14 DAY TRIAL // Celebrities have long ceased to be just entertainers, having become involved in almost every aspect of our lives, from fighting pollution and protecting animal rights, to supporting world peace and bringing down the poverty rate. This is precisely the topic of Marina Hyde’s latest book, “Celebrity: How Entertainers Took Over The World And Why We Need An Exit Strategy,” where she argues that we need to rid ourselves of the stars who simply won’t do their job and get involved in things that are beyond their power of comprehension.
It’s not so much that they get involved in other aspects of public life that’s troubling about our celebrity culture, the author argues, as it is that they do so without even bothering to do their research beforehand. Having a person as mediated as Sharon Stone talk about world peace and thus raise awareness on issues that, in the end, concern us all, could be a great thing, but not so much when she says she would “kiss just about anybody” to see that peace is established.
Similarly, Hyde says, an actor as appreciated as Jude Law could possibly make a change about a given situation if things were handled differently than how they are today. For instance, in the summer of 2007, Law embarked on a self-imposed mission to Afghanistan, whose purpose only he seemed to know. Upon his return, he triumphantly announced, as the author points out, that, “Obviously, the situation was too complicated for us to sit down with actual members of the Taliban. But we were led to believe that the effects of our conversations with the right people filtered through to them.”
Hyde’s conclusion is but one: we need to reconsider and review our celebrities, and, in doing so, to determine whether we really want them to represent us, and our most pressing issues, in front of the entire world. In the process, the author believes, we might just learn that we want stars to stick to being entertainers, and entertain us the best way they know how, whether that means with their movies and music, or simply by getting drunk and making fools of themselves in front of the paparazzi.
“The entire celebriscape […] has seemed [in recent years] to be expanding at least twice as fast as the universe it inhabits. Once upon a time, you see, the entertainment industry was an industry which made entertainment. Its workforce was required to do quaint things like show up to movie sets, or make music or go to wild parties. Today, that brief has expanded slightly. It now includes proselytising for alien religions, attempting to negotiate with the Taliban, getting photographed in a manner that basically constitutes an unsolicited gynaecology examination, and being brought in to fix the Iraqi refugee crisis. The celebrity situation is out of control and we need to start looking for an exit strategy. Entertainers have vastly exceeded their mandate.” Hyde stresses.