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:47.340 protected the celebrity. Twitter collapsed that 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:49.759 buffer. Completely. It created an unmonitored, 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.700 unfiltered space. Fans could tweet at a star 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:56.299 and the star could reply in seconds. This created 00:15:56.299 --> 00:15:58.799 an expectation of a public response. It made 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:00.980 the celebrity feel accessible. They're just like 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.200 me. They're tweeting about their lunch. But it 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:06.759 also removed the mystery. And it created a minefield. 00:16:06.899 --> 00:16:10.139 Oh, a huge minefield. Unfiltered opinions mean 00:16:10.139 --> 00:16:13.360 high risk. One bad tweet can destroy a career. 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:16.029 And then you have Instagram. This feels like 00:16:16.029 --> 00:16:18.549 the visual language of modern celebrity. Instagram 00:16:18.549 --> 00:16:20.789 is visual first, which creates a different kind 00:16:20.789 --> 00:16:22.649 of intimacy. It's about sharing the behind the 00:16:22.649 --> 00:16:25.190 scenes. But we have to talk about the feed algorithm. 00:16:25.470 --> 00:16:27.809 The source material highlights this as a crucial 00:16:27.809 --> 00:16:31.289 driver. This is technical but vital. The algorithm 00:16:31.289 --> 00:16:33.590 determines visibility. It decides what you see. 00:16:33.789 --> 00:16:36.129 So celebrities are forced to adapt their behavior, 00:16:36.350 --> 00:16:39.450 what they post, when they post, how they look, 00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:41.789 to satisfy the code. Wait, say that again? They 00:16:41.789 --> 00:16:44.029 have to change their behavior for the code? Yes. 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:46.980 If the algorithm favors high contrast photos, 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:50.059 they post high contrast photos. If it favors 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:52.960 controversy, they post controversy. If it favors 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.539 10 second videos, they make 10 second videos. 00:16:55.700 --> 00:16:58.159 So the algorithm is actually directing the culture. 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:00.840 It's not just reflecting it. The machine is telling 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:04.140 the human how to act to stay relevant. It acts 00:17:04.140 --> 00:17:07.210 as a feedback loop. And the public mimics it. 00:17:07.470 --> 00:17:10.589 Fans start imitating the clothing, the poses, 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:13.170 the speech patterns they see on the app. It leads 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:15.890 to a homogenization of culture driven by code. 00:17:16.089 --> 00:17:18.369 We all start looking the same because we are 00:17:18.369 --> 00:17:20.569 all optimizing for the same algorithm. Pretty 00:17:20.569 --> 00:17:22.869 much. And we can't forget Facebook. It's still 00:17:22.869 --> 00:17:25.049 a major player, especially for older demographics. 00:17:25.410 --> 00:17:27.509 It lets people share posts that are important 00:17:27.509 --> 00:17:29.250 to them, which often includes celebrity news 00:17:29.250 --> 00:17:30.829 or activism. Right. It's a different kind of 00:17:30.829 --> 00:17:34.660 sharing ecosystem. YouTube. This is where the 00:17:34.660 --> 00:17:37.000 idea of relatability really gets weaponized, 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:38.900 and I use that word carefully. It's the rise 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:41.480 of the influencer or the YouTuber. Think about 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:44.339 the aesthetic, the vlog style. Talking directly 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:47.640 to the camera, often in a bedroom, often without 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:49.960 professional lighting. The camera's handheld, 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:53.960 maybe a bit shaky. It feels raw. It feels honest. 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:56.759 It feels like you're on FaceTime with them. That's 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:59.339 the trick. The source material contrasts this 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:03.400 with movie stars. Movie stars are distant. They 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:05.680 are lit by professionals, scripted by professionals. 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:08.380 They feel untouchable. But YouTubers look like 00:18:08.380 --> 00:18:10.839 your friends. And that creates a strong bond 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:13.599 with the viewer. It feels reciprocal, even though 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:15.460 it isn't. You feel like you know them personally. 