There be of them that have left a name behind them that their praises might be reported.
I have grave doubts as to whether any of the current crop of political leaders would qualify for having their praises reported in the terms laid out in Ecclesiasticus on the grounds of the wisdom of their instructions, but famous they certainly are in terms of their presence in the media.
For what is fame?
Fame is being talked about widely, one's actions being reported, and the media certainly do their best to encourage interest in politicians - if not in their policies, it being deemed unwise to encourage the hoi poloi to meddle with the interests of the hoi oligoi.
Such meddling has the potential to overturn apple carts and find alternative uses for street lamps.
My assumption had been that fame sprang from something done, something achieved, something worthy, but a riffle through the newspapers - let alone the television - shows me that I am sorely mistaken.
Modern fame consists of being what I would have classed as 'well known'......and it doesn't seem to matter what the nature of that notoriety might be.
Just achieve fame and the gravy train awaits.....newspapers will publish articles in which you express your vapid views on holidays, food, relationships, bringing up children......couturiers will lend you clothes.....hoteliers will give you free accommodation in which to be photographed in the buff...and nightclubs will swarm to attract your custom.
So is it any wonder that women, in particular, see a career in just...being famous?
Why study, why fight discrimination at work when you could just wear a minimum of clothing and flash your ...teeth?
Not that it is just that...competition is fierce and the losers are more likely to end up as the good time that was had by all on the local scene than as the A listers in London.....but being famous now seems to be a career option - like media studies without the need to study.
So should you be thinking in terms of turning your life around, take a few tips from Fascinating Aida.
Just think, though....if Margaret Thatcher had followed this career path rather than that of politics...might not the U.K. now be a different place?
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ReplyDeleteWe could not agree more and do indeed think that the UK would have been a very different place had Thatcher the Milk Snatcher not reigned for so long.
Being famous is indeed seen by many young people [and not so young people] these days as a career option. Whole industries seem to have sprung up to support this burgeoning new profession. Networking opportunities have replaced dinner parties and empty headedness has become an art form. Just as well, we think, that we wish to remain incognito......and more fun too!!
It was, to me, the end of an era when public service rather than private greed was seen as admirable.
DeleteI'm happy to be under the radar as well!
Ha, hadn't seen that song ! Mind you I think that there has always been the appetite for that kind of fame.. murderers, juicy divorces - just not that many folks bold or brass necked enough to go for it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post....
Yes, I see what you mean, but in those cases there was always some sense of the behaviour having been beyond the pale...now the pale has disappeared completely it seems to me.
DeleteThere's a lot of talk about "Branding", which nowadays is a verb meaning to create a recognizable brand name (and then sell stuff). I wonder if they ever reflect on past meanings of the word?
ReplyDeleteShouldn't think those involved have the cultural awareness to even contemplate the possibility that a word might have multiple connotations.
DeleteI wonder which letter one would use on the branding iron....
So many of them are famous simply for being famous; no skill, no talent, not even looks sometimes.
ReplyDeleteTV devours an endless parade of the young who are in the public eye for a year maybe and then sink without trace.
I wonder how many of the currently 'famous' , who don't have the intelligence to make use of their short-term earning power, end up in mean little jobs or no jobs at all.
How sad that values have changed so and these people are admired. Otherwise there would not be this desire to become 'famous'.
As for Thatcher, the less said the better.
I have a feeling that it is seen as a means of acquiring a meal ticket and a good divorce settlement via the sort of man who regards women as objects to enhance his status.
DeleteWhy do the media hymn these people...engineer a place for them in society?
Bread and circuses come to mind, with all the notions of societal decay which go with them.
Yes,but we could do with her versus the EU at the moment!
Love the ‘Fascinating Aida’ vid. Slick and funny! Time to become a groupie.
ReplyDeleteIf you’re a dense, shallow, self possessed, self publicising, narcissistic, egocentric plebe in today’s society… one day eventually, you’ll probably end up getting everything you richly deserve.
I love this quote by Erma Bombech – “Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.” Wraps it all up for me that one.
I’m kinda famous round my parts BTW. Got myself banned from watching ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ every night. Plod made me hand over all my Kardashian DVD’s an all. The gits. Neighbours couldn’t bear all my wailings and ranting’s apparently. Phone hasn’t exactly been ringing off the hook ever since either.
Gracious...a miracle...an inspector calls!
DeleteMust tell friends...in case of burglary do not report same as no way will the rozzers leave their paperwork for soemthing so trivial, just complain about the neighbours and mention the burglary once you've trapped one inside the house.
I do like Fascinating Aida...or FA as they refer to themselves...
Sadly, we here in the US are the poster children for being famous for nothing--or even worse, being famous for being brilliantly stupid as our myriad of reality shows demonstrate. I will never understand how people have enough time in their lives to watch those types of shows. So glad I have other things with which to fill my time...
ReplyDeleteIsn't there a reality show going on in Florida at the moment.....
DeleteIt's a difficult choice... Maggie as the Iron Lady messing this country up for years or on daytime television messing this country up for years in a far more insidious fashion.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think I'd plump for the status quo.
True...the idea of MT pole dancing round her handbag is one to make strong men quail...
DeleteLOVE, FA. They say it all so well. As does your post.
ReplyDeleteRe branding: A big "L" on the forehead?
:D
Super, aren't they!
DeleteYes....line up the media bosses and get the fire blazing....
We seem to have produced a generation of young people who think that the only way to survive in life, rather than just work hard, is to become famous. TV and constant reality programmes, newspapers and magazines all feed into the idea of "celebrity". So being famous for just being famous equates with earning a lot of money for doing...well nothing really. I can't recall how many times contestants on shows such as X Factor repeat "winning this will change my life". Why do people not realise that there are far more enjoyable ways of changing your life than trying to become famous?
ReplyDeleteAnd how is it that our society rewards worhtlessness....from top to bottom?
DeleteWork hard...you're regarded as a mug.
Not obsessed with appearance...you're invisible.
FA really do sum it up beautifully, and your post may be a good way to explain the how the Thatcher era changed our world to my post 80s born offspring.
ReplyDeleteAnd not only did that era mock and idea of society, it opened the door to those who profit from the degradation of the condition of their fellows.
DeleteIt's a shame that people are fascinated by those who are famous even if they are famous for being famous and buy the magazines that feed the beast.
ReplyDeleteIf there was no market there would be none of this nonsense.
Keep people's attention on trivia and they won't notice they are being shafted.
DeleteFI have been going for bloody years!
DeleteI saw them a decade or so in York!
I saw them in a club or bar in London in the 80s before moving to France...then heard them on radio sometime in the late 90s (I think) several times.
DeleteLoved their act.
A friend gave me their DVD but some stinker nicked it.
Looking through the locally available leisure courses, that are about to start, in this area, I came across one called 'How to get the WAG look'. How shallow can you get?
ReplyDeleteStill grinning at the accuracy of the FA clip, Fly. :-) The cult of celebrity has a lot to answer for, but one can almost not blame the mindlessly vapid magazines and unwatchable TV programmes, as they are only satisfying a demand that is already there. I think of it as the "I want it all now" mindset, that considers the good things in life as an entitlement rather than a reward for hard work.
ReplyDeleteVery sharp, FA, aren't they!
DeleteI wouldn't mind the 'I want it all now' mindset so much if it wanted something worth having....but that wouldn't suit our masters who prefer to have people plunged into debt to buy trash than have them calamouring for proper education for their children and access to decenthousing for all.