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Where do you think the negative stigma of acting/celebs/the entertainment industry comes from?

posted 6 years ago by SolemnMime (174)
8 replies | jump to latest

It seems a lot of people (even the industry itself and some actors/etc. poke fun at it) have a negative/dark view of acting and the entertainment industry, like it's an especially horrid and bad place. I've heard of several stereotypes such as:

1. Actors/performers/entertainers are all self-absorbed, narcissistic people with possible mental issues/delusions/etc.

I don't know why this is often farfetched, but bear with it more. I've never personally thought of actors/entertainers/etc. to these extremes, but I guess it's a stereotype because it might be true for some at least or perceived this way. Also, let's not ignore the fact that there are people with these same exact traits that do exist outside of this industry as well.

2. Actors are all frantically-driven by work/consumed by acting/press/etc.

I don't know why this one is touted. Many people work 9-5 jobs for many, many years. For the average person, work is a huge portion of their life. Why would this be seen as any different if it's in the performing arts world/movie industry? It's still work -- just a different kind. Can't fathom why it's seen in a more negative light when an actor is career-driven heavily vs. anyone else working their typical 9-5s trying to move up or whatnot.

3. Actors/performers/musicians are out of touch with reality.

Don't get this one either. Not all actors are super-rich (or rich at all) and out of touch with things most people normally familiarize themselves with. Some people seem to get the impression that actors in general are all snotty, bourgeois-esque people who identify as a different class than people out of their line of work (not just financial-wise, but cultural or etc.). With the advent of TV/social media and the ability to get a deeper insight in to celebrities/mega stars lives it would seem that this is confirmed mostly as false (that being that most celebrities/actors/etc. are mostly similar to those who are not, all things considered).

I never understood the crapping on celebrities and actors in particular -- seems partially out of jealousy in some cases. Indifference I get, but negativity makes me think it's more personal/stigmatized.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (15104) 6 years ago

I think the biggest sources of negative stigma against this sphere of our culture comes from more than you just mentioned:

1 - The scandals - such as celebrities sleeping around and destroying relationships, or someone destroyed theirs. There's also rampant sexual abuse, as we learned from that farcical #metoo movement, though they failed to address pedophilia at all with that. Or worse, we hear about celebrities blurting out something horrifying, or getting involved in drugs that destroys their lives faster than if they'd done without them.

2 - The decadence - one could actually compare the current culture of Hollywood to the Royal Court of Versailles from the 17th and 18th centuries, or to the Capital from the "Hunger Games" books. It's basically a group of rich people who go to lavish parties, spend money like water, live in expensive homes, sleep around like rabbits, and often are worshiped like gods. They live within this bubble and have no idea what the real world is like. They especially have an intense dislike for anyone who thinks outside their bubble, and the moment anyone breaks from the Liberal Hollywood Cult Plantation, your career is sunk and you have no chance of ever being seen in the 'biz ever again. Everyone outside their bubble is beneath them, despite the "little people" being partially responsible for them becoming rich.

The thing that many people don't know is, most actors are not numbered among the wealthy elites that get all the attention, and many only dream of becoming rich like the famous ones. Many actors only ever get bit parts, small parts on tv, or do voice acting, none of which, pays nearly as much as landing a huge movie role, and even then, being the lead doesn't guarantee fame. There's a reason some actors you've never heard of are so prolific on their filmographies: it's because they needed a way to earn money, and did not become rich off of the jobs they got.

[–] nyctc7 (44104) 6 years ago

A very fine response. I would add that some high profile actors fancy themselves experts in fields they actually know little about, whether geopolitics, medicine, social science, climatology, energy, etc. A few might acquit themselves well, but a lot are nincompoops, or even kooks, and make entertainers look ridiculous.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

This made me laugh 'cuz it's so true.

Leonardo Dicaprio comes to mind with his climate change crusading. He filmed The Revenant near Calgary in Canada and experienced a chinook wind. (Google it for an explanation.) We're very familiar with it up here, but he mistook it as the harbinger of the upcoming climate apocalyse, describing it as 'terrifying' in subsequent interviews. All of us in western Canada had a good chuckle...

This is also the guy who rents super-yachts -- possibly the most inefficient form of transportation -- for him and a few close friends so they can lounge around the Mediterranean during film festivals.

And, let's not get started on the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennie McCarthy who are well known as experts in the medical field. /s

[–] actionkamen (23176) 6 years ago

Yeah. Probably this is the MAIN source of the negative stigma they recieved. This would happens to anyone. Politicians look silly too when they talk as if they are scientists.

So actors, please, your expertise is acting. And you got paid well for it. Do your job. Quit bitching. Less talking about things you don't understand. Talk about acting, performance and arts. You'll be respected more.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (15104) 6 years ago

They really should stick to acting, seeing as they know nothing about any other field, and only make idiots of themselves later on. It's like listening to a dumb blond bragging about becoming a veterinarian because she loves children.

[–] Knish (1721) 6 years ago

Because they are extremely overpaid, and a lot of them feel better than "normal" people.

[–] SolemnMime (174) 6 years ago

But isn't the notion of "overpaid" more nullified in a capitalistic sense?

Not saying some of those big actors are inherently deserving of massive million dollar paydays, but if they're being given those massive amounts it must be due to the capability and means of doing such.

I feel that lots of people in general should be paid more or have good means of getting more income sources somehow in society. But arguing for "overpaid" or not can be tricky when pay varies and can depend on multiple factors like skill, industry, experience, presentability and etc.

Not to make this political, but only using "overpaid" doesn't seem sufficient. For those same reasons we can say that doctors or lawyers or agents or some scientists or business owners or etc. are overpaid to if they are pretty wealthy while most of us are obviously not at all currently.

[–] Jones70 (6862) 6 years ago

There definitely shouldn't be cause they keep us entertained. You're just always gonna have your haters.