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Tag: Fame

  • Jimmy Kimmel celebrated Hollywood Boulevard’s wacky character. Locals fear life without him

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    Spider-Man and a Hollywood tour guide were having it out.

    They stood right outside Jimmy Kimmel’s studio on Hollywood Boulevard, arguing about whether ABC was right to yank the host’s TV show off the air last week after he commented on the political response to right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.

    “I like Kimmel!” said the Spider-Man impersonator, who wore pink Nike sneakers and leaned in close so he could hear through his thin, face-covering costume. “What he said is free speech.”

    A tour bus drives past what was Jimmy Kimmel’s studio on Hollywood Boulevard on Sept. 18, 2025.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    Todd Doten, a tour agent for Beverly Hills Tours of Hollywood, pushed back. He said he believed broadcasters are held to a different standard than private citizens, and that the Federal Communications Commission — which pushed to get Kimmel’s show canceled — “has somewhat of a point.”

    The men verbally sparred beside singer Little Richard’s cracked star on the Walk of Fame. Then Doten patted the selfie-hawking superhero on the back and they parted ways amicably.

    The scene on Friday afternoon captured the Hollywood that Kimmel embraced and aggressively promoted: Weird, gritty and surprisingly poignant.

    Ever since he began filming at the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in 2003, Kimmel has been one of the famed neighborhood’s biggest ambassadors. He drew tourists to the storied Hollywood Boulevard, which — despite being home to the Academy Awards, TCL Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame — has long struggled with crime, homelessness and blight. He used his celebrity to help homeless youth and opened a donation center on his show’s backlot for victims of the January wildfires.

    And he filmed many a sketch with Hollywood itself as the bizarro backdrop — including one returning bit called “Who’s High?” in which he tried to guess which of three pedestrians was stoned.

    People protest in front of the Jimmy Kimmel Theater a day after ABC pulled the late-night host off air.

    Protesters in front of Jimmy Kimmel’s theater a day after ABC pulled the late-night host off air indefinitely over comments he made about the response to right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk’s death.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    Now, locals and entertainment industry officials alike worry what will happen if Kimmel’s show permanently disappears from a Hollywood still struggling to recover from the writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023 and the COVID-19 pandemic that literally shut the neighborhood down. While his suspension has sparked a roiling debate over free speech rights nationwide, in this neighborhood, the impact is more close to home.

    “A hostile act toward Jimmy Kimmel is a hostile act toward Hollywood itself and one of its great champions,” former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told The Times on Friday.

    “Hollywood is both a place and an idea. It’s an industry and a geography. Jimmy is always big on both. He actually lives in Hollywood, at a time when not a lot of stars do.”

    Miguel Aguilar, a fruit vendor who often sets up near Kimmel’s theater, said Friday that business was always better on the days “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” filmed because so many audience members bought his strawberries and pineapples doused in chamoy. He was stunned when a Times reporter told him the show had been suspended.

    “Was it canceled by the government?” Aguilar asked. “We used to get a lot more customers [from the show]. That’s pretty scary.”

    A man holding a sign advertising at a nearby diner said he worried about Kimmel’s crew, including the gaffers and makeup artists.

    “How many people went down with Kimmel?” he asked.

    And Daniel Gomez, who lives down the street, said he feared that nearby businesses will suffer from the loss of foot traffic from the show, for which audience members lined up all the way down the block.

    “Tourists still will come to Hollywood no matter what, but a portion of that won’t be coming anymore,” Gomez said as he signed a large canvas outside the theater on which scores of fans and free speech advocates wrote messages about the show being axed.

    People protest in front of the Jimmy Kimmel Theater.

    Protesters in front of Jimmy Kimmel’s theater in Hollywood.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    “It’s pretty bad that he got shut down because of his comments,” Gomez added. “Comedians should be free to say whatever they want.”

    In a joint statement, a coalition of Hollywood labor groups including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said the kind of political pressure that Kimmel faced as a broadcaster “chills free speech and threatens the livelihoods of thousands of working Americans.”

    “At a time when America’s film and television industry is still struggling due to globalization and industry contraction, further unnecessary job losses only make a bad situation worse,” the statement read.

    During his monologue Monday, Kimmel made remarks about Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Kirk. He said the “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

    Ingrid Salazar, center, protests outside of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

    Ingrid Salazar protests outside of the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” studio on Thursday.

