An Open Letter to the Youth of America (and also probably elsewhere)
Dear Youth of America and also Probably Youth Elsewhere:
Why do you want to be famous? Can you explain it to me?
Best wishes!
John Green
p.s. This question emerged in the comments to yesterday's blog post, in which by the way I was not trying to argue that all children who work in the arts go on to become drug addicts, just that there is not a lot to be gained from working in the arts when you are a teenager (particularly publishing, which is admittedly the only business I know anything about). Also, dear readers, I do not buy your 'examples' of 'normal' celebrities, because the whole thing about celebrities is that we feel as if we know them but do not; we have not even the slightest clue what their life feels like. We are clueless enough about what life feels like to those closest to us (empathy is a good weapon in the fight against existential isolation, but it blunt and imprecise). How impossible it is, as Joyce put it, to see ourselves as others see us (or to see others as they see themselves). And yes, early readers of Paper Towns, I am obsessed with these questions of identity and empathy.
p.p.s. I mean, I understand the urge to be successful. But I don't understand the urge to be merely famous, particularly now that celebrity has been more or less completely divorced from wealth (I mean, just look at all those recognizable Real World cast members traveling around the country, for whom capitalizing on their renown means at most a middle-class life).
posted by John Green @ Friday, July 11, 2008
77 Comments
77 Comments:
For me, it's not that I want to be famous so much as I want to leave an impact on the world. I want to write books that change people's lives the way a lot of the books I have read have shaped me into who I am. No I don't want to be Stephanie Meyer who barely even communicates with her thousands of fans. More like I want to be like Libba Bray, who's sold a TON of books, talks to her readers via her blog, and is not even that much in the spotlight even though she's been on the New York Times bestseller list. But for most people, I think it's just that desire to leave a piece of yourself behind and change the world.
It's the same here in the UK. Shows like Big Brother leave us with a long list of 'celebrities' who make their 'living' by appearing in nightclubs and sleeping around and then selling their story to the tabloids. If I were to be famous, I would only want to be famous in a small community. I would love for my company, Heedless Productions, to gain renown in the extreme sports community, since that would allow me to do what I love for a living; or to become a famous magician, since that would denote talent and success. But to be recognised by everyone if I pop out to get some milk, and to have my personal relationships analysed by all sundry, is my idea of hell.
-Rob
When I was much younger, I used to believe that the only way to have a positive impact on the world was to become "famous". Growing up, a lot of kids (or at least I felt) feel quite small and unimportant. It seems only natural that kids would dream of being famous, of being acknowledged and lifted up for their talents and uniqueness. Especially when they realize that so many untalented people become so popular.
I don't want to be famous. I'm an aspiring director of theatre, and what I want is to be recognized as a good director by those I respect in the theatre world. The reason I want to win awards and stuff like that is for validation, to know that people like what I'm doing and that the message I try to get across as a director is successful. Because directing is the only thing in the world that makes me as happy as it does, and it, like all arts, completely relies on its audience for success. When the audience likes you, and understands the motives of the characters and the meanings of the movement and diction, when they feel like all the above means something to them, that's a success. I want people to enjoy my work, and when they hear my name think "oh, she's the person who directed the play I liked" but I don't want them to scramble for photographs of my foot stepping out of a taxicab. That makes me uncomfortable. One of the reasons I like directing so much more than acting is because I get no pleasure out of preforming, out of being in the spotlight all the time. I like shaping a play, but I don't want to preform my vision.
And I'm extremely glad that, as a teenager, I am pretty much unknown. I am not a great director yet; I need time and room to develop my skills without worrying what people beyond the scope of those who see my school productions think. I like the quiet.
If it's any consolation, I, representing a youth of Canada, don't feel the need to be famous. I mean, it would be rad if I managed to do something actually important and became known, but not just for the sake of being known. But really, it would be fine if the world pulled a Frodo-and-Sam-returning-to-Hobbiton-only-to-find-nobody-there-cares-about-what-they-did deal on me.
I've never really wanted to be famous in the sense of America's celebrity's today. I think the only time I ever wanted to be famous was when I really started getting into YouTube. I find it so amazing that people who are just people (just like Hank and John) can make a difference without having to do anything extremely stupid. I think that people want to be famous because they want to be known and have attention and be loved and such (too many 'ands'). I can't really say this, though, because I don't know what other people think and I don't know if they are as shallow as they are being portrayed. I think everything would be so much better if people just realized that they needed to stop idolizing these "celebrities."
I don't want to be famous; I want to be remembered for something great. And not on a national level, but a familial level.
At the same time, though, I wish I could be content with just knowing that I know I did something great. That might be more satisfying, I think.
The question of why we want to be famous, especially directed at youth, is quite vague. It asks us to judge who the youth are and presumes that there's only one kind of fame.
But, putting this vagueness aside, I, a twenty-year-old male with an autistic spectrum disorder, would like to be famous, though I would never like to have "instant fame."