00:18:15.700 --> 00:18:17.660 The Justin Bieber example was interesting here. 00:18:17.779 --> 00:18:21.359 He was discovered on YouTube. Yes. And that origin 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:25.259 story matters immensely. Because he wasn't manufactured 00:18:25.259 --> 00:18:28.059 by a studio initially. He was a kid with a guitar 00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:30.759 on the internet. He felt authentic. It elicited 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:34.059 emotional ties and a sense of ownership from 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:36.940 fans, particularly his early female fans. They 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:38.539 felt like they discovered him. They felt like 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:40.180 they made him. So it's not just that you're a 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:43.140 fan of his music. You're a fan of him, the project 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:45.740 you helped build. And that creates a much more 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:49.160 intense, sometimes obsessive loyalty compared 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:52.440 to a star who is just handed to you by Hollywood. 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:55.099 This leads us to a term that I hadn't heard before 00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:59.829 reading the stack. Micro -celebrity. It sounds 00:18:59.829 --> 00:19:02.470 like an insult like, you're famous, but only 00:19:02.470 --> 00:19:05.349 a little bit. It does, but it's actually a technical 00:19:05.349 --> 00:19:08.470 term. Okay. It was coined by Teresa Sendeff back 00:19:08.470 --> 00:19:11.809 in 2008 in her book, Cam Girls. It has two meanings, 00:19:11.950 --> 00:19:14.490 and the second one is the one that really matters 00:19:14.490 --> 00:19:17.569 for us. Okay. What's the first meaning? First, 00:19:17.690 --> 00:19:20.069 it simply means being well -known to a niche 00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:22.029 group. You can be a celebrity in the knitting 00:19:22.029 --> 00:19:24.029 community or the competitive gaming community, 00:19:24.170 --> 00:19:26.690 even if the rest of the world has no idea who 00:19:26.690 --> 00:19:29.170 you are. Which is more common now than ever because 00:19:29.170 --> 00:19:31.650 the internet allows for endless niches. You can 00:19:31.650 --> 00:19:33.369 be the most famous person in the world to 10 00:19:33.369 --> 00:19:35.869 ,000 people. Exactly. But the second meaning 00:19:35.869 --> 00:19:37.470 is more interesting. It refers to a technique. 00:19:38.029 --> 00:19:40.569 It's a self -representation technique where ordinary 00:19:40.569 --> 00:19:43.269 people present themselves as public personas. 00:19:43.609 --> 00:19:45.670 Wait, break that down. Ordinary people acting 00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:48.910 like public personas. Yes. Even if you only have 00:19:48.910 --> 00:19:51.670 500 followers on Instagram, mostly your friends 00:19:51.670 --> 00:19:54.329 and family, if you are curating your life for 00:19:54.329 --> 00:19:56.819 them, if you are viewing them as an audience 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:59.859 or fans, if you are using hashtags to grow your 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:02.299 reach. You are practicing micro -celebrity. You 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:06.940 are. You are managing your brand. Wow. So when 00:20:06.940 --> 00:20:09.140 I carefully choose the filter for my vacation 00:20:09.140 --> 00:20:11.559 photo because I want my friends to think I'm 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:13.740 having the time of my life, I'm engaging in celebrity 00:20:13.740 --> 00:20:16.279 culture. You are. That is the celebrification 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:19.819 of everyday life. The media plays a key role, 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:22.700 but we have internalized the logic of the celebrity 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:26.000 industry. We brand ourselves. We manage our public 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:28.400 image. You worry about our ratings, which we 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:31.839 call likes. That is slightly depressing. It explains 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:34.119 the anxiety, doesn't it? It explains why so many 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:35.819 people feel this constant pressure. It does. 00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:37.519 It's not just about living your life. It's about 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:39.839 performing it. Exactly. And that performance 