    (Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)

    While Kimmel’s remarks could be interpreted in different ways, Kirk’s supporters immediately accused the talk show host of claiming Robinson was a Trump ally, which many of Kimmel’s supporters reject. Kimmel himself has not publicly responded.

    Kimmel also mocked President Trump for talking about the construction of a new White House ballroom after being asked how he was coping with the killing of his close ally.

    Nexstar Media Group responded on Wednesday, saying it would pull the show from its ABC affiliate stations because of Kimmel’s comments. Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, then announced it would suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely.

    Nexstar’s decision to yank the show came after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, threatened to take action against ABC and urged local ABC affiliate stations to stand up the network.

    “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr told right-wing podcast host Benny Johnson. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

    Trump wrote on his Truth Social account: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”

    He also targeted late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, calling them “total losers.” He pressured NBC to cancel their shows, writing: “Do it NBC!!!”

    The president this summer praised CBS’s decision to cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” after this season, writing on Truth Social on July 18: “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”

    Pedestrians walk across the street from the Jimmy Kimmel Theater.

    Pedestrians walk across the street from the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” theater a day after ABC has pulled the late-night host off air indefinitely.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    While the show is in limbo, it is unclear what will happen to Kimmel’s iconic theater in the historic former Hollywood Masonic Temple, a neoclassical 1921 building fronted by six imposing columns.

    Disney owns the building, as well as the adjacent 1920s office building that contains the El Capitan Theatre and the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop. Kimmel’s production company, 12:05 AM Productions, occupies four floors — 26,000 square feet — in the six-story office building, according to real estate data provider CoStar.

    Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

    Garcetti, who long represented Hollywood on the L.A. City Council, said Kimmel was a major advocate for renovation of the old Masonic lodge and other revitalization Hollywood projects.

    And after the Oscars returned for good to the Kodak Theatre (now Dolby Theatre) across the street in 2002 after several years outside of Hollywood, Kimmel “helped usher in what I call Hollywood’s second golden age, when the Academy Awards came back and people saw actual stars in nightclubs and restaurants,” Garcetti said.

    When Garcetti was showing off the city to officials with the International Olympic Committee years ago in an effort to host the Games, Kimmel met their helicopter on the roof of a Hollywood hotel to brag about the neighborhood.

    Jimmy Kimmel celebrates as he receives his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    Jimmy Kimmel, host and executive producer of the late-night talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” celebrates as he receives his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Jan. 25, 2013.

    (Reed Saxon/Associated Press)

    At the 2013 Hollywood Chamber of Commerce ceremony awarding Kimmel a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Garcetti quipped: “When you came here to Hollywood Boulevard, this place was full of drug dealers and prostitutes, and you welcomed them with open arms.”

    Kimmel joked that his parents brought him to the Walk of Fame as a 10-year-old and left him there to fend for himself.

    “I’m getting emotional,” he said during the ceremony. “This is embarrassing. I feel like I’m speaking at my own funeral. This is ridiculous. People are going to pee on this star.”

    Kimmel’s star is by his theater, near the stars for rapper Snoop Dogg — and Donald Duck.

    On his show in May, pop star Miley Cyrus told Kimmel she developed a serious infection after filming on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year, where she rolled around on the sidewalk. Part of her leg, she said, started to “disintegrate.”

    “Have you been to the Walk of Fame in the middle of the night?” she asked.

    “I live here,” Kimmel said.

    “I thought it was my last day,” Cyrus responded.

    Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside Kimmel’s theater in recent days, decrying the suspension of his show.

    The cancellation occurred right after Dianne Hall and Michael Talbur of Kansas City got tickets to a live taping of the show and traveled to Los Angeles. So, they attended a protest Thursday instead.

    Hall said she was expecting Kimmel’s monologue “to be something rude toward the [Kirk] family” but was surprised when she actually listened to it.

    “I kept thinking, ‘Surely something bad was said for him to get fired,’ ” Hall said. “But it was nothing like that.”

    Hollywood resident Ken Tullo said he’s “not a protesting type of guy, but enough’s enough” and he did not want his daughters to grow up with a fear of speaking freely.

    “The current administration cannot laugh at themselves,” Tullo said, “and they don’t want anybody else to laugh.”

    Times staff writer Roger Vincent contributed to this report.

