Style and substance have become so blurred that people of true ability now go unnoticed. Karina Corbett examines the 'celebrity-industrial complex', as defined by a Vanity Fair writer
f you become an accidental celebrity, take a loan and strap yourself in. You'll need a media handler who can help craft sound bites, an agent, a contract lawyer, a ghostwriter, an accountant, security guards, and a counsellor for when all the attention fades. And it will. That's how it works now. The media moves on."
Wise words from celebrity specialist Maureen Orth, who imparts this advice in her new book, The Importance of Being Famous: Behind the Scenes of the Celebrity-Industrial Complex. A correspondent with Vanity Fair, Orth has interviewed and profiled more than her share of superstars, heads of state and even murderers. The book is a collection of some of those profiles, including Margaret Thatcher, Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, and Michael Jackson, complete with updates and new essays on the theme of fame.
"This is an informal tour of what I call the celebrity-industrial complex," she writes, "the media monster that creates the reality we think we see, and the people who thrive or perish there." Orth is not happy about the current ubiquity of celebrity, claiming that we live in an era where "politics is often served up as scandal and news is more and more centred on the latest sensational drama".
Her "celebrity-industrial complex" represents the dumbing-down of society, as the New York Times runs front-page stories on Britney Spears, Michael Jackson's baby-dangling incident makes international news, and celebrities' lifestyles become their performances.
There is more than a ring of truth to her argument - even if in this age of reality television her "accidental celebrity" concept is becoming less plausible. One look at the freak-show that is this year's Big Brother is all you need to see that there's nothing "accidental" about any of these aspiring celebs. There's no doubt that every one of them entered the contest in hot pursuit of fame or infamy - either will do, they're not choosy. "Style and substance are so blurred that we have true people of substance and ability not getting noticed," writes Orth, "and superficial reality show stars gracing the covers of dozens of magazines."
Orth's knowledge of celebrity, and subsequent theories on it, are illustrated by the medley of characters and interposing essays served up in The Importance of Being Famous. She likes to categorise her subjects. Tina Turner and Madonna, for instance, star as "pop stars as celebrities", and Gerry Adams makes an appearance in "politician as celebrity" - an ever-expanding category, according to Orth.
"Politicians are being increasingly marketed like stars," she writes. "And they, too, can be repackaged, with new acts and new audiences." While this is an allusion to Arnold Schwarzenegger's leap from Hollywood to the governership of California, she goes on to point out how Adams, and his efforts to eliminate any perception of a connection to the IRA, is a "stunning example of this".
Michael Jackson doesn't fare so well. Having profiled him a number of times for Vanity Fair, she awards him the gong for "celebrity as criminal". "He is so addicted to fame, he truly cannot live without his fans constantly worshipping at the altar of his talent," she writes. "He's obsessed by this adulation. That's why we saw him jump up on the roof of that car after his arraignment, or why he dangled that little baby over the balcony in Berlin. For Michael, he got the same thrill from that as from the applause he received at the Grammys."
A trend among celebrities is their penchant for sticking their manicured fingers in a variety of pies to ensure the media attention won't fade so fast. Take Mariah Carey. Originally known for her vocal talent, she went on to become more noted for her marriage break-up and subsequent break-down. With a disastrous movie career and a considerable amount of cleavage-flashing in between, we've almost forgotten she could ever sing a note.
Now the diva is about to re-launch herself - and is not taking any chances. According to the Hollywood Reporter, a "multi-pronged approach" is being taken to transform her into a "multimedia star". Carey, once just a pop star, is to write songs for other artists, as well as pen an illustrated, semi-autobiographical children's book. And then there's her forthcoming appearance in the London staging of The Prince and the Showgirl next year. With her manager hinting at talk of an Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway production, it would appear she's leaving no stone unturned in her quest to reinstate herself in the public arena.
"You don't have to be famous any more to be famous," claims Orth. Paris Hilton, she says, is one who merely thinks she's famous. She puts the hotel heiress in the same class as Monica Lewinsky, noting that while both see themselves as stars, "for them the reason they're famous is inconsequential. The fame is all that counts."
Celebrity one-upmanship is another growing pastime. "Personalities today feel they constantly have to outdo each other to keep the focus of public attention on themselves," says Orth, when she writes about what she refers to as the celebrity "escalator". "Madonna kissed Britney. Then Janet Jackson decided she had to show us her naked breast at the Super Bowl. Then Britney felt the need to up the ante and get married for 55 hours in Las Vegas."
On this side of the Atlantic, celebrity "bibles" such as Heat, Now and Closer magazines have moved the fame game on by mocking celebrities, even while revering them. Cameron Diaz is a goddess, until she has an outbreak of acne. Kirstie Alley is blasted for being fat and Mary-Kate Olsen is berated for succumbing to anorexia.
In Ireland we're no longer immune to celebrity-mania. We spent years ignoring Bono in public, but people now stalk the stars in Lilies. The success of TV shows such as Treasure Island and Celebrity Farm has shown our readiness to embrace reality TV. In fact, last weekend a Sunday newspaper reported that two of the contestants from the 2002 Treasure Island are getting married and have employed a PR agency to look after photo rights and the like. It seems Orth's complex exists, and is alive and well in Ireland.
The Importance of Being Famous: Behind the Scenes of the Celebrity-Industrial Complex, by Maureen Orth, published by Henry Holt & Co (€26.81)