Celebrity Culture, Propaganda And Capitalism

Bhabani Shankar Nayak

The triumph of capitalist chimeras based on false propaganda and its criminal follies have raised several questions on the rise of the celebrity culture. Celebrity culture establishes its grip over public imagination on different issues in society, politics, economy, culture and religion. It shapes people’s ideas, interests, everyday needs and desires by the means of mass adulation, identification and the emulation of well-known faces: the celebrities themselves. These three aspects are central to the kind of propaganda in which celebrities and celebrity cultures play vital roles.

Austrian American Edward Bernays (1891-1995), who was incidentally the nephew of Sigmund Freud, is considered one of the pioneers of public relations and propaganda. Bernays’s work Propaganda (1928) laid the foundation for 21^st century advertising and marketing industries.

Celebrity cultures serve the ruling and non-ruling elites. Both American politicians and corporations use the ideals of propaganda for their ascendancy, in the form of public relations exercises with celebrities.  Politicians use propaganda to win elections and corporations use it for profit maximisation. The mysterious abilities of the invisible weapon called ‘propaganda’ — which have played a significant role in shaping public desires and opinions — derive its historical and philosophical lineages from European colonialism. “Colonialism as a civilising mission” and “Sun never sets in the British empire” are some of the classic examples of propagandist lines that went into the making of colonial and imperialist Europe. 

The Nazis and fascists too were admirers of propaganda as a weapon to manipulate and control the masses. The organised manipulation of the mind is the core of celebrity culture, which diverts people’s attention from everyday hardships and the other disturbing realities of life. It is interesting to note that these continue to inspire the 21^st century capitalist propaganda led by celebrities across the globe.

American corporations like the American Tobacco Company, Procter & Gamble, General Electric and many other media outlets have used propaganda as a tool with the help of celebrities to expand their businesses. The American Tobacco Company has used the ideals of Edward Bernays to overcome the cultural barriers to smoking by combining smoking with progressive ideas like female empowerment, freedom and personal choice. Female celebrities including Bertha Hunt flaunted their “smoking torches of freedom” in the form of a protest by smoking during the 1929 Easter Parade. The New York Times captioned it thus: ‘Group of Girls Puff at Cigarettes as a Gesture of “Freedom”’. This so-called emancipatory logic contributed to a rapid rise in the number of female smokers and smokers among college and university-going students. The tobacco market and its profits increased significantly. Procter & Gamble too used Bernays to organise soap yacht races at the Central Park and National Soap Sculpture Competition to expand its shop business as a cleaning up act. Similarly, the Beech-Nut Packing Company’s unhealthy food was branded as “Hearty Breakfast” in the name of freedom of choice within the culture of consumption. Celebrities and celebrity cultures have played a significant role in these master spin acts of corporate capitalism and the consequent transformation of the American society. 

The history of celebrity cultures, from the Bronze Age, silver screen to social media, keep redefining the boundaries of popular culture that is concomitant with the requirements of the ruling and non-ruling capitalist classes. Modern celebrity cultures are represented by a performative language, in which consumers adore the celebrities, fantasise their lifestyles and place their trust in the products they endorse. Very few celebrities have lent their voice for peace and prosperity for all; and fewer stand with the struggles of the marginalised and join the fight against injustices and exploitation.

Celebrity culture is an integral part of capitalism, which glorifies individualism over collective values. The idea of utility, pleasure and satisfaction is central to celebrity culture, synchronous with the commercial interests of corporates. Celebrities celebrate meritocracy, which is primarily, benefits of being within a network of power and wealth.

There is nothing new in the bemoaning of celebrity culture. Thomas Busby has called celebrities “pretty women with beautiful dresses” in his book The Age of Genius (1786), highlighting the hollowness of celebrity culture which continues to resonate with exhibitionism of modern celebrity culture. In 2020, Busby would have written on celebrities as people with beauty without a brain and heart.

There have been two forms of celebritisation in history. From the 18^th to 19^th centuries, celebrities were known for their sacrifices and contributions to society, science, literature, politics, history, economy and philosophy. They came from all walks of life, and people continue to idealise and celebrate their lives till date. Many helped the processes of progressive social transformation with their ideas and actions. The 20^th and 21^st-century celebritisation, however, is an art of constructing an individual as an object of desire for mass consumption with the help of propaganda. Such celebrity cultures are detrimental to celebrities themselves. It commodifies their creativity and other abilities. From sports to cinema and in many other fields of life, celebrities are treated like commodities based on their popularity. Their popularity defines their value in the market. These celebrities are primarily from the world of cinema, TV and sports.

Celebrities and Mental Health

There is no more glamour attached to the work and contributions of scientists, historians, philosophers and poets. Mass media and their propaganda play a significant role in the making of these celebrities in terms of praise, validation and reproduction of consumable celebrity identity with social, cultural, political and economic currency. Their names are associated with brands and values. The hollowness of the celebrity industry alienates celebrities from their own work and separates them from their fellow beings. The glamour world of celebrity culture is an alienating experience for all, and results in mental illness and suicide. As is known, alienation is an integral part of capitalism, which is suicidal.

The capitalist celebrity culture is organised plunder of creativity in the name of hero or heroine worship. The available alternatives are in the processes of democratisation of fame and fortunes, celebration and socialisation of all kinds of creativity, moving away from marketisation and objectification of arts and artists, humanising celebrity status. Such transformations can ensure a sustainable future for creative industries to survive all the onslaughts of capitalism and its celebrity culture of consumerism. History is witness to the greater glamour in the work of the greater common good in society, than the narrow celebration of unabashed individualism. The aesthetic of fashionable ‘self’ only survives with others and not in isolation. The ordinariness of creativity does not domesticate but inspires masses to celebrate and emulate creative culture. It is only possible if celebrities can write their narratives and transform themselves from intimate strangers to socially concerned and politically committed citizens by ending their self-isolation and breaking their tinsel ghettoes. The power of creative performance survives in mass interactions and consumed in a patriarchal class, caste and racial hierarchy.

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Dr. Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a Senior Lecturer in Business Strategy at Coventry University, UK. Read his piece on struggles for freedom during neoliberalism here.

Featured Image: 68th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2015

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