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    Christopher Buchanan, Hailey Branson-Potts

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  • Brett James, Grammy-winning ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ songwriter, dies in plane crash

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    Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James, known for penning hits including Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” died in a small-engine plane crash on Thursday, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was 57.A plane registered under James’ name reportedly crashed into a field in Franklin, North Carolina, about 270 miles southeast of Nashville, around 3 p.m. Thursday, according to data from FlightAware and a statement from the FAA. Three people were on board the plane, according to the FAA, and the National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating.CNN has reached out to Macon County Sheriff’s Office for further information.James, who worked with megastars like Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi and Keith Urban, won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2006 for co-writing “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” He also wrote on Kenny Chesney’s “Out Last Night,” and was regarded as one of the industry’s most sought-after collaborators.His more than 500 songs have appeared on albums with combined sales of over 110 million copies, according to the Nashville Songwriters Association International.In 2020, James was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also owned the publishing company Cornman Music and served on the board of the Country Music Association and as a national trustee of The Recording Academy, according to the Nashville Symphony.“Brett was a trusted collaborator to country’s greatest names, and a true advocate for his fellow songwriters,” the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers said in an Instagram post announcing James’ death.“Rest in peace pal. Total stud. Fellow aviator. One of the best singer-songwriters in our town….total legend,” country musician Dierks Bentley wrote on Instagram.

    FRANKLIN, N.C. —

    Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James, known for penning hits including Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” died in a small-engine plane crash on Thursday, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was 57.

    A plane registered under James’ name reportedly crashed into a field in Franklin, North Carolina, about 270 miles southeast of Nashville, around 3 p.m. Thursday, according to data from FlightAware and a statement from the FAA.

    Three people were on board the plane, according to the FAA, and the National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating.

    CNN has reached out to Macon County Sheriff’s Office for further information.

    James, who worked with megastars like Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi and Keith Urban, won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2006 for co-writing “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” He also wrote on Kenny Chesney’s “Out Last Night,” and was regarded as one of the industry’s most sought-after collaborators.

    His more than 500 songs have appeared on albums with combined sales of over 110 million copies, according to the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

    In 2020, James was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also owned the publishing company Cornman Music and served on the board of the Country Music Association and as a national trustee of The Recording Academy, according to the Nashville Symphony.

    “Brett was a trusted collaborator to country’s greatest names, and a true advocate for his fellow songwriters,” the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers said in an Instagram post announcing James’ death.

    “Rest in peace pal. Total stud. Fellow aviator. One of the best singer-songwriters in our town….total legend,” country musician Dierks Bentley wrote on Instagram.

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  • ‘Demure’ content spotlights what viral trend can mean for creators

