Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard have one thing in common, stars. What is so special about the five corners in a copper frame and salmon colored with famous person’s name written in the middle embedded in the sidewalks? The iconic location portrays the American way of life, independence, individualism, and progress. It also reflects an economic statement on how the businesses use every single opportunity to make money out of it. People have come from all over the world to visit the historical landmark, creating an exciting atmosphere for first-comers but it has some downside at the Walk of Fame. What really happens in the political and socioeconomic issues of Hollywood being a public place? When I visited the Walk of Fame, it was surrounded …show more content…
The Walk of Fame is a tourist stop destination where people come to from around the globe. From India to Japan, to London, to some parts of America, there are different cultures getting the experiences of Hollywood. People dressed with a shirt that says “I Love LA” and hats says LA with their camera hanging around their neck is the typical stereotype of a tourist person and it is true. While my dad was taking pictures of me being at the site, there was this Japanese family, blocking the star I wanted to take. I personally didn’t want to be rude and move over but on the other side and my dad had an irritated look on his face and said to the family, “please excuse me”. They moved away and my dad took a picture of me, sitting on the black marble sidewalk next to Queen Latifah star. There’s always a tour bus stopping every hour to look at the Walk of Fame. I’ve seen this company each time I come and visit there called Starline Tours. Starline Tours main terminal is at the Walk of Fame in front of Grumman’s Chinese Theater. Many tourists take snapshots in front of the tour bus at the Walk of Fame. Since the Walk of Fame represents the American way of life, it shows how people continue to make progress and to keep determination to make their name known to land a star on the Walk of
Eckstein, Arthur. “The Hollywood Ten in History & Memory.” Film History. 2004. Web. 16 Jan.
The stars, particularly Hollywood stars, made a huge contribution to attracting vast numbers of people to the cinema.
Hollywood is not simply a point on a map; it is a representation of the human experience. As with any other location, though, Hollywood’s history can be traced and analyzed up to present day. In 1887, Harvey Henderson Wilcox established a 120-acre ranch in an area northwest of Los Angeles, naming it “Hollywood” (Basinger 15). From then on, Hollywood grew from one man’s family to over 5,000 people in 1910. By then, residents around the ranch incorporated it as a municipality, using the name Hollywood for their village. While they voted to become part of the Los Angeles district, their village was also attracting motion-picture companies drawn in by the diverse geography of the mountains and oceanside (15). The Los Angeles area continues to flourish, now containing over nine million people, an overwhelming statistic compared to Wilcox’s original, family unit (U.S. Census Bureau 1). However, these facts only s...
Cynthia, Erb. Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture - Ch. 1: A Showman’s Dream: The Production and Release of King Kong. Wayne State Univ Pr, 1998.
Many people might say that stars are merely a product of the Hollywood system needing to make a profit; Hollywood manufactures a product and creates the demand for it. A star's image is processed through advertisements and promotions and has little to do with what the audience wants and needs from entertainment. There is a widespread mentality that any Average Joe can become a star with enough resources backing him up. Richard Dyer points out, however, that even movies full of stars fail, and stars can and do fall out of fashion (12). A star's economic worth is not invulnerable to audiences' opinions. The audience isn't so easily controlled.
As celebrities stand distinctively among the masses and cast out their halos of personality charm and strong suits of skilled abilities, the controversies about them are unavoidable shadows created from their fame. With the popularization of celebrity culture, information synchronization, and communication technology, their lives are publicly exposed and various forms of media (depending on eras) record their flaws. Tough information transmitted to audiences are frequently biased, evidences of objective reality remains, even in the remote past.
It disclosed people’s despair, fears, cowardice, as well as other negative feelings in front of difficulties and challenges, and exposed their stupidity by illustrating their ugliness and laughter as they watched wrestlers sabotaging one another and good friends turning against each other. Chris Hedges depicted a pseudo-world where people tend to seek comfort from other people’s misfortunes and care about nothing but fame and money. Under the “enormous positivity” created by the spectacle, the reality is actually a dead end. As it is said, “The modern spectacle depicts what society can deliver, but within the depiction what is permitted is rigidly distinguished from what is possible.” In the celebrity culture, fame and money are the images, pursued by the public, forming numerous social networks among people engaged. People will get lost alongside the road, yet he/she may not notice, because as it is said, “the spectacle is both the outcome and the goal of the dominant mode of production.” Images are unlimited goals, coming with countless outcomes. The spectacle keeps developing itself, as more and more people need no realities but more detailed
All fame begins when you do something noticeable. For example, actors and actresses build upon their careers and reputations by achieving excellence in their personal goals, as well as perfecting their public performance.
Voytilla, Stuart. Myth and the Movies: Discovering the Myth Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films. Ventura Boulevard: Michael Wiese Productions, 1999.
celebrity may be found in the words of one of America’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, who wrote, ‘‘The rewards . . . in this life are steem and admiration of others—the punishments are neglect and contempt. The desire of the esteem of others is as real a want of nature as hunger—and the neglect and contempt of the world as severe as a pain.” (Price, 463). The author suggests that fame is not at all w...
The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.
Cannon, Lou. “Actor, Governor, President, Icon.” The Washington Post. 6 June 2004. Web. 3 September 2010. .
No matter where a person goes throughout the United States, they will not walk through the streets of New Jersey or New York for long before they hear the latest scandals with Kim Kardashian or Miley Cyrus. If a person walks into any public store they’ll quickly hear discussion of the latest stars on American Idol from passersby. While we scoff at the antics of celebrities, but at the same time we can foster an almost fanatical desire to be as if not more famous then the people everyone talks about. It is rather human to feel envy, jealously, and desire; we all want to be looked favorably upon. We roll our eyes when someone repeatedly states how beautiful or intelligent a celebrity is, yet even a skeptic can’t help but desire the admiration that celebrity received. Why do men work out? Why do women use such extensive amounts of cosmetics? Why are people so determined to be revered? The answer to individual’s thirst for fame can vary but it’s unavoidable to assume that individual wanted to be the center of attention. We want to be admired, favored, and loved as much as the celebrities that we worship. Reality television has shifted to show the “perfect” life of our celebrities and how happy they are compared to the common people. Neoliberals and authoritarian realized how our fanatical love for our celebrities can be used against us as to quote Frank Furedi from his academic journal on the topic of celebrity culture in which he has stated in the abstract in his first page: “Often celebrity provides an alternative source of validation. The tendency to outsource authority to the celebrity represents an attempt to bypass the problem of legitimacy by politicians and other figures.” Through celebrities’ neoliberals and
. Look To The Stars The World of Celeberty Giving. Look To The Stars, n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2014.
logic is rather simple, big Movie Stars sell more tickets and they are more recognizable or