Tiger's Ho Gets Denied! -- S.P. #4

“Ouch” is correct! Perez Hilton recently blogged about former Tiger Woods mistress, Jaimee Grubbs, and unsurprisingly had the lowdown on yet another sleazy move that she pursued on her prowl to gain notorious recognition. The blog entitled, “Tiger’s Ho Gets Denied” describes Grubb as being spotted at the Beverly Hills’ Bar 210 where she was roaming alone until she made her way to a table full of Anaheim Ducks and L.A Kings hockey players. After being welcomed with the cold shoulder, she insisted that she was a model and tried to introduce herself before helping herself to their alcohol. Ultimately, she gets asked to leave since the professional hockey players want nothing to do with her, nor do they want to be associated with her in any way. She complies and continues to make her way around the club to other men.

Despite being known for giving borderline pathetic D-list celebrities massive amounts of unnecessary exposure, Perez’s depiction of Grubbs makes his work that of a halfway noble human being for placing the spotlight on this scarlet lettered nobody. It is rather refreshing when bad moves are met with bad publicity, and Grubbs deserves nothing short of public humiliation and mockery. It is also nice to hear that some professional athletes are still mindful of their images, and likewise, it is especially satisfying to hear that undeserving home wreckers like Grubb are shunned from the endeavors of their choosing.

Social Media and Celebrities (Supplemental Post #5)

As technology keeps evolving and society keeps diving into new trends, celebrities have to keep up for publicity purposes. In terms of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs), celebrities have begun to use these tools to stay connected with their fans. Contrastingly, fans use this medium to keep informed or inform other about their favorite celebrities as well. There is the famous blog by (in)famous Perez Hilton, where he brings out all the dirt on celebrities. Many celebrities really dislike Perez Hilton because he publishes personal stories about them. There was a recent article where Lindsay Lohan lashed out at Perez Hilton through Twitter because he made fun of her sister. I think that this shows how much fans and celebrities rely on social media and technology that they began a little face-off via Twitter, rather than an interview or written statements. Now issues are not even solved via email, but rather over Twitter, where millions can see what is going on.

Furthermore, there are thousands and thousands of public figures that have accounts for their fans to follow them. Twitter has become the faster and innovative way for celebrities to reach their fans. Using their mobile phone, they can reach millions instantaneously with any message they want. For example, during the Academy Awards red carpet show, Ryan Seacrest kept updating his Twitter account to keep the audience updated with what was going on off screen.

It is evident how much social media has come along in the past few years. Not long ago, people had no idea what Twitter was, and now everyone seems to have one, which is great for celebrities to stay connected with their fans.

Supplemental post -- Zoe Saldana

While I was watching a trailer for Death at a Funeral, I realized that Zoe Saldana seems to be in EVERYTHING. Ever since she appeared in Star Trek, then received a great deal of recognition for her role in Avatar, she seems to be the face in every new film. Interestingly, my roommate mentioned to me that Zoe Saldana seems to be the hip new black actress, which is similar to what we were discussing in class in regards to Jennifer Lopez.
Now that Zoe Saldana has risen in popularity, she is becoming the go-to girl for African American female roles, like how actresses like Halle Berry or Gabrielle Union. It seems like there is normally one or two very popular actresses who fill every role whenever a black actress is needed. In fact, I could only think of Halle Berry when I went to write that sentence so I asked my roommate for another example—she couldn’t think of anyone either. We googled top black actresses and the only other examples listed were Raven Symone and Queen Latifah, who do not fill the same types of roles that someone like Zoe Saldana or Halle Berry would. Now, Zoe Saldana has taken the position as the major prominent black actress whenever there is any role that requires a black actress.
What is most interesting about all this is that she isn’t even black, and yet she always seems to be playing characters who can be assumed to be black. Zoe Saldana is actually Puerto Rican and Dominican, living mush of her life in the Dominican Republic. And yet, because she is ethnic, she can adapt to the ethnicity that is required for the role she is playing. Like how we were discussing Jake Gyllenhal in the Prince of Persia, I feel like there has to be qualified black actresses who could fill the roles that she is now playing.

Ciara's Desperate 'Ride' {Supplmental Post 5]

So, virtually irrelevant pop star Ciara released a brand new video recently and the results are disastrous. What tried to come across as sexy, only reads desperate. Ciara has had a hard time obtaining a hit record recently, and she has been reduced to making a near pornographic video to drum up publicity that she hopes to translate to a Hot 100 hit and more importantly record sales. I find when artists to this to be completely deplorable, it tells me that it is absolutely not about the art, but just trying to sell a product. The video is provocative without even being good. Many artists have been able to be provocative or controversial yet have the music or talent to back it up. Artists like Michael Jackson have used the art form of the music video to send a message that transcends the music. MJ's videos (two versions exist) for his single "They Don't Care About Us" managed to foreground racism that exists in the world, made viewers think, and the music still had something to it that made them want to go out and buy it while learning the message. This new Ciara video just gives 13 year old males something to YouTube when their parents aren't in the room. The music industry has been reduced to sad displays like scantily clad Ciara who bounces up and down and rides bulls seductively for attention. This saddens me to realize that music will never get out of its creative slump, and if record labels keep allowing artists to put out substandard material then they will never be able to rebound from the current financial slump they are in.

