The Hollywood culture spread across the world.
There is little doubt that one of the most powerful products the United States exported was entertainment. For more roughly 100 years, the world has been fascinated by Hollywood films and television shows.
What we saw was tremendous reach. It also made stars very influential. Over the decades, this was often managed in a manner to preserve that power.
The question is whether that is coming to an end? In this article we will dive into some of the points.
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Are We Near The End Of Celebrity
Cary Grant. John Wayne. Marilyn Monroe.
Hollywood stars go way back. The names I listed, along with countless others, are household names around the world. These people were glamorized and glorified in their day.
Back in the first half of Hollywood, the movie studios were very careful with the portrayal of the stars. Great strides were taken to protect the images while also presenting a persona that was careful manicured.
It is actually not much different than today. The difference is the studios were protective and made sure the limit what was seen.
If we contrast this with the celebrities of today, we see the exact opposite. They post everything on social media, right down to the purses they are buying their children. Nothing is off limits.
Of course, they try to make like they are just like everyone else, that what they are presenting is natural.
The reality is they are full of crap. Many of them spend untold amounts of time with their plastic surgeons, publicists, and make up artists. In other words, it was all a facade.
We know the queens of this are the Kardashians. For two decades they have appeared everywhere. They had a long running reality show. From this sprung numerous lines of beauty products. The family became a billion dollar empire.
Unfortunately, even the queens are struggling. The ratings for their show are dropping. reality television is falling out of favor. It is a situation that is filtering through to other celebrities.
Blake Lively, who is married to Ryan Reynolds, used the premiere of a film they did together to turn questions about the film onto her, and her new haircare line.
The line is suffering. Is there any correlation? Hard to tell.
Are People Tired Of The Hypocrisy?
As Hollywood keeps going deeper into shambles, celebrity is going with it.
Now we have to be clear, most of these are not going to suffer monetarily, at least not in the same way we would. Many have enough money to last generations.
That said, what else is there. When you look at a lot of these people, they have little else but the public acclaim. That is what is going to be swept away.
We can see the effects on the Oscars. Once the most regal of events, it has been in decline for years. It is even to the point they had to launch a $500 million fund raising campaign.
Looking to safeguard its future in a world in which the Oscars have lost some of their ratings luster, the Academy of motion picture arts and sciences announced on Friday a new $500-million global campaign aimed at extending the organization’s influence worldwide and diversifying its revenue streams.
A number of years back, Tom Cruise went off the deep end. It is well know he is deep into Scientology, an organization that has it share of critics. That wasn't what derailed Cruise. It was his own behavior which, at best, was odd.
Fortunately for Cruise, who is one of the few stars who is both a huge money maker while also appearing to care for the craft, piped down and just made films.
In other words, people were not interested in being converted to Scientology.
Social media is mostly fakeness. People are on Facebook, Instagram, and other sites presenting their "best sides". We all know what people to with angles on the phone to emphasize certain attributes while hiding others.
When not posting selfies, people are sharing all aspects of their lives, often promoting how wonderful things are. They likes to talk of exotic vacations, tremendous work success, or how great the family life is.
All this will traveling to the divorce attorney's office.
Of course, celebrities take this to another level. The hypocrisy that comes from being so fake could be running its course.
The Diddy Effect
We discussed this in another article but it appears the tentacles of Diddy long. Many in entertainment industry are likely sweating bullets. Lawsuits are about to fly, bringing people involved with him into the spotlight. According to the lawyer who is going to bring suits on behalf of 120 people, there were big names involved to varying degrees.
Of course, at this time, all of this is alleged. Nevertheless, if lawsuits do start flying, do not be surprised if the idea of celebrity starts to get tarnished even further.
What happens if some of the biggest names start to be found to be involved? Even if they weren't directly participating, accusations are appearing against people like Oprah that she helped to cover things up.
Naturally, this is just online nonsense at this point and we have nothing to collaborate this assertion against Oprah. However, what if it is true. Is there much larger when it comes to celebrity over the last 40 years than Oprah?
The Death of the Influencer?
Social media brought us a new form of celebrity: the influencer.
We see the success of things such as OnlyFans as evidence of this. All social media sites have them. Is that coming to an end also?
Of course, many mainstream celebrities also have enormous impact on social media. What happens if their star starts to decline?
Are people waking up to the fact that many of these people are very shallow and, in many instances, not to bright. It is one thing to respect and admire one's talent in something such as acting, as a singer, or in the realm of athletics. What these people do is impressive.
However, that doesn't mean their opinions about other things are worth much.
Perhaps people are starting to realize that.
One final point: do not be surprised if AI replaces a lot of this going forward.