"Instant fame" is a (mostly) recent phenomenon that exists largely in America, in which one attains fame--not for the years of hard work and dedication put into pursuing their talents, but--for reasons pertaining to chance, to looks, to wealth people had been born with (Paris Hilton, Ali Lohan--even Ben Savage, for that matter). These people are like what Nietzsche would refer to as "the good" and "the noble," whom we are led to believe are better than the rest of us, if for no other reason than their "birthright." This makes Marxism seem very appealing, for why should we allow bequeathment of fame, wealth, and power? Why not send us all back into the proverbial jungle a la Rousseau and see who's really worthy?
But enough for that philosophical jargon. The kind of fame I would like to have would be the kind where I'd struggle miserably just to get by, then finally make it big, and then die unexpectedly at the peak of it. I know that sounds terrible, but who wouldn't love to end life on a high note? You yourself mentioned that the future of stardom is grim.
Another reason for me, in particular, wanting this, is because, as an autistic person, I have little or no ability to cope with the idea that I am part of an historical epoc and only the one at my own life, at that. Kurt Cobain will be listened to by 12--17-year-olds for a very long time. What I'm saying is that, by making a huge impact and then having a sudden death before fading into obscurity, my relevance would be preserved. There would be a "I wonder where that chump is now?" moment.
Okay...but then there's Salinger. Salinger is arguably the most famous non-famous person (or however you'd like to phrase it). His "on-the-down-low" lifestyle causes his work to be preserved as...his work...and nothing else. Could you imagine Salinger making headlines? (okay, the Joyce Maynard thing probably caused some publicity...). But really...this is just a long tangental rant about close to nothing.
In case it comes up, this is Nerdfighter Jordon (note the unusual spelling--my theory being that my Jewish and simple-minded grandmother was reluctant to have a grandchild named after an Arab country).
i think you hit the point already, for youth today, famous = success without having to try and possibly fail at some unknown career path. "omg, i'm successfully famous just by being me and they LOVE me".
i think another problem is that it seems the new american (and possibly modern human) dream is to "be able to do whatever i want to". i call this the permanent vacation syndrome, in which people no longer want to work because they see a huge amount of "celebuturds" that seemingly do not work and yet have lots of money and leisure time. (this is also touched on in WALL-E, people who no longer have a purpose are now on permanent vacation and are therefore gigantic blobs and the only "people" who DO have purpose and who are finding love and friends and happiness, are the robots.
you cant find pleasure in your leisure time without WORKING. maybe thats why people like lindsay lohan are forced to party harder in order to feel like their leisure time is worth anything. ITS LIKE DRUGS!
*sigh* kids today yea? hahaha
John, here's my take on the subject:
It seems like, to most young people who want to become famous, “famous” means money; it means getting your picture taken at inopportune times; it means hanging out with all the other dysfunctional celebrities; and it means being a status symbol and a target of jealousy. This lifestyle has been perpetuated, more than any other “art” form, by the film industry. Film is where celebrity really originated; sure, there were well-known figures long before film came along, but I think that was a bit different because film has a larger audience- any human enjoys entertainment. However, significantly less humans enjoy the profits of, say, Galileo's work.
When film first started, acting actually required skill, but as directors found what audiences want to see (poorly-performed chick flicks, for example), the actor requirements changed. For most films that really “make it” now, not a whole lot of acting is used, nor required; Hollywood actors essentially just play themselves. So this whole notion of “oh, acting is easy” and “oh, Seventeen says this actress is just like me!”, and, not to mention reality television, has made fame seem attainable to any young person. You can get famous for anything these days. Not only that, it is also seemingly the easiest profession available. All it looks like you have to do is walk around in cool clothes and stay skinny, right?
And don’t get me wrong- there are some fine actors and actresses on film these days, and I think the industry is slowly changing for the good.
But finally, I think the biggest reason that young people want to become famous is that they want to feel important. All young people struggle with wanting to make an impact, feeling like they matter… And as younger and younger people become famous (hint: 15-year-old Miley Cyrus), the prospect of fame appeals to younger (and, consequentially, more insecure/lost) people.
Alright. I’m ending this before it gets longer.
-Morgan
Joyce wrote that, or Burns? :)
I've wanted to write a novel since I was a teenager and finally, at around 30, decided I MIGHT have enough perspective on my adolescence to have something meaningful to say.
It is unfortunate that the publishing industry too often sees dollar signs before talent, and so many books are being published simply for their mass appeal and ability to sell to the near illiterate.
Several years ago I read a book called Smashed, Story of a Drunken Girlhood, a memoir the author wrote when she was 24. Huh? I still don't understand how she could write, and publish a book about her "recovery" when she was only two years into it.
Raising three daughters, I decided to remove cable t.v. from the house, and choose our movies / t.v. shows by hand. There are some smart, funny, cutting television shows and movies out there: for kids - Avatar the Last Airbender, Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle. For adults - Mad Men, Weeds, BSG. The key seems to be in the hand picking. I choose novels along side my eight year old and read them before she does.
I suppose my rant here is that there is good media out there, it just takes a fine tooth comb to find it. Celebrity status and ART rarely go hand in hand.
In college I studied writing, with friends who were musicians, dancers, and actors. I kept scanning interviews, trying to find out not only how to become successful in one’s field, but the dangers to be aware of. What I found about fame wasn’t promising.
