What exactly does “no talent” mean? Everyone has a different view on what constitutes a person being talented. Some people many think that a male soprano singer (as seen on x-factor) is talent, some may think that Kerry Katona is talented for manipulating the media in the way that she does, others may see stage actors as more talented then on-screen performers. Talent is an opinion, its not just black and white. You don’t have to be talented to be a celebrity same as people are not always a celebrity because they are talented. The 2 do not go hand in hand and especially at the moment they are at opposite sides of the spectrum.
I went to see something in the Brighton festival recently called ‘On celebrity’ Cosmo Landesman, along with 2 other celebrity critics, was discussing how we are effected by the media and about the explosion of celebrity culture due to reality T.V shows and televised talent competitions. One statement that stuck in my mind was;
‘There seems to be so many celebrities but so few stars’
Celebrity culture is not a new thing, its been going on since the 1920’s, if not before, with publicized scandals, evidence of this can be found on Google and Wikipedia by searching for 1920’s scandal but the question Cosmo and others were asking at this particular talk was why are people buying into the culture and celebrity life style more now then ever? Do people really think that the only way to make it somewhere in the performing arts industry is to almost disgrace their selves by appearing on a reality television show for media exposure?
How have the public become so attached to the lives of others? Are our lives so boring that we need to read about other peoples so we have something to talk about? As an example, if you take the likes of ‘OK’ magazine and flip through its pages it contains nothing more then airbrushed celebrity faces, most of which we have never heard of, circles of shame around a well known faces sweat patches or chipped nail polish and articles about well known celebrity couples buying everyday things in every day ways. Is this entertainment? Celebrity gossip columns and magazines offer us a common ground on which to work from when talking to others, conversations such as “Oh! Did you hear about Jordan and Pete getting divorced?” At the ‘On Celebrity’ talk Cosmo mentioned a newspaper, of which I have forgotten the name, that decided to deal with real life people and real life events but it never took off or made any money, people apparently were not interested. When a non-celebrity takes a train ride up from Euston to Liverpool, for example, no one batters an eyelid but when a celebrity takes the same journey or another such as a flight from one place to another its front-page gossip news in the morning, evidence of this can be found when looking at the recent story about Victoria Beckham flying from America to Milan. Heat magazine apparently laid to rest the 
rumours that the Beckham’s were planning to buy a house in the city of Milan, In a exclusive interview to heat, Mrs Beckham, told them the rumours weren’t true and she was just popping over on a shopping trip. Do we really care where celebrities are buying houses? It seems people are becoming obsessed with celebrity culture and it also seems that many people are striving to become a product of that culture. I say the above because when you look around many people, especially girls, have a case of champagne taste and beer money, they seem to be copying what the celeb’s wear and the way they act but because these people, obsessed with celebrity, don’t have the same spending power or bank balance as their, what some people may call, ‘phoney’ icon’s they don’t seem to pull it off.
Cosmo’s statement “When critics of celebrity culture shake their heads and complain that these dreadful people have “no talent” they’re missing the point; they are liked because they don’t have talent! They offer human forms of entertainment. People don’t care about their singing – they want the life, their story of triumph and sorrow.” (The Guardian, April 16th 2007) Implies that to become a celebrity takes talent but not in its organic form. Talent of today comes from having ‘no talent’ It implies that to become famous, a ‘celebrity’, all you need is a little tragedy or a whirl wind romance gone wrong, the guts to tell everyone about it and your on your way.
Speaking purely for myself, I love a good sob story and I am always won over when watching Britain’s got talent by the 1 or 2 a week they single out to have their life shown by a picture story with a voice over. For those few minutes before they audition I become totally attached to their story and their quest to be there on that particular day and whatever the outcome I slightly feel the emotion they are experiencing. Does this mean I am buying into the new bread of celebrity that’s coming from reality television shows? It’s obvious that these stories, blasts of gossip, exploitations of someone’s life, are what people want to see the evidence is clear, its on the TV’s we watch, the magazines we read, the radio we listen to and the newspapers we pick up for the real hard news.
Landesman’s view on celebrity cultures implies that the worst is yet to come; he even said so when I went to see him in Brighton. We live in an age of modern individualism, be ordinary and loved for nothing in particular.
