An American Idol
On Celebrities, Cinema, Congress, and Culture
The Virtues of Biographies
From a young age, my dad instilled in my sister and me the importance of reading biographies, a lesson that has only deepened in meaning as I've matured. Reading about the lives of others helps you realize how not alone you are in your experiences and better prepare yourself for life's challenges. Whether it’s Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokley Carmichael), Amy Winehouse, or Cleopatra, analyzing and contextualizing the lives of others helps us better understand our collective past and our place in the present.
However, it is important to note that within the Western literary canon, biographies of ordinary individuals have only recently gained prominence. As much as Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is revered for its practical philosophy and universal themes, we can’t forget that it was written by an Emperor. Is it the smartest choice to live your life guided by the personal reflections of the world’s most powerful man when most of us won’t even sniff a fraction of his wealth and opportunity? I think not.
A biography is simply a detailed account of someone’s life. Usually, it’s commissioned (or even penned) by the subject in the latter years of their life, or it’s written in the years following one’s death. Irrespective of the circumstances of its creation, biographies are predominantly consumed by readers in the decades and centuries following the subject's demise. But I think this assertion is changing.
Popularity Is Changing
Youtubers, TikTokers, streamers, and celebrities of all sorts give us an endless stream of personal content these days. They detail the happenings of their daily lives, narrate intimate anecdotes, give us their thoughts on culture, and recount childhood experiences. Over time, this string of stories becomes an autobiographical video journal.
Even though social media and the Internet have afforded us a more equitable playing field in telling our stories, there’s still a clear delineation between us regular people with significant followings (micro-influencers) and those who we consider true celebrities (like athletes and actors). As much as our online peers can teach, show, and relate to us, their individual power to change our habits, consumption patterns, and desires pales in comparison to people like Kylie Jenner or Cristiano Ronaldo.
No longer is popularity limited to charismatic leaders, physically imposing men, articulate speakers, innovators, musicians, comedians, and champions of populist causes. Everyone, from an autistic teenager whose hyperfixation on vacuums leads them to bless the world with a comprehensive Reddit thread ranking different brands to an old woman sharing generations of family recipes on TikTok, has the capacity to become famous. This leaves us with a strange situation: We are absurdly attuned to the inner lives of those most like us (in terms of socioeconomic status, personal taste, and intellect), yet we (at least subconsciously) place more value on the words and experiences of the rich and famous.
Detachment
There’s a popular notion that everyone likes to cheer for the little guy and support the underdogs, and this sentiment rings true in sports, business, and legal battles. Kind of. In many cases, it’s more important to be perceived as a principled, community-focused individual than it is to actually be a principled, community-focused individual. How many of us exclaim the value of supporting local businesses but primarily purchase clothes from fast fashion retailers, cry out about the sameyness of Marvel blockbusters but never purchase tickets for indie films, and endlessly advocate for social causes on social media yet refuse to speak with our friends about them?
Everyone’s actions are disconnected from their words; that’s an inevitability of humankind. A problem arises, though, when we can recognize this in politicians and televangelists but not ourselves or our favorite celebrities. Whether it’s a YouTuber-turned-talk show host becoming decreasingly reflective (Lilly Singh/Superwoman), a rising star-turned-industry titan victimized on live TV subsequently using feminism to shield herself from valid criticisms (Taylor Swift), or an actor-turned-politician accused of abandoning his principles in favor of corporate interests (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the world is rife with celebrities who become increasingly out of touch with time.
On the other hand, we see a similar process of detachment happen for us regular folk. There’s a popular notion, not supported by empirical studies, that we become more politically conservative with time. I believe a better choice of words is “jaded” or “numbed.” As we get older, we realize how entrenched the systems and beliefs around us truly are, forcing us to either accept things as they are or endlessly swim against the current in pursuit of change.
On the subject of celebrity status and questionable morality, I wrote a poem a few months ago inspired by two Brooklyn legends: rapper and mogul Jay-Z and the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In 2021, Tiffany & Co. lent The Carters (Beyoncé and Jay-Z) use of Basquiat painting Equals Pi as a backdrop for their joint promotional campaign “About Love."
