portrait-of-hipster
Introduction
The article which is used in this discussion is called Portrait-of-hipster, which was written by Anatole Bayard. The story is about one character known as hipster, who wanted to have a better life just like many people do. The author was trying to show the life of a person who comes from a middle-class family and keeps struggling to make ends meet. From this story, there is much to learn about the celebrity culture. In most cases, celebrity serves as heroes, cultural commentators, role models, politicians and charity spokespersons, to name just a few. In other words, stars control all the activities that revolve around ordinary people. All the information can be accessed via different channels associated with technological changes in the current world (Khamis et al., 195). More stories which concern celebrity keeps on being posted on the social media and CNN each minute so that people can be attracted to read or view images of their stars. If people were asked, almost all individuals would have wanted to be celebrities so that they can be recognized. This discussion has provided an analysis of the celebrity culture with reference to the portrait-of-hipster story.
Discussion
One of the essential aspects of this culture is that the people are referred to as commodities of investment. Hipster was able to use his new philosophy to conquer the world. He directed human traffic (Broyard, 722). This is an indication that when people become famous, they have the power to lead people in the direction that they want. This means that they play a prominent role in the growth of the economy in their countries by determining how the ordinary people should dress and buy goods and services. Being referred to as commodities mean that they are sources of money, an example is Bill Gate, who is among the wealthiest people in the whole world. Due to his achievements, he has created employment for millions of people who work with computer software and earn a living. Were it not for him, all those individuals could not have jobs to do, and probably they could be very poor, but now they are well paid by companies due to their computer knowledge. They are also used as sources of investment by different companies. An example is the Monster energy drink company, which supplies their drinks to the football players, athletes, and other players to market their products through the players since people would be influenced to drink such drinks. The Addidas Company for shoe manufacturing also invests through the use of celebrities to market their products all over the world. It is clear that they are sources of investment and also act as commodities at the same time, which makes them very important and influential people in their nations.
Additionally, celebrities have a unique way of dressing. They dress to attract people and as brand ambassadors. Hipster always wore dark glasses because the normal light was affecting him. His hair had a white streak that was made of powder. This is an indication that he was after a fashion. The way a person wears always speak much about what kind of a person he/she is and the type of work she/he does (Rojek, 135). Politicians are known to dress in suits and to look very neat so that they can create a positive image to the citizens since they are more interested in their votes, and to gather those votes, they have to look smart and descent before the eyes of all the people. When it comes to music, it all depends on the type of music, and this field is where dressing competition and fashion can be noted. Musicians always dress to attract their audience, and fashion is of significant concern. Even though it depends on the type of song, their primary interest is always to make the viewers happy, and they can do anything for that even if singing naked is what can make them happy. Business celebrities also dress in a proper way since they have to portray a good image to the customers, and a customer can be any person of any age, though it all depends on the kind of business which they are involved in. A person like Nicki Minaj is a famous artist who is known all over the world due to her crazy dressing style, but it makes her unique and more prominent. Were it not for the celebrities; people could not know about fashion since they come up with new styles of clothing each time they are seen on social media and TV shows.
Furthermore, it is vital to note that this culture is made up of individualistic individuals. They primarily depend on themselves since they have all the resources they need. People who are celeb are more interested in the things that can make them more famous. They are not driven by the needs and goals of any group. When focusing on most of the celebrities, they only talk about their lives and the people around them, but they don’t involve any group. More focus is on what they achieve on their own without depending on other people so that they can have a story to narrate to the rest of the world. A majority of the celebrities have become successful due to their hard work without any support from the community. Therefore, they prefer enjoying their success alone without involving themselves with other groups or forming a group.