I feel like the same person I was when I was seventeen – when I worked construction or pumped gas. For me, ambition has become a dirty word. I prefer hunger. To be hungry – great. To have hopes, dreams – great. But ambition? It means that somebody wants to be famous. Why would you need that?
- Johnny Depp
Being famous was extremely disappointing for me. When I became famous it was a complete drag and it still is a complete drag. It’s not relevant, and what people make out of it is completely unreal.
- Van Morrison
If you haven’t crossed over, you think the people that are well known have got something you want. And then when you get over there, you realize the things that give you pleasure are still all back there on the other side.
- Sebastian Junger
What happens, though, is that a kind of caution sets in. You wonder why people are talking to you. You discover, little by little, that everybody was right – that a lot of people will come on to you, and it turns out that there’s a bottom line that they want something. And the worst thing, man, is if I’m in a mall, just walking around, you start to hear this whisper: “That’s Stephen King!” That’s what paranoid people start to hear just before the men in the white coats take them away.
- Stephen King
I’m not going to subject myself to being stuck in an apartment building for the next ten years and being afraid to go outside of my house. It’s not worth it. I would gladly give up music for my life.
- Kurt Cobain
As to what drove them to seek fame, or simply begin performing:
A lot of performers are very insecure people, and part of the whole reason why we want fame is we want to be loved. What you find is that when you reach that peak where you’re supposed to be satisfied, you’re feeling just as empty because nothing outside of yourself can make you feel whole.
- Boy George
Some people can handle it. They've learned how to hold it at a distance and stay grounded in their own identity.
I’ve realized that the Joan Osborne that’s on TV or in an article is a separate entity. You don’t have to be everything it is and it doesn’t have to be everything you are.
- Joan Osborne
Everybody’s got their perception, which has little or nothing to do with me, but part of my job is letting everybody project things onto me.
- Ani DiFranco
And then there’s those, like the people who've posted above, who know what true success is, and how to use the opportunities to reach people that fame can offer.
This girl looked me right in the eye and said, “I want to thank you because I’ve listened to your record every day for the past two months just to get me through the day.” At that moment I felt so successful.
- Lisa Germano
It was very rewarding when a kid would buy the book and start reading it, and the teacher would say to me, “That kid doesn't read.” That to me was just wonderful.
- Christopher Paolini
As we got bigger, I think we felt like we were going through the motions. Now I feel a lot clearer about why we’re doing it. I really want to inspire people, especially the girls out there.
- Justine Frischmann, Elastica
And oh yeah, I meant to say that I finished Katherines last night and really liked the last paragraph. What it says there is not only a great antidote to seeking fame, but it's available to everyone and a whole lot more fulfilling.
I personally think its a fear of dying unnoted. Nobody really wants to be a nobody. Everyone wants others to notice them, and becoming famous is a way to have lots of people notice you. Whether for good or bad, people want someone else to notice them. Some are content to just have one person notice them, but most want attention from alot of people. They want to use that to show that they are better than other people as well. I would like to be famous, but I would like to be famous for doing something good, or be like Angelina Jolie, and use my fame to help others.
Also, to sarah, don't bash what you don't understand. Stephenie Meyer communicates with her fans quite often. If you want to go after an author who never communicates with her huge, massive legions of fans, look at J.K. Rowling. We made her rich, but she never communicates with her fans. She doesn't even have a blog, like Stephenie Meyer does.
I was just reading about this issue in "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller, which I highly recommend to you, if you haven't read it already. Anyway, he was talking about how he got annoyed with a friend who said she loved Ethan Hawke, but she didn't know what he believed in. The author said that our culture is so interested in who's "cool" and famous, but doesn't really care about people's beliefs and doesn't know much about these people that so many wish to emulate.
Anyway, I'm not going to lie - there is a part of me that wants fame, but it's more appreciation for my work. I want to write a book and have it appreciated. I don't want fame for just anything; I want to be known for having written a good book. It's shallow, but it's the truth.
I just want people to hear about what I have to say.
Here's my thing about famous: I don't like the sort of fame that you see with celebs like Spears and Lohan. That sort of fame where people just want to know the latest gossip. The fame that I like is more of a being-interested-in-how-they-effect-people. I want people to see what I'm doing (writing, mostly about what happens to me) and be interested by it and intruiged and want to know more. That's not really fame, I guess, but it's that sort of mass appeal that is totally awesome if it's getting people to respect what you do.
I'm sure that every teenager has a different reason for wanting to be famous but I think a big part of it is we don't realize how hard it is to become famous.
With tools like YouTube and Myspace and MTV, it's plain to see that "talent" and "fame," do not go together. When we watch shows like The Hills or whatever, we think of the free clothes and photoshoots and fans and perks the people on those shows get and want that for us, too.
Becoming really famous, i.e. Angelina Jolie level, takes a lot of time and practice, that none of us think about.
Besides, this phase passes for most of us. We have college to think about, and almost every girl I know who wants to be the next Lauren Conrad also wants to be a doctor or lawyer or teacher.
Me personally, I would HATE to be famous. I can't stand to do a presentation in front of a class for five minutes, how could I stand to be in the lime light 24/7, always being watched and people waiting for me to make mistakes or say something stupid. That would suck. But I definitely want to be /successful/ in whatever career I end up going into. But I want to be a quiet, behind-the-scenes billionaire who donates lots to random charities and can spend the weekend in Hawaii.