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.000 requires an audience. Which brings us to the 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:46.420 psychology of the fan. Why do we watch? Why do 00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:48.779 we gossip? Yeah, I wanted to push back on the 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:51.450 idea that gossip is just trashy. I think that's 00:20:51.450 --> 00:20:54.630 a lazy dismissal. The expert analysis in our 00:20:54.630 --> 00:20:57.089 sources suggests it actually serves a real social 00:20:57.089 --> 00:21:00.210 function. It does. Anthropologists and sociologists 00:21:00.210 --> 00:21:02.509 have argued for a long time that gossip is an 00:21:02.509 --> 00:21:05.309 integral part of social order. It's a form of 00:21:05.309 --> 00:21:08.049 communication. It allows for civic engagement. 00:21:08.390 --> 00:21:11.049 Oh, how is talking about a movie star's divorce 00:21:11.049 --> 00:21:13.789 civic engagement? Think about it. When we talk 00:21:13.789 --> 00:21:16.730 about a celebrity scandal, say a messy divorce 00:21:16.730 --> 00:21:20.980 or a drug problem or a tax evasion charge. We 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:22.779 aren't just talking about them. We are talking 00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:24.640 about us. We're talking about our values. We 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:26.680 are affirming our own values. When we say, can 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:28.940 you believe he did that? We're actually saying 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:32.380 we agree that doing that is bad. We are calibrating 00:21:32.380 --> 00:21:34.980 our moral compasses against the behavior of a 00:21:34.980 --> 00:21:37.500 public figure. It helps us reinforce social norms 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:39.720 without having to get personal. Right. It creates 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:42.460 community. It creates social involvement. It's 00:21:42.460 --> 00:21:45.440 a safe way to discuss difficult topics. Infidelity, 00:21:45.579 --> 00:21:48.539 addiction, wealth, parenting, without having 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:50.819 to talk about our own messy lives. or the lives 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:53.200 of our neighbors, which might be too confrontational. 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:56.319 It's safer to judge a Kardashian than to judge 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:59.460 your sister -in -law. Infinitely safer. So the 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:02.039 celebrity becomes a proxy. We use them to work 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:04.240 through our own societal issues. Okay, that makes 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.660 a lot of sense. But while the fans are getting 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:08.720 social connection out of it, the celebrities 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.019 themselves seem to be getting the short end of 00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:13.400 the stick. They often are. We have this data 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.579 regarding celebrity disillusionment, the dark 00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:19.140 side. The dark side is very real. There is a 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:22.200 general correlation between success and unhappiness 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:25.680 that isn't limited to Hollywood. One study noted 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.000 that CEOs are depressed at more than double the 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:30.119 rate of the general public. Which is counterintuitive. 00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:33.160 We are taught that money and power equal happiness. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:36.400 If you have the jet, you should be smiling. But 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:39.079 the research suggests we focus on objective success. 00:22:39.850 --> 00:22:42.430 Wealth, status, reputation, those are things 00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:45.190 you can measure. But happiness comes from subjective 00:22:45.190 --> 00:22:49.009 success, relationships, self -worth, moral introspection. 00:22:49.230 --> 00:22:51.890 And celebrity culture. Celebrity culture maxes 00:22:51.890 --> 00:22:54.230 out the objective metrics but often destroys 00:22:54.230 --> 00:22:56.690 the subjective ones. It isolates you. It puts 00:22:56.690 --> 00:22:58.730 you in a bubble. And the paparazzi play a huge 00:22:58.730 --> 00:23:01.089 role in that destruction. It's the paparazzi 00:23:01.089 --> 00:23:04.009 problem. It leads to objectification. Fans develop 00:23:04.009 --> 00:23:06.650 what's called celebrity worship syndrome. where 00:23:06.650 --> 00:23:09.849 the empathy for the human being evaporates. They're 00:23:09.849 --> 00:23:12.170 no longer a person, they're an object, a thing 00:23:12.170 --> 00:23:14.589 to be consumed. And for the celebrity, the loss 00:23:14.589 --> 00:23:17.450 of anonymity is traumatic. The sources describe 00:23:17.450 --> 00:23:19.970 celebrities having to split into two identities. 