    ‘Demure’ content spotlights what viral trend can mean for creators

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    It’s not just you. The word “demure” is being used to describe just about everything online these days.It all started earlier this month when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take social media by storm. The hair and makeup she’s wearing to work? Very demure. And paired with a vanilla perfume fragrance? How mindful.Video above: Rossen Reports: TikTok made me buy it, but does it really work?In just weeks, Lebron’s words have become the latest vocabulary defining the internet this summer. In addition to her own viral content that continues to describe various day-to-day, arguably reserved or modest activities with adjectives like “demure,” “mindful” and “cutesy,” several big names have also hopped on the trend across social media platforms. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Penn Badgley have shared their own playful takes, and even the White House used the words to boast the Biden-Harris administration’s recent student debt relief efforts.The skyrocketing fame of Lebron’s “very mindful, very demure” influence also holds significance for the TikToker herself. Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, said in a post last week that she’s now able to finance the rest of her transition.”One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break. And now, I’m flying across country to host events,” Lebron said in the video, noting that her experience on the platform has changed her life.She’s not alone. Over recent years, a handful of online creators have found meaningful income after gaining social media fame — but it’s still incredibly rare and no easy feat.Here’s what some experts say.How can TikTok fame lead to meaningful sources of income?There is no one recipe.Finding resources to work as a creator full-time “is not as rare as it would have been years ago,” notes Erin Kristyniak, vice president of global partnerships at marketing collaboration company Partnerize. But you still have to make content that meets the moment — and there’s a lot to juggle if you want to monetize.On TikTok, most users who are making money pursue a combination of hustles. Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, explains that those granted admission into TikTok’s Creator Marketplace — the platform’s space for brand and creator collaborations — can “earn a kickback from views from TikTok expressly,” although that doesn’t typically pay very well.Other avenues for monetization include more direct brand sponsorships, creating merchandise to sell, fundraising during livestreams and collecting “tips” or “gifts” through features available to users who reach a certain following threshold. A lot of it also boils down to work outside of the platform.And creators are increasingly working to build their social media presence across multiple platforms — particularly amid a potential ban of the ByteDance-owned app in the U.S., which is currently in a legal battle. Duffy notes that many are working on developing this wider online presence so they can “still have a financial lifeline” in case any revenue stream goes away.Is it difficult to sustain?Gaining traction in the macrocosm that is the internet is difficult as is — and while some have both tapped into trends that resonate and found sources of compensation that allow them to quit their nine-to-five, it still takes a lot of work to keep it going.”These viral bursts of fame don’t necessarily translate into a stable, long-term career,” Duffy said. “On the surface, it’s kind of widely hyped as a dream job … But I see this as a very superficial understanding of how the career works.”Duffy, who has been studying social media content creation for a decade, says that she’s heard from creators who have had months where they’re reaping tremendous sums of money from various sources of income — but then also months with nothing. “It’s akin to a gig economy job because of the lack of stability,” she explained.”The majority of creators aren’t full-time,” Eric Dahan, the CEO and founder of influencer marketing agency Mighty Joy, added.Burnout is also very common. It can take a lot of emotional labor to pull content from your life, Duffy said, and the pressure of maintaining brand relationships or the potential of losing viewers if you take a break can be a lot. Ongoing risks of potential exposure to hate or online harassment also persist.Is the landscape changing?Like all things online, the landscape for creators is constantly evolving.Demand is also growing. More and more platforms are aiming not only to court users, but to bring aspiring creators to their sites. And that coincides with an increased focus on marketing goods and brands in these spaces.Companies are doubling down “to meet consumers where they are,” said Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. YouTube and other social media platforms, such as Instagram, have also built out offerings to attract this kind of content in recent years, but — for now — it’s “TikTok’s day in the sun,” she added, pointing to the platform’s persisting dominance in the market.And for aspiring creators hoping to strike it big, Dahan’s advice is just to start somewhere. As Lebron’s success shows, he added, “You don’t know what’s going to happen.” AP technology writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, California.

    NEW YORK —

    It’s not just you. The word “demure” is being used to describe just about everything online these days.

    It all started earlier this month when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take social media by storm. The hair and makeup she’s wearing to work? Very demure. And paired with a vanilla perfume fragrance? How mindful.

    Video above: Rossen Reports: TikTok made me buy it, but does it really work?

    In just weeks, Lebron’s words have become the latest vocabulary defining the internet this summer. In addition to her own viral content that continues to describe various day-to-day, arguably reserved or modest activities with adjectives like “demure,” “mindful” and “cutesy,” several big names have also hopped on the trend across social media platforms. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Penn Badgley have shared their own playful takes, and even the White House used the words to boast the Biden-Harris administration’s recent student debt relief efforts.

    The skyrocketing fame of Lebron’s “very mindful, very demure” influence also holds significance for the TikToker herself. Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, said in a post last week that she’s now able to finance the rest of her transition.

    “One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break. And now, I’m flying across country to host events,” Lebron said in the video, noting that her experience on the platform has changed her life.

    She’s not alone. Over recent years, a handful of online creators have found meaningful income after gaining social media fame — but it’s still incredibly rare and no easy feat.

    Here’s what some experts say.

    How can TikTok fame lead to meaningful sources of income?

    There is no one recipe.

    Finding resources to work as a creator full-time “is not as rare as it would have been years ago,” notes Erin Kristyniak, vice president of global partnerships at marketing collaboration company Partnerize. But you still have to make content that meets the moment — and there’s a lot to juggle if you want to monetize.

    On TikTok, most users who are making money pursue a combination of hustles. Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, explains that those granted admission into TikTok’s Creator Marketplace — the platform’s space for brand and creator collaborations — can “earn a kickback from views from TikTok expressly,” although that doesn’t typically pay very well.

    Other avenues for monetization include more direct brand sponsorships, creating merchandise to sell, fundraising during livestreams and collecting “tips” or “gifts” through features available to users who reach a certain following threshold. A lot of it also boils down to work outside of the platform.

    And creators are increasingly working to build their social media presence across multiple platforms — particularly amid a potential ban of the ByteDance-owned app in the U.S., which is currently in a legal battle. Duffy notes that many are working on developing this wider online presence so they can “still have a financial lifeline” in case any revenue stream goes away.

