It is high time celebrities became self-aware of the power and influence they possess in this current age and how they to a very large extent influence public opinion.
So, let’s get started with the basics, who is a celebrity, according to Google, a celebrity is a famous person, especially in entertainment or sports. You see in each era or age there are different professions that rule the world or would I say are given the uttermost regard. The evolution of man has witnessed the rise of different occupations and professions, from the age of the caveman to the age of warriors, blacksmiths, prophets, emperors, philosophers, academics, political leaders and now it is the age of celebrities.
The rise of celebrities came in the 20th century thanks to inputs from Frank Sinatra in the 1940s, the culture began to slowly take form. But the one who laid the deep foundation was Elvis Presley ‘The King,’ he was a great influence on the world of entertainment. According to Rolling Stone, “It was Elvis who made rock ‘n’ roll the international language of pop.” Even the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll describes Presley as “an American music giant of the 20th century who single-handedly changed the course of music and culture in the mid- 1950s.
Elvis Presley was influenced by African American blues, Christian gospel and Southern country and he is often regarded as a great integrator. Thanks to his unconventional style of music, bizarre dance steps and making music a liberal form of art. He was the first to get teenagers and youths to attend his sold-out concerts around America, at a time when being a musician was not very rewarding. Even John Lennon of the world-famous band, The Beatles, said that “Before Elvis there was nothing.” The influence of celebrities, their worship and dominance were further cemented by the coming of Michael Jackson, this was one man who had the world at his feet.
Right from his early days as a member of the famous group Jackson 5, he was already creating his brand and working tirelessly on his craft to perfection. This gentleman was so famous that he could not even go outside of his home to get supplies from the grocery store without getting noticed. He impacted the world significantly in all areas within his reach be it music, videos, media, fashion, charity, activism and many other areas. But like the saying from the Spiderman movie “With great power comes great responsibility.” His great status did not come without controversies which I would not dive into because of the focus of this article.
Many people listened to Michael and all the messages he passed across with his craft and many to a large extent took his messages and words serious. So much so that Michael realized the great power and privilege given to him that he used his influence for peace, unity, love and hope for all who lived in the world. Apart from music Michael inspired a whole new generation through fashion right from the early 1980s with his innovative and record-breaking music videos like Billie Jean, Beat It and finally the crown jewel Thriller.
These videos had a very attractive line of clothing which were worn by Michael, this impacted the young generation so much so that every young child then wanted to dress like him and be like him. This resulted in wholesale and retail of his replica wears like his jackets, suits, shoes and his iconic hand gloves, even dolls of Michael were made for little children to play with. Pepsi a top global beverage company saw the impact Mike was having on the young generation and immediately gave him an endorsement deal that helped launch the company into the younger target audience and gave them huge profit margins. This singular video Thriller made music videos become an art form rather than a promotional tool and it helped to give ground to MTV (Music Television) a music channel that has today contributed a lot to the world of entertainment through award shows, music promotions, music journalism and many other great ventures.
You see in the early 1980s, MTV was a music channel solely dedicated to rock music and was not really doing well in terms of viewership. So, based on a recommendation they started the rotation of Michael Jackson music videos on their music channels ranching from Billie Jean to Beat It and finally Thriller. It did not take long for viewership to skyrocket and further launch the music channel as a heavyweight in the music industry globally. As for Michael, he became the first Black artist to have his videos played on the channel, hence breaking the culture barrier and changing the world of music forever. He even has an award dedicated to him the ‘Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award’ which he was the first to receive from MTV. This man was a once in a lifetime genius.
So, you see the power of a celebrity or celebrities is no small feat, these individuals on a daily routine have the power to influence and change public opinion in any chosen endeavour or field and this is the reason why Art in all its ramifications cannot be overemphasized. In the words of Global Pop Icon Beyoncé, “Art is the unapologetic celebration of culture through self-expression. It can impact people in a variety of ways for different reasons, at different times, some will react, some will respond and others will be moved.”
So, you see Art and all aspects of it can move mountains and change the world. I dare say it is spiritual even famous Afrobeat Legend Fela Kuti, once said: “Music is a spiritual thing.” Art is spiritual and deeper than you think on all levels and to a large extent, it can be regarded as a religion.