Yeah. Billionaire. Right. I won't hold my breath.
I guess it's not actually being "famous" that gets us, its being given the power to change things on earth. It's like, when you are famous, you are able to make a bigger impact on the world as a person, whether its about global warming or whatever. I don't know if everyone feels this way, but quite a few people like me do. For example, James Patterson used his influential power to use his latest Maximum Ride book and focus it on saving Antarctica. I just want to make a difference for the world.
I'm already 23...and I don't know if I count in the youth of America, I guess it depends on who you ask. Hrm.
Anyway, I know I wanted to be famous when I was younger because I felt it was the only way to be something important.
Well, I don't know.. I think a lot of it was probably that if "they" loved me, then it meant I was worth something.
My friends at the time said they felt the same..as if people knowing us would fix any problems we had in our lives.
Haha, maybe we were just all depressed and thought money and fake friends would fix it all. Maybe.
My post went emo pretty quick, oops.
I fall into the catagory of "elsewhere," meaning Canada in this case. I can't recall ever wanting to be famous. The idea and lifestyle has just never appealed to me at all; fame restricts you, watches you, and in many cases it changes you whether you like it or not. I can recall wanting wealth and I know that I want to accomplish something, but fame isn't part of the plan. I wonder if this is why I chose writing as a passion; writers have the ability to be moderately well-read but still remain unknown. That appeals to me a great deal.
To me, celebrities are just people with jobs that someone decided were more important than others; society has deemed some individuals as more important than others for superficial reasons and I hate it. I'm still young enough to believe in the idealistic principle of equality of worth, no matter what your job, appearance or income is.
Personally, I don't care so much about being famous. Fame seems like it would be extremely obnoxious. It's just that I want to be involved in something that I love (i.e. writing, acting, photography and so on.) And I feel like I actually DO have something to contribute to the art community.
I'm not saying that I want to be a starving artist, either. Just that... I don't know if I can explain property. I want to inspire people the way I have been inspired by other people, such as yourself.
And, on a completely different note, what to you think of the writing of James Ellroy?
Just thought I'd contribute my little experience with the fame thing. I'm no longer the "Youth of America" but I did want to be famous for a brief time in middle school. I know flat out why I wanted to be. I was lonely, insecure, and desperately wanted to be happy and well-liked. I wanted to prove to everyone how great I was and I wanted them to see what they were missing by thinking I was weird or awkward. This fantasy changed pretty quickly as I came to realize that fame is often pretty cruel and ugly. I thought that it meant everyone had to like me, and I think a lot of people feel that way. But it's really not the case, you're going to end up with a lot of people who hate you and feel that because you are famous they can say anything to you, things they would never say to someone they actually knew. I found that prospect pretty horrifying. I still appreciate the idea of being successful and admired for my work, but it's not expected or necessary. One other quick note: I actually had a flash experience of what it would be like to have everyone watching your every move when I was five years old. I was in Japan for 3 months and literally had people following me around and taking my picture because I was a cute little Caucasian girl. It was fun but could be terrifying at times, like when I was eating at McDonald's and looked up to find myself surrounded by Japanese men snapping away.
hi john, my name's brian. i live in kansas, have read all books i can by you, found you on youtube, bla bla bla. i also am subscribed to your blog (who knew?).
i think most people "recognize" something they like. i think being famous is just about being liked. to hear fans tell you how good of an "artist" that you are. or how cool you are (an idea i got from donald miller in blue like jazz. it's a great book, i think, if you haven't read it.)
i... think that maybe being famous is really pointless, and it won't make me happy. i think maybe it goes against who i am and well, happiness in general. genuine happiness anyway, the kind that doesn't leave when you're alone.
nevertheless, being an artist of sorts, a musician, i want to be famous. i want to be known. i want to say a lot and have people listen. i want to have people feel what i'm saying and playing as much as i have felt other musicians say (mewithoutyou and bright eyes are excellent examples.).
when i started typing this there were already 25 comments, and find it ironic (yet irony is so typical sometimes.) that most of the commentators are not at all interested in being famous. and as for changing the world, i have since given up on that myself, but i'm not going to say someone else can't do it; i've been wrong before.
thanks very much for asking, it's been very nice talking to you. =)
PS ha! oh look! someone else has already suggested blue like jazz to you!
PPS at the moment i'm thinking i've got life figured out, i just don't have the answer. i think life is all about love. it's love i don't have and have trouble with. i'm saying this because i think all questions end up with something along the lines of "why are we here?" and so... that is what i think.
Ask the Pussycat Dolls.
Maybe fame is what our generation believes to be the manifestation of our sense of entitlement. Or that, by achieving widescale fame, we believe we have made the impact we are so desperate to make in a world that oftens opts to leave us out.
I don't want to be famous. I just want to be part of something bigger than myself.
I want to be remembered. I want to have my friends tell their children that they knew me growing up. I want to have my fans ask me real life questions that I can answer and they will listen. I want to be quoted. I want people to read my books and remember a line that stood out. I want to make people think so hard that they, too want to change the world. I want to leave my mark; why else would I be here?