    Is it difficult to sustain?

    Gaining traction in the macrocosm that is the internet is difficult as is — and while some have both tapped into trends that resonate and found sources of compensation that allow them to quit their nine-to-five, it still takes a lot of work to keep it going.

    “These viral bursts of fame don’t necessarily translate into a stable, long-term career,” Duffy said. “On the surface, it’s kind of widely hyped as a dream job … But I see this as a very superficial understanding of how the career works.”

    Duffy, who has been studying social media content creation for a decade, says that she’s heard from creators who have had months where they’re reaping tremendous sums of money from various sources of income — but then also months with nothing. “It’s akin to a gig economy job because of the lack of stability,” she explained.

    “The majority of creators aren’t full-time,” Eric Dahan, the CEO and founder of influencer marketing agency Mighty Joy, added.

    Burnout is also very common. It can take a lot of emotional labor to pull content from your life, Duffy said, and the pressure of maintaining brand relationships or the potential of losing viewers if you take a break can be a lot. Ongoing risks of potential exposure to hate or online harassment also persist.

    Is the landscape changing?

    Like all things online, the landscape for creators is constantly evolving.

    Demand is also growing. More and more platforms are aiming not only to court users, but to bring aspiring creators to their sites. And that coincides with an increased focus on marketing goods and brands in these spaces.

    Companies are doubling down “to meet consumers where they are,” said Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. YouTube and other social media platforms, such as Instagram, have also built out offerings to attract this kind of content in recent years, but — for now — it’s “TikTok’s day in the sun,” she added, pointing to the platform’s persisting dominance in the market.

    And for aspiring creators hoping to strike it big, Dahan’s advice is just to start somewhere. As Lebron’s success shows, he added, “You don’t know what’s going to happen.”

    AP technology writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, California.

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  • Chappell Roan’s Attempt to “Gen Z-ify” Fame By Setting “Healthy Boundaries” (Via the Shame Game)

    Chappell Roan’s Attempt to “Gen Z-ify” Fame By Setting “Healthy Boundaries” (Via the Shame Game)

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    While some might think that “Gen Z-ifying” fame refers to how virality through TikTok is the only way to become a “star” (with no staying power) nowadays, the truth is that Chappell Roan just summed up the true meaning of it on her own TikTok account. This by demanding that fans stop being, well, creepy. As though Roan has no concept that the parasocial relationship train can’t stop once it’s left the station. But then, what is one to expect from a novice to the scene? For, even more than being a parent, the phrase “there is no manual for blah blah blah” applies to fame and how one’s life immediately changes after it hits (just ask the “very demure, very mindful” bia). But it seems the aspect of celebrity that famous people consistently wish they could do without is the obsessive nature of fans, which has only grown more dangerous and disturbing in the digital age.

    For Roan, the obsession people have with her has already proven to be too much. And, even though she’s technically been in this business since 2015, when she first signed a deal with Atlantic Records, nothing prepared her for the sudden frenzy for all things Chappell as 2024 rolled around. She already addressed how overwhelming this newfound “icon status” has been for her, namely back in June during a Raleigh concert date, when Roan told the audience, “I just want to be honest with the crowd. I feel a little off today, because I think my career is going really fast and it’s hard to keep up. I’m just being honest, I’m having a hard time today.” Roan has also alluded to her disdain for fans that feel they should have constant access to her in an interview for The Comment Section with Drew Afualo, insisting that when she’s performing or giving an interview, she’s simply “clocked in” like anyone else with a “normal job” (which, again, is not what she has). When she’s offstage, however, Roan explained to Afualo, “Bitch, I’m not at work.” Thus, do not approach her as though she is.

    As for the massive crowds she’s been drawing in everywhere from Bonnaroo to Lollapalooza, in spite of how “ready for it” everyone seems to be for Roan to keep releasing new music, all signs seem to point to her “pumping the brakes” on the whole goddamn thing as a result of being so sketched out by the, let’s say, intensity of certain fans. Thus, she took to TikTok to say, “If you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her from the window?” Roan already sets herself up for failure with that question because, for many sober men and drunk people of all creeds, the answer is a resounding yes. She goes on, “Would you harass her in public? Would you go up to a random lady and say, ‘Can I get a photo with you?’ Would you be offended if she says no to your time because she has her own time? Would you stalk her family, would you follow her around? I’m a random bitch, you’re a random bitch.” Again, Roan sets herself up for all the holes in her “argument” for privacy to be easily poked through. Because, no, she is not a random bitch at all. She has achieved that thing that so many people wish they could: fame and acclaim. Ergo, becoming a public figure. A status that automatically changes the game in terms of what can be “done” to you.