Bearing in mind that it is an individualistic culture, the majority participate in politics to be more powerful. Power is what defines them in the society, and the political field is the best place to exercise power. The study of celebrity culture enables people to understand more about the political field and the different characteristics of the candidates (Omenugha et al., 200). Politics are the backbone of every country since they define how a nation is depending on the nature of the politics. The media takes advantage of the politics because it is clear from the CNN that 90% of all the news being aired is all about politics in different nations of the world. Politics display two characters; one is the elected politician who uses his/her elements of being famous to influence certain decisions. An excellent example of such people is Donald Trump, who uses his unique character to rule the people of America. The second group is the star of popular culture that employs the use of their popularity among the people to speak for a popular opinion. Politics defines celebrity because millions of individuals have become famous all over the world due to politics and the different roles they played in their leadership. The people of Easter African can never forget a person like Idi Amin due to what he did during his administration as a big dictator. Nelson Mandel, who died recently, will forever be a hero to the native citizens of South Africa due to his fights against the colonial government and his excellent leadership skills, which he portrayed.
A significant of celebrities are musicians. When looking at the life of hipster, the author mentioned about the blues music, drums, and guitars in jive music. Celebrity culture is more of music since many people love listening to different types of songs. Since the introduction of the music awards, the music industry has grown in a significant way making people more famous (Uzuegbunam, 130). When watching different advertisements on TV, they are always accompanied by songs and a picture of musicians to get the viewers’ attention. These musicians have influenced the way people live their lives and especially the young people who try to copy from what they see musicians doing. A particular commercial that shows the famous musician known as Kim Kardashian getting into a beautiful mansion and then coming out dressed in an expensive and sexy dress and sprays herself. From this, people tend to look for such dresses and the same kind of spray since they think it can make them appear sexy just like this musician. Music is good, but currently, some of the images which are displayed are corrupting some good morals, especially with the young generation. The Kardashian family is an example of musicians who influence a large group of individuals their music and novels, such as the one known as keeping up the Kardashian brand.
Another critical approach to celebrity culture is about celebrity, ideology, and representation. Anatole talked about the hipster language being the revolution of the world. When looking at the current world, people follow what celebrities do, and that is why they have the potential to change the world. This implies that famous people who come up with different ideas in society are treated as more special than ordinary people since their ideas are more accepted by society than other people’s. They also act as a representation in the society where their social life makes more sense to the individuals since they are familiar with their language (Hermes & Stoete, 415). Celebrities are compared to the heavenly bodies (stars) because they act as stars in society due to their vast impacts on people life. People always admire stars because they shine at night and the same way to celebrities because they are much admired by other people. Hipster used tea, which provide him with a free world. The author used the word tea instead of Marijuana. Some of the celebrities negatively use their position.
Conclusion
This discussion has provided an analysis of the celebrity culture with reference to the portrait-of-hipster story. Several points have been analysed to show how celebrities are viewed by society. They make the world a better place but still impact negatively on the life of young people. One of the primary recommendations from this discussion is that any culture is vital. The minority in the society should learn to appreciate what they have and hope for a better tomorrow.
Works Cited
Broyard, Anatole. “A Portrait of the Hipster.” Partisan Review 15.6 (1948): 721-727.
Rojek, Chris. “Designer notoriety: What the Lubitz case tells us about the accumulation of attention capital in celebrity culture.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 23.1 (2020): 133-146.
Hermes, Joke, and Leonie Stoete. “Hating Skyler White: audience engagement, gender politics, and celebrity culture.” Celebrity Studies 10.3 (2019): 411-426.
Omenugha, Kate Azuka, Chikezie Emmanuel Uzuegbunam, and Ike S. Ndolo. “Celebrity culture, media, and the Nigerian youth: negotiating cultural identities in a globalised world.” Critical Arts 30.2 (2016): 200-216.
Uzuegbunam, Chikezie Emmanuel. “Between media celebrities and the youth: exploring the impact of emerging celebrity culture on the lifestyle of young Nigerians.” Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies 6.2 (2017): 130-141.
Khamis, Susie, Lawrence Ang, and Raymond Welling. “Self-branding,‘micro-celebrity’, and the rise of Social Media Influencers.” Celebrity studies 8.2 (2017): 191-208.