I don't want to be famous, but I wouldn't say no to the free clothes famous people get. Actually, I wouldn't mind being famous for something awesome like "Achieving world peace", "Saving the whales" or "Fighting for the rights of giraffes who love giraffes". Besides, famous people in the UK get cameras shoved up their dresses as they try to get out of cars and have their "true stories" splashed across crappy magazines. Who'd want that? I'm not going to deny that I want to leave an impact on the world - a feeling that I think is timeless because of a possibly fruitless need to really connect with others, while I think this feeling is increasing in the way that digital media has allowed us to put ourselves out there - but I don't see being in the public eye as necessarily a good thing, just for the sake of being in the public eye.
& I concur that we have no way of declaring someone a "normal" celebrity.
It's very interesting that this question comes up now. A couple days ago, my friends and I started a collab channel. It was my friend Caitlin's idea. She suggested it because I showed her just how famous one could become on YouTube. Personally, I wanted to do it for two reasons, neither of which involving fame. One was to get to know the other girl on out channel. We are friends through Caitlin but I've always wanted to know her better. The other was to make friends on YouTube. You could argue that that is wanting to be famous, but I disagree. I don't want fame, just to make good friends all over the country/world. I guess it's a way of mentally escaping my hometown without buying a ticket.
I want to go into Acting and Scriptwriting (I'm starting my undergraduate degree in September)... but not necessarily into the traditional hollywood setting. I actually much prefer the theater and all it stands for. I enjoy acting and scriptwriting probably for the same reasons you enjoy writing. You don't do it (although I know there are those who definitely do) to be able say oh look people everywhere know me. I enjoy it because it just feels right. It's a lot of work and often jumping off a bridge seems preferable, but when you can be proud of the work you've accomplished you just know it's right. Although theater is what I ultimately love, for several reasons (the history, the immediate connections with the audience,and the challenges of memorization, energy and staging that film just doesn't have)I probably would consider doing a film if it was offered. However, I would have to truly believe in the script and be sure that it is what I thought was best for myself.
The problem with Acting is that it attracts those who are confident and brave and those who are on the othere side of the spectrum. A confident person could receive applause and think "I'm proud of what I've accomplished" and a person lacking in self-esteem could receive the same applause and get that rush of admiration then never allow themselves. They become addicted. This is dangerous for teenagers perhaps more then any other age group because they are so severely lacking in self confidence.
Anyway, that's what many people see in Hollywood, and more often then not the screen can lead to some screwed up individuals, due to lack of childhood, and messed up self-image. I certainly cannot image doing something just to be recognized. Performance is a rough career, Shakespeare could tell you that. And although without it we might be spared individuals like Lindsay Lohan, it sure would be a shame to lose "Casablanca", "Taxi Driver", "Hamlet" and "The Importance of being Ernest."
sorry about the novel.
We feel inconsequential, and we really think that being famous will make us mean something to someone else.
I, personally, (as some other commentor said) don't want "instant fame," but I do want a kind of lasting impact - I'd like to be involved as a central figure of the nerdier side of humanity. I'd like to write a "cult book" that wouldn't really make me popular or rich or successful, but really just integral to a culture that I admire (the nerdy one) and used as a rite of passage for teenagers like myself. I suppose I just really want to contribute and get absorbed into something I love, instead of skimming the surface, tentatively participating but, really, only just observing.
As a lot of people have already said, people often associate fame with world impact, recognition, and (in some cases) popularity. Lots of people want all that ~ that's why lots of people want to be famous.
I think... this is possibly the most interesting and intriguing thread of comments on a blog I've ever read. Then again, I haven't read many blogs, and hardly ever all of the comments on aforementioned blogs. But regardless, this is the kind of stuff that reassures me that, as fugged up as we all are, we'll be okay because being messed up is part of being successful.
This had nothing to do with fame... Sorry...
I do not want to be famous. To have strangers know me, have enormous prejudices regarding my life and my personality, and have the idea that they somehow understand me is quite disturbing. Success in whatever I choose to pursue? Yes. I think that the youth to whom you are really referring to mistakenly think that fame is success. To be famous is to be successful and is, in a way, a success in itself. That is their viewpoint. They should take a logics class ;)
I don't want to be famous, at all. I want to have some sort of impact on someone somehow.Which is why I want to be a teacher.
The thing with celebrities is that that culture only exists within themselves. You can't find that kind of lifestyle unless you are one of them, and I think that's what makes them so appealing. People want that lifestyle, I think, more than they want the actuality of fame itself.
Just my take on it.
I only want to be "famous" because I enjoy potraying a character for an audience. If I only made a middle-class income, if I wasn't recognized for anything other than having a good preformance, that's fine by me. All that - forgive me - crap about paparazzi and national attention just doesn't appeal to me. I want to do what I love, not be stalked and obsessed over by people who have nothing better to do than analyze the life of a celebrity.
And all that can wait, right? Most teenagers who are famous are idolized by small children and I would want to be recognized as more than another Hannah Montana.
I don't want to be a celebrity, but being famous is usually grouped with becoming successful at something on a huge level.