    Concluding her tirade against creeps with, “Just think about that for a second. I don’t care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That does not make it okay, that doesn’t make it normal… [a word that shouldn’t really be in an drag queen enthusiast’s vocabulary, but whatever]. I don’t give a fuck if you think it’s selfish of me to say no for a photo, or for your time, or to…for a hug. It’s weird how people think that you know a person just ‘cause you see them online or you listen to the art they make.” Here, too, Roan sets herself up for disaster because a key part of the reason that many fans do listen to this “art” is precisely because they feel like they know the person who made it. See something of themselves in that person and, therefore, feel connected.

    In the past, many musicians have only courted that perception, including the ultimate millennial pop star, Taylor Swift. Indeed, part of Swift’s longevity has been her acumen in cultivating parasocial relationships with fans. It can be argued, in fact, that fame wouldn’t really exist without this dynamic. At least not the kind of fame that constitutes being a global pop superstar. As for Roan continuing to insist that “it’s fucking weird” for people to glom onto a musician in such a way, she might need to be reminded that her entire shtick is centered around “weird” a.k.a. drag looks. And honestly, it’s no weirder than all of us being on some rock spinning around in the middle of space with absolutely no idea how we got here other than some unprovable postulations (including the “God theory”).

    Of course, Roan isn’t the only one who has expressed disdain for fan behavior in recent years. Take, for example, a video that made the rounds after the 2018 Met Gala, when Lana Del Rey (still in her “Bible” costume) was about to oblige a fan that asked for a selfie. When he tried to re-angle the phone she was holding to take the picture, she thrust it back and him and said, “You know what, fuck it” (though it sounded sort of like “fuck off” or “fuck you” as well). It speaks to what Roan said above about not “owing” anyone a photo. That a fan should be grateful to receive any such request fulfillment at all—not further annoy the famous person by trying to control how the selfie looks. By the same token, of course, there’s always the valid argument that fans are literally paying for how famous people live, so shouldn’t they be entitled to such things? And, if Roan wants to make analogies between famous people and regular people, it can be said that regular people’s bosses do pretty much the same thing, constantly infiltrating their lives outside of work because they pay for their existence, as it were.  

    Roan’s disgust with fan (or “stan”) behavior is, what’s more, in direct contrast to the “teachings” millennials have carried on from generations of famous people past. Case in point, during Paris Hilton’s 2020 documentary, This Is Paris, Kim Kardashian commented, “I think the best advice that she ever could’ve given me was just watching her.” Watching her constantly pose with fans whenever they asked for a photo, watching her being bombarded by paparazzi without ever lashing out, watching her personal life get violated in all the most invasive possible ways (Kim was obviously studying the sex tape aspect of that most closely). In the same documentary, Hilton admitted, “Even though it was so hectic and insane and just nonstop…I also loved the attention.” At least she can admit that. Roan, it seems, is struggling to acknowledge that attention is what she wanted for so long, only to be met with the “be careful what you wish for” caveat.

    And yet, in an interview for Q with Tom Power, Roan made a prescient remark, saying, “This industry, like, you really flourish if you don’t protect yourself.” Power clarifies, “You flourish if you don’t protect yourself?” “Mhmm, yes” she replies sagely. “Like if you don’t look after yourself you can have a pretty good, amazing career. You’ve seen that kind of thing happen?” “We’ve all seen that kind of thing happen.” (To be sure, there’s no example more textbook than Britney Spears.) In the same interview, Roan goes on to say that touring is her favorite part of the job, even though one would think that might be the ripest scenario for witnessing the apex of “creep behavior” among fans. But “creepy,” like everything else, means different things to different people. While one fan might believe it’s perfectly normal to throw their mother’s ashes onstage, another might simply want to become “iconic” in their own right by engaging with a certain opening lyric in a viral way. In effect, the shades of creep in fandoms are multi-hued and numerous, and certainly can’t be contained by a mere “read” from an honorary drag queen/Midwest princess.