Rock Hudson

Interesting video about Rock with an interview with Dyer...

A star's authenticity (Core Post #5)

It is interesting to begin reading about a star's authenticity at this point in the semester, because I see it as such a crucial, yet overlooked part of our readings of a star. We've talked throughout the semester about the roles that actors play and whether or not they "fit". For example, Sandra Bullock in the The Blind Side or Lady Gaga's entire persona. Are they "real"?

In "A Star Is Born and the Construction of Authenticity" Dyer explains, "Showing that the star is not really like she/he appears to be may itself be taken up into the image, its further construction and rereading, but it could shatter the illusion altogether." (137). A star's authenticity is reenforced if they act the exact same way on and off of the screen. Stars are often exposing contradictory images (...see Tiger Woods scandal), but sometimes can work in the stars favor. In "Heavenly Bodies" Dyer explains his philosophy as to why gays like Judy Garland post-1950s. He explains that it is the breaking down of her false persona that actually exposed a more authentic individual. The emotion that came across post-1950s was relatable. A Star is Born is a compelling example because it was "revealing" and real... a lot more real then her earlier ordinary characters.

What is interesting about this is that the gay audience actually liked her performance as ordinary characters because she "was the image of heterosexual family normality... The ordinariness is a starting point because, like Judy Garland, gay men are brought up to be ordinary." (153). This was only respected, however, after the 1950s because they could relate to growing up in heterosexual family normality, but feeling like an outsider. She was the outsider. What would have happened if her authenticity wasn't exposed? Would she not be respected by the gay community? If her authenticity is never exposed, then would she have been considered authentic?

I know that this is a bit of a tangent, but I did a post a couple of weeks back on celebrities use of Twitter and social media. I've often wondered how this affects authenticity. Is it harder to hide things? Think of an active Tweeter (?) like John Mayer. The way he comes across on Twitter is completely different than his music and videos. If his music was the only thing creating his persona and we didn't see the vulgar content that he posts daily, what would we think about his authenticity as an artist? I had dinner with a Lady Gaga fan and we began talking about artists and Twitter. She expressed that she is frightened by the thought that Lady Gaga may not be updating her own Twitter, thus making her less authentic.

The reading in "Stardom: Industry of Desire" expresses that stars may create their authenticity. Thus, creating their behind the scenes image. Is this/will this be present on Twitter and other social media outlets. Are John Mayer's contradictory personas on purpose? Because it really makes me question his authenticity.

Hollywood: Authentic...NOT, Core post #4

While Dyer has discussed the importance of authenticity regarding stars, it has always been virtually impossible to achieve that due to the marketing machine that is Hollywood. After reading the article on Rock Hudson, one realized the extent to which team Hollywood will go to preserve and assure their power in the world. Rock Hudson spent three decades putting forth an image of a man that women desired and men emulated. The image was a pure heterosexuality, however, it was only an image, and it was inauthentic. But, in my opinion, it was not the fault of the actor. The team of agents and publicists had a hand, but also the American provincial mindset of the 1950a wouldn’t have allowed a homosexual actor to become such a huge celebrity. In actually, we see this same mindset even today. Rumors of Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, and Hayden Christian, whether they are true or not, require that these celebrities marry and bear children to assure their audiences of their heterosexuality.

In a Star Is Born, Judy Garland’s character Esther Blodgett becomes a celebrity (changing her name to Vicki Lester) after she meets her soon to be husband, Norman Maine, played by James Mason. The story shows the path of Esther/Vicki becoming a star, while Norman falls from celebrity due to alcoholism. She builds her image in Hollywood, and he destroys his by his public drunkenness. Much like Rock Hudson fell from Hollywood’s good graces when reporters wrote about “The Hunk Who Lived a Lie” and “The Master of Illusion,” (Meyer 279) in regard to Hudson’s diagnosis with HIV, Norman Maine fell from Hollywood’s good graces due to his addition.

Interesetingly, as life sometimes imitates art, Judy Garland was not the gal that we knew from films, but rather a sad and depressed soul who eventually died from a drug overdose. America lost two of it’s favorite celebrities this past year to drug addiction (Heath Ledger and Britany Murphy). Who would have known that the young knight from A Knight’s Tale and the guy who portrayed the confident Casanova would be, in actuality, so full of despair as to take his own life. In the end, we really never do know the character from the real life persona.

1) We only hear about the tragic cases of Hollywood actors when their addictions or lifestyles overcome them. How prevalent do you think publicity and market teams cover up the real people?

2) In a Star Is Born, do you think that Judy Garland’s character (either Ethel or Vicki) was authentic?

3) What would Rock Hudson’s career path have looked like had his homosexuality been verified in the 1950s?