And it's appealing cause I want to prove to a crapload of people I'm not a failure!
maybe we are all just searching for vindication of our existence?
perhaps people equate being well-known to being important, thus having a more meaningful or purposeful life?
though seeking celebrity is extreme, if we're honest i think we all do this to some extent
(what motivated you to publish looking for alaska instead of just sharing it with your friends & family? why do you have a blog? why did you want to start publishing your correspondence with hank online for an entire year?
Being famous has a luster associated with it that I feel is no longer as deserved as it may have once been. Nowadays, the stereotypical "celebrity" is whichever party-hard/wasted individual can have their mascara-stained face plastered upon the most tabloids- AKA the modern world's source of news. I must agree with John's statement: a sense of false relatability is one of the main selling points of fame and famous people. However, this version of "fame" that our society has, in essence, 'created' for itself reflects our misplaced values and ability to instantly brush over any celebrity offence; from a "minor slip-up" in being given multiple DUIs, to a "downward spiral" consisting of multiple arrests or failed unions. The sad fact that after all of this, we still view them as role models is both asonishing and disheartening, but, should hopefully be viewed more as a reminder to value the few gracious "famous" people of the world. Moral of this ill-advised rant: we need more famous nerdfighters in the world.
I don’t want to be famous, I mean, I want to be a film maker, but I don’t mind if I’m not a famous one, I think its quite easy just to make a normal living off film making. Being an independent film maker is more appealing to me, and the kinds of movies I like to make. If I were granted a chance to be a Hollywood director it would suck, I would have close to no creative control, while blood sucking producers are making the decisions I would be making if I were a independent film maker. And I like making surrealistic films, and those kinds of film rarely get made in indi films let alone HOLLYWOOD!
I don’t want to be famous, I mean, I want to be a film maker, but I don’t mind if I’m not a famous one, I think its quite easy just to make a normal living off film making. Being an independent film maker is more appealing to me, and the kinds of movies I like to make. If I were granted a chance to be a Hollywood director it would suck, I would have close to no creative control, while blood sucking producers are making the decisions I would be making if I were a independent film maker. And I like making surrealistic films, and those kinds of film rarely get made in indi films let alone HOLLYWOOD!
I'm 18 and I don't want to be famous. I can understand a person wanting to be famous for so they can be succesful in their field like actors, artists, and authors. What I don't understand, however, is people wanting to be famous just for the sake of being famous and so they do things like put out clothings lines and books and movies trying to make this happen.
I just want people to know i care more than they do.
When I was 14, I was obsessed with the whole celebrity thing, and wanted to be famous. Now I'm 18 and have no idea why. I see how so many celebrities end up having horrible lives, and I don't want that. I've found nerdfighting and I love it. There was a really good article in a Melbourne newspaper today about role models and how becoming a celebrity isn't that great with the pressure they're put under. It starts off by discussing Bill Nighy's character in Love Actually. And of course it talks about Australian sports stars, but you get the idea.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/people/shiny-happy-people-8212-blah/2008/07/11/1215658125956.html
You know who's good about communicating with fans and writing in his blog? John Green.
This is such an interesting thing. I am a writer with my very first book coming out next year. Because of this, I have had my first exposure to other writers online, particularly other writers with a debut next year. And the thing that I have found really creepy is that lots of them really do want to be famous. (And rich, which I understand a bit more clearly.)
The creepy part of it is that they seem to believe that being famous makes them special, better than other people, more important. It's like they think that the fact that they have books coming out makes them part of some celebrity club. They drop names of other authors whom they have met (yours among them) and act like the fact that they met them is an accomplishment. Like the act of meeting someone is an accomplishment.
I don't get it. I do think the fact that I have a book coming out makes me a part of a group, but that group is called the Really Lucky People Who Wrote a Book Group. I'm grateful to be a part of it. But I don't think it makes me better than anyone else,and I don't salivate hoping for the day that I can be "like John Green" (no offense--I know these people don't know who you are inside, I'm just quoting) by which they mean "famous."
It all kinda makes me sick. And I fear for our future if that is what is important.
People no longer know how to validate themselves. If nobody is watching, then it is not important. Hence, the desire for fame.
I think the youth wants to be famous so they.. well, we, feel as if we matter. To have all these people want to know you, it's kind of nice to feel wanted.
I'm sorta obsessed with these questions of identity and empathy myself, and it kills me I can't walk to my town library and pick up Papertowns, and read your beautifully written words.
I'm sure it's worth the wait though :)
I don't think it's fame that everyone seeks, so much as being remembered. Everyone wants to leave a lasting impression on the world.
If you think about it, it's programmed into our brains from the very beginning that only those people who did great amazing work in their lives are worth remembering. In school, we learn about George Washington, Rosa Parks, Benjamin Frankiln, etc. and yet, we're taught nothing about ordinary citizens.
Just as it's a natural desire to be known and thought well of in life, I believe it's a natural desire to be known and thought well of in death.
Also, I think it's something we see most prominently in youth because no one tells a 40 year-old man, "you have your whole life ahead of you, and you can do whatever you want to with it."
Since I think you're pretty cool, I'll be totally honest. I would totally not mind being famous. I'm pretty pathetic so I'd totally love people actually WANTING to be my friend.