00:23:20.410 --> 00:23:23.690 The public image and the private self. And you 00:23:23.690 --> 00:23:25.569 have to constantly police the border between 00:23:25.569 --> 00:23:28.049 the two. That sounds exhausting, to never really 00:23:28.049 --> 00:23:31.549 be yourself, because the self is a product. And 00:23:31.549 --> 00:23:34.640 it's worse for child stars. The research on this 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:37.200 is pretty clear and pretty grim. It suggests 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.059 poor emotional health and higher rates of drug 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:42.819 abuse in adulthood for those who get famous young. 00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:45.500 Why is that? They never get the chance to form 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:47.640 a private self before the public one is imposed 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:50.480 on them. Their identity is hijacked before it's 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:52.730 even fully formed. And there's a hierarchy to 00:23:52.730 --> 00:23:55.450 it, too. The stress of the A -list versus B -list 00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:58.049 culture. Oh, absolutely. The stress of fighting 00:23:58.049 --> 00:23:59.849 to stay on the A -list versus slipping to the 00:23:59.849 --> 00:24:02.230 B -list, or God forbid, the C -list. It creates 00:24:02.230 --> 00:24:04.549 a state of constant anxiety. You're always one 00:24:04.549 --> 00:24:07.029 flop away from irrelevance. There was that example 00:24:07.029 --> 00:24:10.670 of Bart Spring in It Felt. He was the first winner 00:24:10.670 --> 00:24:13.549 of Big Brother. Yes, the reality TV pioneer. 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.140 He was there at the very beginning of the craze. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:18.200 He got what everyone thought they wanted. And 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:20.619 what happened? He came to loathe the reality 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:23.779 TV culture he helped instigate. He achieved the 00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:26.920 fame, saw the machine from the inside, and regretted 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:29.740 it. It's a common story. The prize isn't what 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:31.700 you think it is. It's not just entertainment, 00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:35.099 though. This culture has bled heavily into politics. 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:37.200 And I don't think you can talk about the modern 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:38.920 world without talking about the intersection 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:41.559 of celebrity and governance. They have merged 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:44.019 significantly. And it goes both ways. You have 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:46.099 celebrities becoming politicians and politicians 00:24:46.099 --> 00:24:48.740 becoming celebrities. The line is blurry. If 00:24:48.740 --> 00:24:50.720 it exists at all anymore. So let's look at the 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:52.859 first category, celebrities becoming politicians. 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:55.460 We've seen this at the highest levels. Ronald 00:24:55.460 --> 00:24:58.380 Reagan is the classic example. A career actor, 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:02.119 53 films. He was a creature of the studio system. 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:05.400 He knew how to hit a mark. He knew how to deliver 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:08.240 a line. He understood lighting. He understood 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:11.059 performance. And he transferred that name recognition 00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:13.420 and screen presence into the governorship of 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:16.319 California and then the presidency. He understood 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:19.500 that leadership is, in part, a performance. And 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:22.039 more recently, Donald Trump. Right. A businessman, 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:25.559 yes. Yeah. But primarily a brand licensor and 00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:28.819 a reality TV star. The Apprentice gave him a 00:25:28.819 --> 00:25:30.839 national platform where he played the role of 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:34.240 the decisive boss for over a decade. So people 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.279 felt like they knew him. They knew the character, 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.720 yes. And the source material notes his use of 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:41.180 controversy to maintain media attention, like 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:44.380 with the birtherism thing, is a direct application 00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:46.819 of celebrity logic to political campaigning. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.220 He understood the news cycle better than the 00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:51.220 career politicians did. And then you have the 00:25:51.220 --> 00:25:53.920 other lane, politicians becoming celebrities. 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:57.099 This is where the squad comes in. AOC, Ilhan 00:25:57.099 --> 00:25:59.880 Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib. The source 00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:02.039 notes they formed via an Instagram post. An Instagram 00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:04.299 post. They use the colloquial term squad goals. 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:06.240 They understood the visual language of social 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:08.619 media. They are masters of the clapback. They 00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:10.960 speak the language of the Internet. And Justin 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:14.039 Trudeau in Canada. Yes. His celebrity status 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:16.519 is derived from being perceived as personable 00:26:16.519 --> 00:26:20.119 and progressive. He has a fan base in a way that 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:22.359 traditional politicians often don't. He appears 00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:25.259 in selfies. He wears fun socks. It's a branding 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:27.779 exercise. Why is this happening? Is it just vanity 00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:30.839 or is it a necessity in the modern landscape? 00:26:31.160 --> 00:26:34.089 I think it's strategy. One observer in the materials, 00:26:34.309 --> 00:26:37.069 Jane Johnson, noted that celebrity gossip is 00:26:37.069 --> 00:26:39.789 a nationally unifying factor. What does that 00:26:39.789 --> 00:26:42.309 mean? It bridges social groups. People from all 00:26:42.309 --> 00:26:44.150 walks of life will talk about a royal wedding 00:26:44.150 --> 00:26:47.009 or a big movie premiere. So if you want to reach 00:26:47.009 --> 00:26:49.930 young voters who statistically vote less, you 00:26:49.930 --> 00:26:51.630 have to go where their attention is. To the culture 00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:54.289 they're already consuming. Right. So politicians 00:26:54.289 --> 00:26:57.730 mimic celebrity personas to tap into that cultural 00:26:57.730 --> 00:27:00.529 resource. So being boring is a political liability 00:27:00.529 --> 00:27:03.569 now. In a media saturated environment, yes. If 00:27:03.569 --> 00:27:05.210 you can't hold attention, you can't win votes. 00:27:05.450 --> 00:27:08.450 Policy is boring. Personality is exciting. We 00:27:08.450 --> 00:27:10.390 also see celebrities using their platform for 00:27:10.390 --> 00:27:13.150 activism. Jane Fonda getting arrested for climate 00:27:13.150 --> 00:27:15.829 change protests. Katy Perry campaigning for Hillary 00:27:15.829 --> 00:27:18.349 Clinton. Dave Chappelle endorsing Andrew Yang. 00:27:18.569 --> 00:27:21.069 It's become expected almost. But there is a tension 00:27:21.069 --> 00:27:23.410 there. The famous quote attributed to Michael 00:27:23.410 --> 00:27:25.930 Jordan, Republicans buy sneakers too. Right. 00:27:26.269 --> 00:27:28.529 The conflict between commerce and politics. The 00:27:28.529 --> 00:27:31.990 fundamental tension. If you are a brand, taking 00:27:31.990 --> 00:27:34.990 a political stance alienates half your market. 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:37.490 So there's a constant calculation. How much of 00:27:37.490 --> 00:27:40.049 my brand capital can I spend on this issue before 00:27:40.049 --> 00:27:43.490 I hurt the bottom line? It's cynical, but it's 00:27:43.490 --> 00:27:46.049 the reality of the industry. OK, now I want to 00:27:46.049 --> 00:27:48.029 move to something a bit darker. We've talked 00:27:48.029 --> 00:27:50.069 about fame, but we also need to talk about infamy. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:53.119 Because it feels like the modern machine doesn't 00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:56.160 distinguish between famous for doing good and 00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:59.200 famous for being bad. Attention is just attention. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:02.059 That is a major complaint about modern culture. 00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:06.319 Infamy has replaced merit. Society rewards those 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.380 who are willing to break ethical boundaries or 00:28:08.380 --> 00:28:11.039 be aggressive self -promoters. If you can create 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:13.200 a spectacle, you get the microphone. It's the 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:15.920 bad publicity is better than no publicity rule 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:18.799 taken to its extreme. Chuck Palahniuk, the author 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:21.759 of Fight Club, has a theory about this that is 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:25.619 quite disturbing but compelling. What is it? 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:29.559 He argues that we create celebrities as godlike 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:33.180 figures specifically to destroy them. Wow. We 00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:35.420 need the drama. We need the spectacle of the 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:38.480 takedown. We get a thrill from their downfall. 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:40.259 So we build the pedestal just so you can watch 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:42.480 them fall off. Tabloids are the prototype of 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:44.799 this. They build you up, they find the flaw, 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:47.509 and then they tear you apart. It's a sacrificial 00:28:47.509 --> 00:28:50.769 ritual. We sacrifice the celebrity to make ourselves 00:28:50.769 --> 00:28:53.569 feel better about our own limitations. We want 00:28:53.569 --> 00:28:55.910 to see that they are human, flawed, and broken, 00:28:56.009 --> 00:28:58.529 just like us. And sometimes a fame only comes 00:28:58.529 --> 00:29:00.829 after you're gone. The section on posthumous 00:29:00.829 --> 00:29:02.589 fame was really interesting. It's the ultimate 00:29:02.589 --> 00:29:05.490 irony. You struggle in obscurity your whole life, 00:29:05.589 --> 00:29:08.509 and then you die, and suddenly you're an icon. 00:29:08.890 --> 00:29:11.750 Van Gogh is the cliche. He's the poster child. 00:29:12.150 --> 00:29:14.609 Sold one painting in his life, now priceless. 00:29:15.049 --> 00:29:17.730 But it happens constantly, especially with musicians. 00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:23.190 Nick Drake. Jeff Bugley. Robert Johnson. These 00:29:23.190 --> 00:29:25.609 are people whose genius was only recognized when 00:29:25.609 --> 00:29:28.150 they weren't around to enjoy it. Their story 00:29:28.150 --> 00:29:30.309 became more compelling once it had a tragic ending. 00:29:30.769 --> 00:29:33.349 The art gets re -evaluated through the lens of 00:29:33.349 --> 00:29:35.690 tragedy. And then you have Alfred Nobel. His 00:29:35.690 --> 00:29:38.890 story is unique. It's not like the others. It 00:29:38.890 --> 00:29:41.319 is not. He established the Nobel Prizes specifically 00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:43.819 to fix his legacy before he was even dead. Why 00:29:43.819 --> 00:29:45.180 did it need fixing? I thought he was just an 00:29:45.180 --> 00:29:48.619 inventor. Because of a mistake. His brother died, 00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:50.660 but a newspaper thought it was Alfred who had 00:29:50.660 --> 00:29:53.140 passed away. So they printed an obituary for 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:55.460 him. He read his own obituary. He read his own 00:29:55.460 --> 00:29:57.680 obituary, and the headline was, The Merchant 00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:01.079 of Death is Dead. Oh, wow. Because he had invented 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:03.599 dynamite and made a fortune from war. He saw 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:05.359 that headline and was horrified. He realized, 00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:08.089 this is how I'm going to be remembered. As a 00:30:08.089 --> 00:30:10.569 merchant of death. So the prizes were a PR move. 00:30:10.769 --> 00:30:12.910 The greatest PR move of all time. He used his 00:30:12.910 --> 00:30:15.150 massive fortune to create the prizes for peace, 00:30:15.309 --> 00:30:18.450 science, and literature. He effectively rebranded 00:30:18.450 --> 00:30:20.750 himself posthumously while he was still alive. 00:30:21.029 --> 00:30:23.910 He bought a new legacy. That is incredible. Talk 00:30:23.910 --> 00:30:25.609 about controlling the narrative. And then you 00:30:25.609 --> 00:30:27.509 have a modern version, like the Bob Ross effect. 