{"id":10754,"date":"2016-09-12T15:17:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T07:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/blog\/?p=10754"},"modified":"2024-06-03T03:42:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T03:42:52","slug":"fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2016\/09\/12\/fame\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seductive-Destructive Siren-Song of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 2010, I wrote a blogpost about Justin Bieber. In 2018, I want to expand this post into something broader, about celebrity and fame. Here are some tweets to start.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fame is cruel <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0kCn0dc6Mi\">https:\/\/t.co\/0kCn0dc6Mi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/995813714824581121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;Fame has no off switch: possible to enjoy the perks of recognizability and still resent the trade-offs.&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4WEW4ipUug\">https:\/\/t.co\/4WEW4ipUug<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/visareads?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#visareads<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/734188051589693440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 22, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I&#39;m starting to think that by the time you reach around, say, Neil Tyson or Nassim Taleb level of celebrity, being precise about your thoughts starts to feel inconsequential \u2013 ie, people are going to warp and misunderstand whatever you say anyway, so you might as well get woo-ey<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/990802889445556224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Eminem\u2019s Sing For The Moment remains the most succinctly powerful description of the fame trap I\u2019ve encountered yet <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4wLjSELYv7\">pic.twitter.com\/4wLjSELYv7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/1012936063197671424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fame is a terrible thing. Humans are not wired to deal with celebrity. It should come warning labels. We only care for awhile when they die. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/k5cCRseu1I\">pic.twitter.com\/k5cCRseu1I<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/912901401495425024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Bieber is a tragicomedy.<\/p>\n<p>Think about it. He was a young kid who worked hard at singing and playing guitar and the trumpet and whatever. And then he became internationally famous with tens of millions of little girls wanting to fuck him and blow him and what not. He can&#8217;t go anywhere without being swarmed by a crazy mob of girls. The only logical conclusion for him to arrive at, at that age, is that it was destiny. He must&#8217;vee born for greatness. He must be the next coming of Michael Jackson, etc etc.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine what that would do to you if it happened to you when you were 15, 16. People offering you everything you want, and more. Being treated like a god&#8217;s gift to mankind by tens of millions of people, and being demonized by tens of millions of others.<\/p>\n<p>His story isn&#8217;t going to end well. It&#8217;s not really his fault. He got swept up in things beyond his control, beyond his understanding, and it will twist\/warp your entire sense of reality.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2014 Update: He just got arrested. <\/strong><em>Original post <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/16\/justin-bieber-a-presumably-hard-working-kid-whos-unfortunately-annoying-and-destined-for-douche-baggery\/\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Is it worth it getting famous? Why do people want to become famous? Why do so many famous people end up in a bad way, one way or another? What are the perils of fame? What are the perks of fame?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf anyone besides famous people knew what it was like to be a famous person, they would never want to be famous. Imagine the stereotypical highly opinionated, completely uninformed mother-in-law character and apply it to every teenager with a computer in the entire world. Then add in all bored people, as well as people whose job it is to report on celebrities. Then, picture that creature, that force, criticizing you for an hour straight once a day, every day, day after day.\u201d\u201cIf anyone besides famous people knew what it was like to be a famous person, they would never want to be famous,\u201d Sia wrote. \u201cImagine the stereotypical highly opinionated, completely uninformed mother-in-law character and apply it to every teenager with a computer in the entire world. Then add in all bored people, as well as people whose job it is to report on celebrities. Then, picture that creature, that force, criticizing you for an hour straight once a day, every day, day after day. I\u2019ve been writing pop songs for pop stars now for a couple of years and I\u2019ve become friends with them and see what their life is like and that\u2019s not something I want.\u201d \u2013 Sia<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that it&#8217;s not the answer.\u201d -Jim Carrey<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My personalilty just does not work without fame. Without fame, this haircut looks like mental illness.&#8221; \u2013 Russell Brand<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-list-component mt-paragraph text\">\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been in the party. I\u2019ve been on the other side of the looking glass.\u00a0And it ain\u2019t f***ing worth it, the things inside can\u2019t fuel what we\u2019re looking for, I\u2019m still empty inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>(There&#8217;s a lot more that he&#8217;s said that isn&#8217;t easily Googleable).<\/p>\n<p>_____<\/p>\n<p>Lady Gaga&#8217;s Five Foot Four conveys some of this.<\/p>\n<p>Think about Britney&#8217;s blowout, where she went bald, and all the mad paparazzi around her.<\/p>\n<p>Bojack Horseman, Sarah Lynn.<\/p>\n<p>Amanda Bynes. Lindsay Lohan. The Olsen Twins.<\/p>\n<p>_____<\/p>\n<p>People in my lifetime who have died, where their fame seems to have been a factor \u2013 Amy Winehouse, Robin Williams, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Jonghyun (SHINee)<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;If we stop deliberately giving fame to the worst people on Earth, the outcome can only be good.&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SomeAssholeInitiative?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SomeAssholeInitiative<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bLOaSB2jBg\">pic.twitter.com\/bLOaSB2jBg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/965922570535972865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If I were in that role today I think I could manage it a lot better, but only because of all the additional context and perspective I&#39;ve gotten. This thread makes me realize this also explains my morbid fascination with celebrity  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jhZ76T9CdV\">https:\/\/t.co\/jhZ76T9CdV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/946589729188753409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 29, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>^ &#8220;The public is a monster&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2731<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.esquire.com\/news-politics\/a638\/esq1003-oct-sinatra-rev\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frank Sinatra Has a Cold &#8211; Gay Talese &#8211; Best Profile of Sinatra<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 will want to reread when studying celebrity and influence<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2010, I wrote a blogpost about Justin Bieber. In 2018, I want to expand this post into something broader, about celebrity and fame. Here are some tweets to start. Fame is cruel https:\/\/t.co\/0kCn0dc6Mi &mdash; Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) May 13, 2018 &quot;Fame has no off switch: possible to enjoy the&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[605],"class_list":["post-10754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wip","tag-brainworm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/fame.jpeg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s5gxNz-fame","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14251,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754\/revisions\/14251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}