Kings, Crowns, and Dynasties
Exploited even after death, they turned a blind eye to your labored breaths and now pay to keep you hidden. They’re unfit to wear your crown. Co-opting the image of revolutionaries yet your spirit is possessed with greed. We watch from the crowd as you fill hearts, but wonder, how many mouths could you feed. I rebuke you and your feigned godhood. Smiling to obscure cracks in a way that only a facade could. Visionary, leader, survivor, wordsmith, from right to left these labels ascend in their myth. Find your answers at the bottom of that fifth, the end of that joint, or that girl you’re sleeping with. Forgo your past, forget your people, have them follow your lead. Drown out the voices, find pride in your vices, don’t mind that they plead. You drop stones from your throne and claim to be misunderstood. We should not need to ask you to share another’s art. I often think of what the old you might say, ‘How could I go from pauper to prince, Robin Hood to High Evolutionary?’ Don your new title and swim in your renown. Know that with every pen stroke, you make his story more unwritten, and as the droplets fall from the bloody crown of Macbeth, I hope you realize you’ve lost yourself in breadth.
Deradicalization
Just a few weeks ago, I learned that political commentator and former Obama advisor Van Jones, who I would now describe as center-left, co-founded the socialist collective Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM). I was shocked for a second before I thought about some more contemporary examples of political personalities shedding their more leftist sentiments; Namely, former bartender Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and former community organizer (and president) Barack Obama. Political deradicalization (of the left), at least in the case of the American Federal Government, is the norm rather than the exception.
We often treat our elected officials like we do any other celebrity: we hang on to their words, put our faith in them, and develop parasocial relationships. Conversely, politics grants its victors access to the pinnacle of wealth and notoriety. When you consider the book deals, lobbyist contributions, and political commentary/consulting jobs, it makes sense why musicians like Sonny Bono choose to pursue a seat in Congress and how actors like former President Ronald Reagan can ascend even to the Oval Office.
By viewing politics through the lens of entertainment and remembering how life crushes its strongest soldiers and makes victims of its most vocal leaders, the impetus and process of deradicalization become much clearer. The next step in demystifying this age-old tale is to look at those around you and recognize its seeds in your peers.
Pebbles, Ripples, Dams, and Waves
I threw a pebble at the water and it made some ripples but they dissipated as fast as they appeared so I grabbed a rock the size of my fist and chucked it like a baseball. Same result. I then searched for half an hour and found the biggest boulder I could hurl and yet still the water was unmoved so instead I switched to gathering sticks branches and logs fastening them into a dam so that I could halt the flow of the water. Yet still my mission was incomplete unshaken undeterred unmoved I'd sacrificed my original purpose for cohesion settling for redirection when I had set out to destroy.
Either You Die A Hero…
Circling back to biographies, I’m a big fan of media that is instructive and informational without being heavy-handed. I love it when fiction books reflect the nuances of human connection (Station Eleven), sports broadcasts demonstrate to us the indomitable human spirit (La Remontada), and film writer-directors tell us stories from their darkest experiences (Aftersun).
These stories and moments enter through our eyes and ears and find refuge in our hearts. This isn’t even limited to positive experiences. Even disgraceful presidential debates and lengthy graduation speeches are capable of teaching us things. In line with this thread on the educational power of media, the odd-numbered lines of the following poem contain quotes from Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Spiderman, The Princess Bride, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Sound of Metal, Station Eleven, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Moonlight, and the even-numbered lines contain my responses/flips.
Cinematic Dogmashifting
The night is dark and full of terrors. The mind is spongy and full of errors. Do or do not. There is no try. Feel or feel not. There is no why. With great power comes great responsibility. With great potential comes greater fragility. Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something. Death is release commoner. Anyone who says differently seeks to purchase your time. What we do in life echoes in eternity. What we didn't do in life deadens the cry of our soul. It's not about money. It's about sending a message. It is about money. It's about capitalizing on sentiments. Serenity is no longer wishing you had a different past. Anxiety is even after fearing the forecast. Survival is not enough. Live as if they can't call your bluff. The only impossible journey is born from a journey within. In moonlight, black boys look blue. In sunlight, our dreams no longer shine through.
Another alternative (but still somewhat related) interpretation from Pebbles, Ripples, Dams, and Waves is that too often people settle. We set out to do one thing, face pushback along the way that forces us into a different position. This isn't necessarily always a bad occurrence, but unfortunately a byproduct is the compromise of personal beliefs/morals.