The Fame and The Folly

Note: I do love writing blogs, but I hate writing essays. Unfortunately the latter needs more me right now.

I have a certain disdain of celebrity culture, or more the way celebrity culture affects people’s view of their talent.

As an avid Angelina Jolie fan, I am always annoyed when people disregard her because they have a preconceived idea of her from the “Brangelina” love triangle that may or may not have ended Brad Pitt’s marriage to Jennifer Aniston back in 2005. Quite frankly, if there was an affair; I couldn’t care less. And if there wasn’t an affair; I couldn’t care less. What I care about is that, because she now has a public image as a vixen (she does have quite a sexual image), or a home wrecker, she has been disregarded in the public eye for her work. Now, I also chalk this down to her more mainstream roles (such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, or Wanted) because, even as a fan I have no problem saying; they are quite trashy. But for all the bad films she has made, there are a large number of truly amazing roles in Angelina’s back catalogue that prove she is a phenomenal actress. Case in point: “Gia”, “Girl, Interrupted”, “A Mighty Heart” and “Changeling”. People tend to ignore these roles, or dismiss Angelina Jolie as an actress because of a simple rumour that, quite frankly, has nothing at all to do with them.

 Top left: "Gia" Top right: "Girl, Interrupted" Bottom left: "Changeling" Bottom right: "A Mighty Heart"

On the opposite end of the scale is Rihanna (I’m sorry, Jack.  If you are reading, and I doubt you are, please close the window now). Now, whilst I’m one of these people that hate singers that can’t/don’t sing live, rely on the heavy use of autotune, portray an explicitly sexual image and don’t write their own music, Rihanna has some damn catchy songs. But I truly believe that without Rihanna’s tumultuous private life with Chris Brown and the, um, I’ll say ‘incident’, and her other romantic conquests; I don’t think she’d still be in the public eye. Her music isn’t anything special, or ground breaking, and if her music is what is getting us talking, it’s usually for all the wrong reasons. Instead it’s her constant public presence that keeps her as a household name. Without it, I definitely feel she would not have the superstar status she does have today.

Another instance in which I feel someone’s fame has out-shadowed their talent is Justin Bieber. Now, whilst it is no secret that I’m no ‘Belieber’ by far, I also appreciate he is an incredible talent. I’ve seen some excellent performances of his, and he has truly proven himself as an artist (I’m unsure if he writes his own music, and quite frankly I can’t be bothered researching it). What I feel is his downfall, is his fans. If you want to put me off anyone, show me a bunch of screaming 12 year old girls crying because a celebrity winked at them. Or even worse, sending death threats to his girlfriend?!?! It’s things like this which sadly, turn people away from an artist.

And I will say, it’s not something I exempt myself from by any means.