This something was the work of celebrity Adrian Grenier. He's the hot one in Entourage. Just letting you know. Anyway, he also works as a producer and director, and last year he made a very interesting documentary called Teenage Paparazzo (link here!) It focuses on the life and aspirations of Austin, a thirteen-year-old paparazzo - someone who stalks celebrities with a camera the size of a small country, and sells his pictures for several grand a piece. The documentary explores the world of paparazzi, of social obsessions with celebrity, of privacy, of ethics, and actually does a really good job of it. I was fascinated with the ideas Adrian looks at - how is it that a person can make a living from stalking someone? How is it that there are "full-time Britney" paparazzi, who literally spend every day just waiting outside her house in case she leaves? How is it that a kid living in the heart of Hollywood can simply roam the streets until 5 a.m., running from club to club, cursing and forcing his way into the eyeline of the celebrity? It's a topic that's been a constant source of interest, especially with the rise of social networking sites, but the documentary somehow gives many sides to the issue, with Adrian confessing how he "fucked up" by letting Austin ride on his fame as result of the documentary. And while the audience at first sees a precocious, obnoxious little kid with a camera, at the end you come to realise the slightly scary mutuality of the relationship. Yes, it's horrific that an actor or musician can't leave their house without swarms of cameras, but they also rely on them. Every paparazzo interviewed says the same thing: they lost their right to privacy when they hired an agent and publicist.
Personally, I can't help but dislike the paparazzi. To me, it seems a shallow life to lead, and that it's somehow pathetic to rely so totally on whoever is famous that week. But what do I know? Like everyone, I've had dreams of being famous, people recognising me or interviewing me. I put my music out there, I want my name known for what I do, I like it when people mention that they've heard my stuff. Did I give it to them directly? No, but I advertised myself. I sell what I do, and I use handy tools like facebook, where everyone is allotted equal fame. And even though I could never see myself being obsessed with celebrities, I can't help but feel this very deep and slightly repulsive desperation to be known. And I have it, as I think most people do. There's a human longing for recognition, a need to hear people say your name, to be validated by a hundred thousand people instantly. Why do we care how many people like our profile pictures, how many people read our blogs? Why are we checking stats to see our popularity - reading numbers off a screen - instead of talking to our real friends, those who undoubtedly love and appreciate us?
Because every single person needs not only attention, but recognition, validation, justification. Somehow, we progressed from needing, say, twenty people to tell us we're doing fantastically, to needing twenty thousand. As a professor of media and communications said in the documentary, back when we lived in tribes, everyone had recognition, everyone knew everyone. Now, it seems that that recognition has been unfairly redistributed to a certain special few, those who are nice-looking, talented or wealthy, those who go to the best clubs and eat the best food. And the rest of us are horribly jealous, because we feel that injustice. It can't be any other way, but we somehow miss the old recognition we used to have, that now belongs to Paris and Lindsay and Britney.
It's interesting, but unpredictable. What will happen next in terms of celebrity adoration? Since 60 years ago, the private lives of celebrities have changed hands, from the control of the production companies or record labels, to the control of every single person with a social networking profile and an opinion. It scares me that this will only increase, and people will become increasingly obsessed until... until what? Until every second teenager has an eating disorder? Until we spend all our money on plastic surgery and designer labels? Or maybe that's only the 'weak' ones, those who are supposedly insecure. But it makes me wonder if it's 'insecure' to need people to tell you you're doing okay, and that they like you. Maybe.
Anyway, that's my (long, wordy) tuppence. Tell me what you think.