    To boot, there are some who would still posit that the “dark side of fame” is but a small price to pay for all the benefits that go with it, not least of which is avoiding, more than “normals,” an overpowering sense of insignificance. Hell, look at Kevin Bacon’s recent comment on how terrible it was to not be famous for a day, stating, “Nobody recognized me. People were kind of pushing past me, not being nice. Nobody said, ‘I love you.’ I had to wait in line to, I don’t know, buy a fucking coffee or whatever. I was like, ‘This sucks. I want to go back to being famous.’” Perhaps Roan ought to try out his experiment as well.

    This isn’t an “asking for it” type of logic that men try so often to use on women for how they dress in terms of saying that those who want to be entertainers should know what they’re getting into. That they “asked for it” when they made the Faustian pact. But it is reminding those Gen Z famous ones, like Roan, who expect to set up “healthy boundaries” for such an uncontrollable entity that doing so is impossible without stepping out of the spotlight altogether. Something Josh Hartnett, a fellow Midwest “prince” (from Minnesota), recently addressed in an interview with The Guardian, recalling of his white-hot moment as Hollywood’s most sought-after heartthrob, “People’s attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy… There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me… a guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison. There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill.” That word again: “weird.” As in: celebrity is fucking weird. Which is why some people are built for it, and some people aren’t. In the years (or maybe just months) ahead, the audience will soon find out if Roan is.

    Who knows? Maybe her ire for “fandom” is a passing fancy. After all, she’s not the first famous person to comment on her gross fans. Take, for example, Madonna’s resurfaced 1991 interview in The Washington Post, during which she unabashedly declares, “I don’t mind when people come up to me in a restaurant and go, ‘God, I think you’re great.’ I love that. It’s the obsessive fanatics whose attention seems very hostile. It’s beyond admiration. It’s very crazy…” That might sound “Gen Z” enough to go along with Roan’s sentiments, but M gave away her boomer nature when she added, “It’s always fat people too. They are the most unattractive social outcasts, like really overweight girls or guys with lots of acne that follow me around and pester me. It’s frightening because not only are they bothering me, but they’re horrible to look at too.”

    At the same time, Madonna and Roan have more in common than some might think, not just because of their “slow burn” first albums taking a full year to catch on, but also because Madonna hails from the heart of the Midwest as well. Which is exactly why she also pronounced, “It’s a very boring, humdrum place. I was raised in that world. I know the ignorance that they wallow in—and that they prefer to live in—because it’s easier for them. I’m just trying to pull all their Band-Aids off.” Roan might be trying to do the same with fans who think “creepy behavior” is acceptable/par for the course, but one doubts it will effect the kind of change that vogueing did (i.e., gay-ifying the straights without them realizing it).

    Fame is one thing that can’t be Gen Z-ified, unless it becomes something else altogether. And if it did, that would likely only make it all the more “democratized.” So what’s really the point of wanting to be famous at all if everyone gets treated the same? Like the “random bitch” Roan claims she wants to be treated as.

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • The Matt Damon Hall of Fame. Plus: The Anxious Wonder of ‘Dìdi.’

    The Matt Damon Hall of Fame. Plus: The Anxious Wonder of ‘Dìdi.’

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    Sean and Amanda are joined by Ringer contributor Brian Raftery to discuss his miniseries about the Sony hack, running next week on the Big Picture feed (1:00). Then, they discuss two recent releases—Sean Wang’s coming-of-age movie Dìdi and the Matt Damon and Casey Affleck vehicle The Instigators (14:00)—before launching themselves into the Matt Damon Hall of Fame (34:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Wang to discuss making Dìdi, the path to his first feature at just 29 years old, the particular time period of the movie, and more (1:36:00).

    Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
    Guests: Brian Raftery and Sean Wang
    Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / RSS

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    Sean Fennessey

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  • Hall of Fame: Steve Rodgers, Captain America

    Hall of Fame: Steve Rodgers, Captain America

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    This pod is with you till the end of the line! Jo and Mal are here to induct Steve Rodgers into their Hall of Fame in celebration of the fifth anniversary of Avengers: Endgame (07:45). They break down Cap’s best moments and what made this character so special throughout the years.

    Hosts: Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson
    Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman
    Additional Production: Arjuna Ramgopal
    Social: Jomi Adeniran

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / Pandora / Google Podcasts

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    Mallory Rubin

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  • Hall of Fame: Tony Stark, Iron Man

    Hall of Fame: Tony Stark, Iron Man

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    We have a plan: Attack! As Avengers: Endgame turns five, Mal and Jo induct Tony Stark into the House of R Hall of Fame. They look back at Tony’s most iconic moments, from his signature snark to his harrowing showdowns, and celebrate his lasting impact on the MCU.