00:30:27.670 --> 00:30:30.549 Bob Ross, the painter on public television, the 00:30:30.549 --> 00:30:32.730 guy with the afro and the happy little trees. 00:30:32.809 --> 00:30:35.789 Right. He was known in his time, but he wasn't 00:30:35.789 --> 00:30:39.150 a global superstar. Now, years after his death, 00:30:39.349 --> 00:30:42.609 he is an internet deity. He's a meme, a brand, 00:30:42.890 --> 00:30:45.589 a symbol. A symbol of what? Of something we lost. 00:30:45.789 --> 00:30:50.470 Calm. Gentleness. The internet culture adopted 00:30:50.470 --> 00:30:53.869 him because he represented peace in a world of 00:30:53.869 --> 00:30:55.710 chaos. It makes you wonder if some people crave 00:30:55.710 --> 00:30:58.009 that legacy more than life itself. Well, there 00:30:58.009 --> 00:30:59.990 are examples of people staging their deaths. 00:31:00.170 --> 00:31:02.750 The sources mention the prankster Alan Abel and 00:31:02.750 --> 00:31:05.809 the comedian Pauly Shore. The desire to know... 00:31:05.980 --> 00:31:09.920 will I be missed or will I be famous can drive 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:12.079 extreme behavior. This brings us to the final 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:14.400 historical figure I want to discuss. Someone 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:16.180 I had never heard of, but who seems to be the 00:31:16.180 --> 00:31:18.619 patron saint of modern internet trolls and fame 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:21.619 seekers. Peristratus. Peristratus. Ancient Greece, 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:24.900 356 BC. This story, it just sums up everything 00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:26.660 we've talked about. It's chilling how relevant 00:31:26.660 --> 00:31:29.509 it is. Who was he? He was nobody. He wasn't a 00:31:29.509 --> 00:31:32.210 king. He wasn't a general. He was a young man 00:31:32.210 --> 00:31:35.190 who wanted to be immortal. He wanted his name 00:31:35.190 --> 00:31:38.309 to live forever. But he had no talent. No talent 00:31:38.309 --> 00:31:41.089 for building anything. So what did he do? He 00:31:41.089 --> 00:31:43.109 burned down the Temple of Artemis. One of the 00:31:43.109 --> 00:31:44.589 seven wonders of the ancient world. One of the 00:31:44.589 --> 00:31:46.750 most beautiful buildings on earth. He destroyed 00:31:46.750 --> 00:31:50.190 something beautiful and sacred solely to get 00:31:50.190 --> 00:31:52.690 his name in the history books. And what happened 00:31:52.690 --> 00:31:55.150 to him? The authorities at the time realized 00:31:55.150 --> 00:31:57.490 what he was doing. They understood his motive. 00:31:57.650 --> 00:32:01.710 They executed him. But they also pass a law damnatio 00:32:01.710 --> 00:32:04.710 memoria forbidding anyone from ever speaking 00:32:04.710 --> 00:32:06.849 his name. They wanted to erase him from history. 00:32:06.950 --> 00:32:09.509 But here we are 2 ,000 years later saying his 00:32:09.509 --> 00:32:12.130 name on a deep dive. Exactly. He won. The law 00:32:12.130 --> 00:32:15.410 failed. His act of destruction granted him the 00:32:15.410 --> 00:32:18.140 immortality he craved. And that is the haunting 00:32:18.140 --> 00:32:20.660 question that celebrity culture leaves us with. 00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:23.440 It is. If fame is the ultimate currency of our 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:25.539 culture, are we incentivizing people to build 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:28.680 things like Alfred Nobel? Or are we incentivizing 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:31.180 Harris Stratus to burn them down? And as the 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:33.859 audience, which spectacle are we more likely 00:32:33.859 --> 00:32:36.960 to click on? The building or the fire? The data 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:40.099 suggests we click on the fire. Every time. That 00:32:40.099 --> 00:32:42.619 is a heavy thought to end on. Celebrity culture 00:32:42.619 --> 00:32:45.240 is a mirror. It reflects our consumer habits, 00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:47.579 our political engagement, and our psychological 00:32:47.579 --> 00:32:50.079 needs for connection and drama. It's a machine 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:52.140 we all participate in. Whether by clicking a 00:32:52.140 --> 00:32:55.059 link, buying a sneaker, or voting for a personality. 00:32:55.500 --> 00:32:58.480 We are the fuel. Doesn't run without us. Thank 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:00.880 you for listening to this deep dive. We hope 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:02.640 it changes the way you scroll through your feed 00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:05.359 tomorrow morning. Indeed. Question why you're 00:33:05.359 --> 00:33:07.519 watching and what you're rewarding with your 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:08.539 attention. See you next time.