The Loss of Fame
Article summary
Have you ever imagined that fame could be a
curse, not a blessing on its owners? Yes, fame could be a curse, and you can
observe that when hearing about the suicide of celebrities like Elvis Presley,
Marilyn Monroe, and others, and how their life turned from a life full of Joy
and love of the public, to the despair and depression which lead them to kill
themselves. The article “The Loss of Fame: Psychological Implications” which
have published in the Journal of popular culture in 2011 by “Smalley. K.B.
& McIntosh. W.” explains this point. In this analysis we will see how the
authors explain to us how the fame affects celebrities, and what are the
different reactions that celebrities take if they lost their fame. We will
state a brief summary for the article, the article analysis, do I agree with
this article or not, and if the article is important or not.
The Loss of Fame:
Psychological Implications article is about how the fame affects celebrities,
and how fame could be a curse and not a funny thing as we imagine, and the
authors explains this when they stated: “Fame is not all fun and games,
however; the cost of fame can be high. For example, the frequency of mental
disorders runs as high as seventy-three percent in artists and sixty-eight
percent in musicians.” (Smalley. K.B. & McIntosh. W. 2011. Pg. 386).
In this article we have two main points. The first one is how the fame affects celebrities. In this main point the authors states how the fame could be a curse on famous, because they feel that all the eyes are centered on them and all they are always under spotlights. Because of that, they feel always that they are not in safe, and their life will be general to the public, and you can feel how it hurts when your live have no privacy. Because of that they found ways to escape this, by alcohol, drugs, or by suicide. (Smalley. K.B. & McIntosh. W. 2011. Pg. 386). The second main point explains the reactions which the celebrities could take when they lose their fame, and these reactions could be through clinging, reinventing, and downward spiraling. (Smalley. K.B. & McIntosh. W. 2011. Pg. 388).
The Analysis
This article use a lot of techniques to
inform us how celebrities suffer in their life, and their life is not that easy
as we imagine, and how some of them finally feel despair and depressed, and
that’s what could lead them to kill themselves. The authors in this article use
a lot of techniques to explain their idea. They used a lot of examples in this
article to emphasize their idea, in each page you can find an example for one
of the celebrities whom lost their fame. For example, when they talk about the clinging
as a reaction that the celebrities take if they lost their fame and they give
us Bob Denver the actor of Gilligan’s Island as an example of how the public
can put the famous in a particular frame, and if he try to change this frame
and act something else, the public cannot accept it.
That’s what happen with
Bob Denver. He was known in Gilligan’s Island with his white hate, and even
after he participate in a lot of movies and series as Gilligan, but he was always
known as Gilligan, and even when he died, a lot of people didn’t know his real
name. (Smalley. K.B. & McIntosh. W. 2011. Pg. 388).
The authors also used a lot of credible
sources which they gain their information from, to let the reader believe in
what they will say like Patricia A. Adler as an American sociologist and a
professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Also they used information
from Elliot Aronson as an American psychologist and he is considered between
the most 100 psychologist in the 20th century. Using information
from such people is enough to believe that these information are true, and
enough to make you believe in them.
Do I Agree or Disagree with this Article
I agree with the authors in this article,
I think it is well organized and their main points came one after one with a
good techniques to emphasize their ideas. I agree that is the fame could have a
bad psychological effects to the famous and how they suffer sometimes from it
and that’s what we saw in situations such like Yolanda Gigliotti an Italian
Singer and Actress who born in Egypt who was known after that with the name
Dalida, and after that she moved to France to be a big famous Singer and
actress. Dalida was very famous but this fame came to her with the curse. In
1987 she found dead as a result of a sleeping pills overdose, and they found a
note beside her saying: “Life has become unbearable ... forgive me.” (Find A
Grave, 1998).
The Importance of the Article
In conclusion, I think that this article was important
because it let us feel how famous feel, and how they suffer in their life, and what is the other dark side of their life, and how we can find behind their smiley faces which we saw in screens, a sad feeling that they hide. I think the target readers for this article are the people whose crazy about
being fame, and they want to do anything such to be famous, the authors in this
article try to say that fame can be a curse, and it is not only the media,
money, and being surrounded by people, it could lead to death sometimes, yes fame could kill you, and you should be aware.
“Fame doesn't fulfill
you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary.” Marilyn Monroe.
References
Brainy Quotes. (2013) Fame quotes. Retrieved on Jun 18, 2013. Retrieved
from
Find a grave. (1998). Dalida. Retrieved on October 19, 1998. Retrieved from
Smalley, Bryant K.,
& McIntosh, William D. (2011). The
loss of fame: Psychological implications. The Journal of Popular Culture, 44(2), 385-397.
Retrieved from http://0journals.ohiolink.edu.olinkserver.franklin.edu/ejc/article.cgi?