But I don't write just to get famous. That's stupid and, while books may be sold that way, the impression made isn't very deep. At least, that's what I believe. I write to write and being well-known is just a perk.
John,
Quite frankly, I'm not entirely sure if I understand your question. First of all, do you mean why is one of the fundamental goals/dreams of young children, and many others, to be famous? If that is the question you are asking, then I am not entirely sure what the correct answer is. I think it has something to do with wanting to be role models for someone like themselves, and wanting to make some kind of impact. I think it is also about the attention. From birth we are attention seeking beings, it is how we survive, and I think that the mentality may have something to do with that.
As far as me personally, I don't know if I've ever wanted to be famous in the modern sense of the word. I have wanted to be able to make a positive difference, but I've never wanted to be one of the people standing on the red carpet smiling forcefully. To be honest, I never found the whole celebrity life appealing. I want to do something that will impact people in some type of positive way, but I also don't want to be another name kids will have to write on a notecard to memorize along with a birthday, and when I died.
I don't really want to be famous in the traditional sense of the word, would like to be famous with the people whose lives I have been able to impact, and no one else. As far as what I want to be famous for, that I have yet to discover.
I don't know if that answered your question, but it was definitely thought provoking.
DFTBA
-Marissa
This is gonna sound like a total load of crap, but if you think about it, it totally holds up. I am a youth pastor. If there is anything that comes close to the negative side of celebrity it is clergy of any kind. Frankly, I live in a fishbowl and I HATE it. This makes me shudder at the thought of any *actual* celebrity. I have members of my congregation google me on a regular basis, read my blog, look at all my pictures, and if they read anything they don't like, they hand it over to HR. I get in trouble and I have to make everything private, even from the kids I work with, and I don't know about most people, but I relate better to people who are honest and open with me.
It sucks when a congregation decides you're not allowed to be in your twenties or single or female or have a life outside of the church. Now, granted I am clergy and although it isn't an innoculation to any sort of substance abuse or anything, I'm not the addictive personality type. So I guess that's where the real difference lies, I have my faith to help me out of making those kinds of decisions. People call faith a crutch, and I will agree, sometimes it can be the best excuse against being reckless with yourself.
I'm not saying that's a solution for all Hollywood starlets, but tests show that there are only two ways that people can genuinely change ironed in characteristics of their personalities, and those are by lobotomy or conversion. So maybe let's gather them all up and force them to live with nuns or monks or shamen or whathaveyou before they get too bad, or we can lobotomize them all.
Good times.
I definitely do not want to be famous. Being famous may actually be the biggest factor that would discourage me from doing stuff or excelling at something. I really do not like being looked at or judged by people.
I like to know I'm being appreciated or cared about or am interesting by/to others, but at the same time really dislike, maybe even hate the other implications that come with those things.
Being in the public eye has enticing qualities to me. Not at all.
John, my thoughts on your blog are in 2 parts.
One, I think that you really should consider yourself famous. There are at LEAST 33,398 people that watch you and Hank on a regualar basis. They love you guys, they rate, and comment and subscribe, and put things on their heads, or send you guys Star Trek pictures. And it's not a bad thing at all. You have spread awesome and fun to a lot, a lot of people. For example, Gandhi is at least as famous as Paris Hilton, but while Gandhi was amazing, Paris is... well, Paris.
Two, if I ever get famous, I think that I'd most like to be famous from YouTube, mostly because I think that myself being myself, I'd probably be a hell of a lot more interesting to people who can, you know, think, rather than to the people who read US Weekly. And not the people who just stand in line at the checkout counter and glance at the cover. The people who are willing to pay cover price for the latest gossip.
For a sense of immortality. No one wants to be forgotten when they're gone.
I think that no one wants to be Edgar Allen Poe. No one want to die in a gutter with their loved ones consumed and there poems under praised. We all want to believe that genius lies somewhere within us, and to have it go unnoticed means that it might not exist. Couple that with teenage self doubt and being the target audience for the some of the most intelligence-insulting advertising campaigns and one begins to associate celebrity with success.
Plus, art is something that speaks to teens since we often feel ignored and crave expression (youtube may be the greatest invention to relieve that craving). And it depends on the art. As a 19 year old who is incredibly intrigued by the medium of television, there's very little in between hollywood-ian success (writing for a series) and dying in the gutter.
Well it'd make sense that people want to be recognised for their craft (whatever it may be), and these days the most common sign of appreciation is to be popular/famous for it.
The idea of 'just wanting to be famous' but with no direction as to why... is a complete mystery to me too.
P.s. Blog more John. ;)
I don't necessarily want to be famous, but I'm amazed at the idea that if you publish a book, especially a successful one, it remains long after you're gone. I mean, Tolken, Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, Poe, they're all gone, but their work has and will live on for years after them.
i know this sounds dumb.... but i would love to be famous to show everyone who doubted me that i can do it! that girl who is always reading and still plays pokemon is going to get further then the girl who has 20 boyfriends. and i would also love to be famous because then i would get to be around what i love all the time. i want to be an editor for a fashion magazine, because i love fashion and i love writing.
that way i feel like i could truely be around what i love.