In recent years, according to Landesman’s discussion panel, there has been a dip in politics. Young people are not taking note of what’s going on in the world of politics, which means a gap in the market has appeared that celebrity culture has moved into. In my opinion this is showing future generations that the most important people in the world are the celebrities and being a celebrity is the mark of success.
By putting a price on your life opens up doors that are otherwise guarded by the VIP list. From what I can gather, many people want this celebrity feeling. People want to be seen and recognised, people’s desire takes over and that strive and struggle of exclusivity becomes ever more prominent. It seems to me that the first step up the celebrity ladder is magazines such as Women’s weekly or even TV guide. These magazines have lots of real life stories and as a closing statement ‘£250, tell us your story’ People see this as a way of making money, fast, and getting their face splashed across magazines for hundreds, if not thousands, to see meaning they have gained visibility just like their favourite celebrities but don’t they realise that their lives are being exploited? Visibility is not the same as celebrity. It may get them noticed in the street and it might get them into a club once or twice for free but the flavour of the month will change and change very quickly.
What is interesting is how celebrities, not stars, stay in the public eye for so long. These people need to have a continuous narrative to stay in the limelight. Once a story gets old onlookers get bored and move on to their next victim, to keep the attention of the public these so called “no talent” celebrities have to create interest through scandal, plastic surgery, working for a charity, adopting a child, marriage or divorce.
By our entertainment industry being taken over by generic “on talent” celebrities does it now mean that the performing arts sector will, in years to come, seize to exist? In stead of children and young people going to stage school to learn and expand on their talents such as drama or music will colleges start offering qualifications in celebrity, How to exploit yourself to get ahead?
Landesman’s view implies that anyone with the correct attitude can become a celebrity, its not hard and you don’t even have to be talented, in fact the more ‘untalented’ you are the better.
Celebrity seems to be based on appearances. If you look the part you must have talent. A perfect example of this was Susan Boyle on Britain’s got talent this year, 2009. The judges, especially Simon Cowell, judged her completely on her looks. Wh
en asked “why are you here and do you think you can win?” she said, “I want to prove that I do have something to give and to perform in front on the queen would be an honour” and then “where do you see yourself in 10 years?” her reply “I what to be world known for my singing” got laughs from all over the auditorium. This was a prime example of people judging someone by their appearance. Simon’s blinkered view of ‘Prettiness sells!’ appears now to be outdated. Once they heard her sing they should have hung their heads in shame. She was brilliant! Now, even though Britain’s got talent isn’t over, she has become known worldwide. She has been mentioned on a recent episode of The Simpson’s, interviewed on Oprah and is constantly mentioned on Radio as I just heard on Radio 1. Due to this new found celebrity ITV seemed to give her more interview time in the semi final then any of the other contestants. Yes she is talented but also she has a story of struggle, being bullied at school, never being given a chance due to her looks etc. To me this is a prime example of what exactly Landesman is talking about in his statement from his article in the Guardian.
I personally think that the entertainment industry has come to a dead end. Everything seems to have been done before. There isn’t any imagination going into the industry and I cant help but wonder is this because of public demand or is it due to the industry just running out of innovative ideas and angles? Have the public created a demand of celebrity or have the media forced it upon us to cover the lack of fresh ideas?
Stars of the past have been remembered for their huge talent and many of them had other problems going on alongside their celebrity lives but they seemed to be kept under wraps, the personal lives of celebrities of the past were not the thing that sold them, their talent was. Now its been reversed. The more tragic a life is the more records they sell, the more magazines they sell. I watched the documentary of The Carpenter’s on BBC 2 yesterday, 25/05/09. This was about a brother and sister team who expressed their talent in any way they wanted. They strived to gain that first hit and as soon as they did people fell in love with them. It wasn’t Karen Carpenters Anorexia or her brothers sleeping pill addiction that sold their records or made people watch their TV programme, it was their talent, Karen’s voice, Thomas’ music arranging and their presence on stage. I cannot think of someone around today that has this. Media is more prominent now and without the media stars of the future would never stand out, never get that chance to show their potential.
The more I think about it, the more I realise that we are surrounded by individuals addicted to money, being recognised, living the high life and they all seem to think that it’s easy to get there and I guess Landesman’s view implies this. If stories of celebrity births, marriages, shopping trips, heart ache, illness and addiction are what people want then I guess that’s what they are going to get.
Is celebrity the new drug of choice?
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