Hollywood Then and Now
The Startling Shift from Respect to Hounding in Hollywood
Los Angeles - ground zero. Today's Hollywood is a lot different from the days of the 'silver screen'. What has changed the public's appetite so drastically?
Things just ain’t what they used to be. It is an observation made time and again. In the realm of film and celebrity there seems no truer statement. The public’s appetite for even the most mundane information about their favorite celebrities is simply insatiable but that was not always the case. Why the change from respect to hounding in Hollywood?
THE OLD DAYS
Back in the day as they say, there was a mystique – an untouchable quality to movie stars. They were stars, set on pedestals high above the common man. Stories of their exploits circulated but they were more like myths, adding to the grandiose image they projected. They were a different breed – gods and goddesses. Elizabeth Taylor is a good example in that her life’s affairs were common knowledge and yet there was still a degree of respect it seems. She was able to escape the kind of scrutiny and mean spirited hounding that exists today.
IN THE NOW
Today things are flipped on their ear. People are fed up with the idea, it seems, that movie stars are better than them. It is almost as if the public resents Hollywood and their luxurious lifestyles. They are obsessed with tearing down celebrities – proving them human or even more flawed than your everyday Joe. The most obvious example is of course, Britney Spears, whose downward spiral has regrettably managed to grab more headlines than important political issues such as the presidential race or the continuing war in Iraq.
REALITY TO CELEBRITY
Why this drastic change? One of the biggest factors may be the rise of reality TV and with it, the idea that anyone can gain celebrity. This pulls stardom out of the heavens and down to earth on a tangible level. While it is great on the one hand, to be able to identify with the people who entertain you, those you admire, this new trend is also sliding down a slippery, dangerous slope.
PEREZ HILTON REPORTING FROM GROUND ZERO
Perez Hilton is the new war correspondent, reporting to the public from the front lines of Hollywood. This war is, of course, between the celebrities and the paparazzi. Everyday swarms of paparazzi armed with cameras and now even videocameras chase celebrities from Starbucks to the boutiques of Rodeo Drive. The roads are at the mercy of both the hunters and the hunted as they throw laws and traffic etiquette to the wayside all over a shot of Ms. Spears at another gas station or Paris Hilton – shocker – shopping. There is a startling lack of respect as if celebrities are not gods and goddesses, not your common man, but property – pawns at our mercy – here for our enjoyment at all hours no matter what the cost. All of this is diligently passed along on Mr. Hilton’s website where it is voraciously consumed by millions. And oh sweet irony, all this has made Perez, perhaps because he is nicer and more human than rival celebrity news site TMZ, a celebrity in his own right.
WHERE IS THIS HEADED?
Addicts are the latest fad. From VH1’s show ‘Celebrity Rehab’ to the public’s obsession with DUI mugshots and who’s ‘exhaustion’ is really alcoholism. However, it is the public who are the biggest addicts of all, addicted to celebrity and all its ‘delicious’ pitfalls. Hollywood’s come a long way from Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey to Brangelina and like any addict rock bottom needs to be hit before a life altering change can be made. What will it take? Will a celebrity have to be killed, beyond a reasonable doubt, by a pursuing photographer? The sad truth is no one seems to know what society’s rock bottom is and change does not seem to be on the immediate horizon but a return to respect and mystique would be the most refreshing story Hollywood could ever remake.