My interest in performing and the arts in general doesn’t have anything to do with fame. To me, fame and success are two very different things. I don’t want to have a million fan sites someday or be in all the tabloids, but it would be nice to be recognized as an artist with (hopefully) talent. Acting is what makes me happy and drives me, and just because I’m a teenager I don’t want to have to wait to do what I love. Maybe I took your blog the wrong way, but I don’t feel like teenagers should be discouraged from perusing their passions and using their talent.
Although, I do understand what you’re saying about how generic most famous teen sensations are. But you have to keep in mind- Just because their music isn’t all that great but they still reach fame doesn’t mean all teenagers who make music are going to be that way. I’m probably taking this all to heart a bit too much, but especially after reading Looking for Alaska and hearing what you had to say about it, teenagers DO have the capabilities to think and feel and express themselves on their own. They CAN be good artists / performers / musicians. They are capable of doing anything anyone else can, like being good at the arts.
That very assumptive of you to think that the entire youth of the nation wants to be famous. If I ever wrote a publishable book, I'd probably write it under a pen name because I really don't want to be famous. Like really. People lose themselves in fame, so... basically, I don't want to be famous.
Best wishes!
I think being famous isn't the same for everyone. I mean you and Hank are famous, but not in a celebrity way, if that makes sense. I think successful and famous have become synonymous over the years. I am fifteen years old and I just want leave my mark on the world. Maybe I'll write an amazing novel or screen play. Or I could be an award winning actress. I could be the first woman president. I just don't want to be forgotten once I die. I think that's a fear every single one of us has.
For one more word on fame, here’s a writer you’ve probably never heard of, though she won the National Book Award and started the Pen/Faulkner Award.
There’s no formula and there is no such thing as an easy life after fame comes. You are still in a room alone; you are still facing the white paper. There’s no difference. And you had better not take your reviews into the room with you. To chase fame or approval is to do something else; it hasn’t to do with writing, and I’m not concerned with it. Writing is its own act, not its rewards, not its pitfalls.
- Mary Lee Settle
In my opinion, the obsession with being famous is more like an obsession with success and happiness. From the moment we are born, we are conditioned to think that fame is instant happiness regardless of what the tabloids are saying about how some celebuatante is a massive car wreck. It's the illusion of glamour and being carefree that appeals to us. Also, we are conditioned by the media into thinking that being famous, whether you are Oscar nominated, or the President, is the epitome of success. It's the quest for validation and who doesn't want to be at the top? Most people would settle for second best but everyone at some point or another wants to be the alpha. It's not as much that we want the world to know us for our accomplishments. It is the drive for us to feel validated within ourselves and within our social groups and families. The striving to be famous is just a channel that we work through. It's an idea rather than an actual goal.
John, I want to be a writer and have the kind of fame that you have. I want to be recognized by a community of my peers, aka, nerdfighters.
I don't know why I want this. It just seems right. I like to write, and while it isn't very good now, I think I can blossom in to a writer and if that means no one knows anything about my work or they take Twilight rivaling fame, I'd be okay with that.
I'd take brilliance over being famous anyday.
As we are mere hours away from Q&A Tuesday, my question to you is:
Can we see some recent pictures of the puppy?
Also, I just finished reading Octavian Nothing, and I'm pretty pumped for vol.2 (which none of my 3 libraries seem to have yet). Great recommendation, thanks!
As I am going to enter college in about six weeks, I have spent a lot of time recently trying to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. So far, I have no idea. What I have been able to figure out, is that I do not, under any circumstances, want an office job.
I do not think that this is a unique thought, either.
In the attempt to avoid an office job, I have considered careers in music, writing, acting, and similar, all of which require a certain amount of fame to be successful. I do not want fame per se, but rather the success that so often seems to come with it.
Are there other career paths that can give me a good living but don't require fame or sitting at a desk? Yes, or at least I hope so. But as an eighteen year old, I'm still trying to find them.
I want to be a film director. I don't think people want to be a film director to be famous. I want to be a film director because I want to show the world my point of view on what ever the subject of my movies are. I think that people who want to be famous feel small and insignificant. They people to notice them. They crave attention. But I think that you can want to do something that will make you famous with out wanting to be famous. Other people may have other opinions but these are my convictions.
I believe the youth of America want to be famous because of the financial success, popularity, power and social standing that come with fame.
the chicks. the chicks. the chicks.
Personally, I do want to be famous. It probably sounds shallow... I just finished an Abundance of Kathrines and the way Colin talked about "mattering" really reminded me about how I look at my life. I think the most important thing for me is leaving a mark on the world that people notice for positive reasons. Not like a serial killer, or Brittany.
Because why not? As a young person I like to feel free to want everything, as long as I don't expect to get anything.
I have no desire to be famous, I like my small town and my quiet days. That doesn't mean that I don't want to change the world. If I could write one book, 300 pages that could change someone's view on life, that would be enough.
I don'y want to be famous at all. All that I want is a job that I don't mind doing that gets me enough money to have a nice simple life. And friends and family that like me for me.
Personally, I think being famous would be complete horror. I am so not photogenic. BUT! I believe a lot of people simply want to be recognized. Being famous to most people means you're worthy of being noticed, and I think the security of social worth is the lure.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home