But I am loved!

Mary Irene Carolan 

My little self spent a lot of time on stage. Not that this was ever an original idea of my own and to be completely honest, my slightly less intimidated but still incredibly uncoordinated adult self is still just as embarrassed about it. Although I would never go as far as to call myself a theatre kid, (I think that leaves too much of an expectation for talent) I did get a mic once so I suppose that is an ounce of fame that I can claim as far as fame in my smaller town can go. So, to hang onto it, I wouldn’t tell you that it was only to say one line in front of a reasonably mediocre audience. And I most certainly wouldn’t tell you that I’m sure I only got the moment because I was the smallest of the ensemble. But I wouldn’t be afraid to admit to you that my little self was quite in awe of hearing only my own voice and keeping the attention only to myself for a second. The second felt much more significant then.

And now I wonder if fame, I mean real headline fame, does only feel like one second. Do we wait for the possibility only for it to leave faster than it came? Or does fame last forever? Can it ever be our own to keep? Because I think that is how it was meant to be.

our obsessions start somewhere because someone decides it to be so and collectively, we follow the fascination until the fascination dies out

The article “The Long and Strange History of Celebrity” looks upon such ideas, including the etymology of “fame” as beginning with the Romans. The Latin word fama meant rumour, but also possibly great deeds that would be known for millennia. But perhaps this idea of a rumour is more akin to what we know fame to be now. Our obsessions start somewhere because someone decides it to be so and collectively, we follow the fascination until the fascination dies out.

I think our modernity finds attraction in such triviality because such triviality resembles our relationship with change. Our fixations don’t last, but our craving to have something to fixate on does.

There is much truth in the article’s recognition of Medieval saints as celebrities, the difference being that the people who sought fame in classical and medieval times wanted to be remembered after their death. Modern celebrities want to be renowned during their lifetime.

we have let the construction of “fame” become a career of its own, simply coming down to who can last chasing for the longest

And in this lifetime, the audience is constantly distracted. To hold people’s attention, our name chasers must accommodate to what we decide. In this, we have let the construction of “fame” become a career of its own, simply coming down to who can last chasing for the longest. And the ones that do, they’ve caught me. Suddenly, I’m the one pursuing. Following trends and internet personalities that I wouldn’t have considered as something that adds to my reality. But rather, it has now become our reality. Our social networking is in the cloud, choosing what characteristics of influencers to adopt, what places to go to, how to look, and what to believe in.

Its presence is constant, so constant that I often must let go of such closeness. Use my own life as a break. You know, a little distance.

celebrity culture is more than entertainment, it is more than forefront and tangible success, it is a means of belonging

In the words of philosopher Marshal McLuhan, the medium is the message and the medium influences how the message is perceived. As such, as our communication technology becomes larger and easier to access, the value of what or who a ‘celebrity’ is, has changed. We no longer demand a sensation of extraordinary talent or heroism, but instead a personality willing to be authentic; or at least something we can pretend and receive as so. Celebrity culture is more than entertainment, it is more than forefront and tangible success, it is a means of belonging.

Whether we like it or not, our internet platforms are changing. “Fame” is more than descriptive, and our consumption is only as great as we want it to be. And this consumption is what determines our connection, our network. And perhaps this difference, a difference of our own design, might not be entirely bad. Or perhaps our ease of intimacy is too easily held.

Mary Irene Carolan