Art is no child’s play and the advancement of any given society is dependent on three things, Art, Science and Politics and these three are more connected than most people can imagine. Art, science and politics do more than just help societies to advance or would I say evolve. They enlighten the society, inform, entertain and brighten the horizon of the people in the society, if they do not exist the society will have no variety but be one with no meaning or purpose. These entities give meaning to life and as they say, variety is the spice of life, so they are indeed necessary for our society. So, most celebrities need to wake up and begin to understand the power they possess in the public eye. If they think they are just here to entertain, inform or probably educate, then they are in for a shocker as the home of fame is not a walk in the park.
If we still doubt the influence of celebrities in society, why do reputable companies and entities make them brand ambassadors, why do governments, politicians use them for political campaigns and seek their endorsement, why do most youth copy their style, way of life or view them as role models, why do most people believe the words of celebrities on any given topic more than the media or the given authorities in that field and in most times their words could be wrong and why do religious organizations, activist groups and other related associations try to associate with them. It is because they know what their influence can do for their various causes and they know the kind of impact the celebrities have on the public when they promote their various causes.
Celebrities wield a lot of power in this current age of the internet and addictive social media platforms which have somehow created a new world order in pop culture and celebrity worship. The latest trend though not very new is ‘Stan Culture’ a subset of pop culture and it arguably can get as toxic as anything pop culture has the potential to be. The term itself according to older millennials emerged in the 2000s when Rap Legend Eminem released a song called “Stan.” The story follows the character Stan, an over obsessive fan who writes Slim Shady (Eminem’s alter ego). At first, Stan is optimistic and friendly towards Slim but he gets more and more upset whenever Slim doesn’t write back. The writer becomes a violent stalker towards Slim and does violent actions to himself and the people around him.
This is the back story but of course as with everything culture whose very nature is set in a foundation of constant flux; the idea has since become expansive to encompass behaviours as varied as online adulation characterized by religious sharing of posts dedicated to Stan’s favourite, to blind devotion that defies criticism, to online interactions that border on trolling where stans will drop an unrelated comment under people’s post with a video of their favourite stars.
A typical example of ‘Stan Fandom’ is Tacha’s fans who tag themselves as ‘Titans.’ Tacha whose real name is Anita Natacha Akide, a Former Big Brother Naija Housemate. A phenomenon herself and has in fact become an accepted norm on Nigeria’s social media space, especially on Twitter, where a day does not go by without at least one Tacha trend is one that must earn itself a more consuming and multifaceted topic of discussion than the immense capacity of Tacha’s devoted followers to come up with trending hashtags for their ‘Queen’. The relationship with her fans is quite dynamic, they are so devoted to her to the point of insanity that any opinion different from theirs is not allowed. There is nothing you can do to argue, compliment or negotiate your side, your side is wrong and theirs is right.
There are also other celebrities with their own ‘Stanbase’ with self-styled tags, like Naira Marley’s Marlians, Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters, BTS’s Army, Justin Bieber’s Beliebers, Nicki Minaj’s Barbz and Beyonce ruthless minions who identify themselves as the BeyHive. The quirk ‘Stan’ as a subculture of pop culture has an explanation in psychology. According to Dr Daniel Faltesek, a New Media Communication Academic at Oregon State University, say that Stans do things they do because of a key idea called “Parasocial Interaction.” According to “Parasocial Relationships: The Nature of Celebrity Fascinations, parasocial interaction is a hypothesis that focuses on one-sided relationships, usually a fan towards a celebrity, where the former party exerts lots of energy, time and feelings into one person and the latter not knowing of their existence. Well, such is the power of a celebrity.
You will agree with me that the role of a celebrity is more than you think, it’s a huge responsibility to have, all you do is in the public eye and you can lead people to the light or destruction whether they are aware or not. There is always a price for fame and it does not come cheap. You are in a position that matter to a lot of people, you have the power to change the world for good or bad. Great Physicist Stephen Hawking once said that “The downside of my celebrity is that I cannot go anywhere in the world without being recognized. It is not enough for me to wear dark sunglasses and a wig. The wheelchair gives me away.”
So as a celebrity you are always in the spotlight. So, make it count while it lasts. We all are on a voyage of discovery to unearth the never-ending infinite of knowledge.