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E. Celebrity in American Society
Every culture has its own celebrity. It differs from one culture to another. Hundreds years ago the celebrities were the royal family and the
nobility. While today, the celebrities are the entertainers. To decide who deserves to be called celebrity, we need to understand what celebrity is.
Celebrity is an individual whose desires,
hopes, fears,
and dreams
Schut,
nd
November, 2009; 08.15
Celebrity also became a perfect example of what is accepted. On one side people saw them as ordinary persons who have
ordinary life just like most of people. People could find celebrities having
from disease, problems with their lovers, etc. in television programs and articles in magazines or internet. Therefore, people feel some kind of
They
never met them. Then, slowly but sure the eagerness to know the
On the other side, people are aware that celebrities live in a world of dream. In the same magazines where people find celebrities facing their
daily problem, they could also find celebrities toting a Bulgary bag and
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wrapped in a 15.000 couture gown. On one hand people know that this was a kind of life that they could never afford to. Nevertheless, they see it
as a way to get satisfaction for themselves and acceptance from the society.
their routine everyday life. Instead facing the rising debt, the unsatisfied
they often felt better in doing so. For the reasons above, people are inescapable from being
obsessed toward celebrity. In ancient Greece and Rome, people created gods and goddess as the example of perfect persons, an idol, or how a
human should be. In this modern era, people look for this perfect image on celebrities. People tend to build up a perfect image and then observe
part in order to reach the perfection. The media keep this idea and apply it in the industry.
We can not ignore that everyday the media build the celebrities characters through gossips, photos, and interviews whether in magazines or
talk shows. Consumption of media is not a small activity in America, or the rest of countries in the world. TV, magazines, movies, advertisements,
and internet are dominant in daily lives. What people see and hear everyday and every time slowly but sure builds their opinion about what
they believe to be true, what is good and what is not. Media give what we want and desire, so it is not a surprise if people end
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The teenagers are the most affected by this phenomenon. It happens because they see fame as a cure for all problems. Fame gives them
the opportunity to get wealth and success. They are aware that by looking like the celebrities they can get others attention and acceptance, since they
are on the phase of searching self identity. They also see the famous person capacity to influence social change, for example, when Julia Roberts was
given the opportunity to become the Ambassador of WWF or Arnold
and people felt to know their character. It gives them the impulse to copy celebrity life.
The obsession toward celebrities can be seen from the increasing number of gossip magazines and the higher demand of it. People are eager
that they would not miss the latest trend. Information about celebrities can easily be found. People only
need to log on the internet, or buy the gossip magazines, and we even can
two pages for celebrity info. Celebrity appears everywhere from television
information about celebrity is not only on their carrier and daily life, but mostly about what they are wearing. Some magazines even specially serve
regularly and completely of what celebrity wears with its detail info of where can they get thing and how much the cost is. Since celebrity is a
model of what is accepted and the standard of fortune, people tend to
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imitate celebrity. In some series of Oprah Winfrey Show, there are groups of teenagers addicted to buy expensive things that celebrities have although
they might not afford it. The other girls do extreme diet and even plastic surgery in order to reach zero sized body and to look like their idols.
Nevertheless, obsess toward celebrity could be inspiring. By
solve their problems. Celebrities also motivate people to reach the higher goal in their life, for example, Oprah Winfrey suffered through poverty,
sexual abuse and racial discrimination to became the wealthiest woman in media. Thus, we can see that celebrity nowadays taking an important role
they hold their beliefs and values.
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CHAPTER III ANALYSIS
A. Myths Reflected in The 79
th
Annual Academy Award
The Annual Academy Award has evolved through time. From the awarding night to the broadcasting system has changed. However, the
enthusiasm and interest of the society toward this event is not decreasing but increasing from day to day. For example, the 78
th
Annual Academy Award was watched by 76.6 million viewers in America only, not
including viewers aboard. It shows that this event is popular among the Americans and the society accepts the ritual because it reflects some of
their beliefs and values. The American myths, beliefs and values that were reflected in the 79
th
Annual Academy Award were:
1. Myth of Material Success
Since the Puritan era, American people believe that wealth and power are the sign of success. While nowadays, in American society,
fame is also a sign of success. The American people believe that through hard work, they will find wealth, fame and power in return.
This myth of material success also can be seen in every parts and steps of the 79
th
Annual Academy Award Night ceremony. From the preparation phase, the Red Carpet, the Academy Award nominees and
especially the winner, the Judging process of the award, the bestowed of the award to the winner, to the icon of the Academy Award itself