    Hosts: Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson
    Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman
    Additional Production: Arjuna Ramgopal
    Social: Jomi Adeniran

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / Pandora / Google Podcasts

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    Mallory Rubin

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  • The Narcissistic Culture of “Image” and Excessive Self-Monitoring

    The Narcissistic Culture of “Image” and Excessive Self-Monitoring

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    In a world obsessed with public image and attention-seeking, learn about the cultural forces propelling society to become more narcissistic – and how this influences us to be in a constant state of self-scrutiny.


    The idea that our culture is becoming more narcissistic and self-centered is not new.

    Historian and social critic Christopher Lasch’s book The Culture of Narcissism was first published in 1979. By that time, the 1970s were already dubbed the “Me-generation.” Americans were increasingly shifting focus to concepts like “self-liberation,” “self-expression,” and “self-actualization,” while untethering themselves from past traditions and social responsibilities.

    Interestingly, Lasch traces the narcissistic roots in America back way further, starting with the early days of the Protestant work ethic and its singular focus on labor, money, and wealth-building, including the old “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mantra.

    This early thread of American hyper-individualism continues into the New Age movement at the turn of the 20th century with its focus on personal happiness and spiritual fulfillment, as well as the popularity of Ayn Rand’s “virtue of selfishness,” and the rise of celebrity-worship and fame-seeking that still characterizes much of American life today whether it be in politics, sports, art, or entertainment.

    Things appear to be getting worse. The book was written over 40 years ago, but a lot of the observations in it seem strangely prophetic when looking at the world today. Lasch accurately describes how narcissistic trends have evolved on a societal and cultural level, and you can perfectly extend his theories to explain our modern culture.

    Before you continue reading, remember this is a cultural analysis of narcissistic tendencies and it isn’t focused on clinical or psychological definitions of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).

    Many people act more narcissistic because that’s what our society rewards and that’s how people think they need to act to get ahead in today’s world.

    One can even look at certain narcissistic tendencies as a survival strategy in an otherwise competitive, atomized, isolated – “every man for himself” – world.

    Now let’s dive into how our modern culture amplifies and rewards narcissism.

    The narcissist craves an audience

    First, the most defining characteristic of a narcissist is that they depend on the attention and validation of others to feel good about themselves.

    Contrary to the popular myth that the narcissist suffers from excessive self-love, the truth is they are deeply insecure and lack true confidence and self-esteem. The main reason they brag, show off, or puff-up-their-chests is only to appear strong when deep down they feel weak.

    As a result the narcissist is obsessed with their image and appearance. They feel they need to “win people over” to be accepted and liked by others, and this requires a carefully manufactured persona they create for the public.

    This deeply rooted “need for attention” plays a central theme in Lasch’s analysis:

      “Narcissism represents a psychological dimension of dependence. Notwithstanding his occasional illusions of omnipotence, the narcissist depends on others to validate his self-esteem. He cannot live without an admiring audience. His apparent freedom from family ties and institutional constraints does not free him to stand alone or to glory in his individuality. On the contrary, it contributes to his insecurity, which he can overcome only by seeing his ‘grandiose self’ reflected in the attention of others, or by attaching himself to those who radiate celebrity, power, and charisma.”

    Without an audience to appreciate them, the narcissist struggles to find their self-worth. They don’t believe in themselves – they need “proof” they are a good or important person through the eyes of others.

    To the narcissist, any attention is better than none at all; even negative attention like gossip, drama, and criticism feeds into their egos by letting them know they are still front and center.

    In a society that rewards attention for the sake of attention (including fame and notoriety), the narcissist grows and thrives. Who knows, that next scandal with a famous celebrity may be their big breakthrough – whatever gets them into the limelight!

    Image-centrism: The society of the spectacle

    One major contributor to the rise of narcissistic tendencies is that our culture is becoming more image-centric.

    Popular ideas on what true “happiness,” “success,” “fame,” “beauty,” and “achievement” look like are based on outward images and appearances increasingly fed into our culture through photographs, movies, television, and advertising:

      “[One] influence is the mechanical reproduction of culture, the proliferation of visual and audial images in the ‘society of the spectacle.’ We live in a swirl of images and echoes that arrest experience and play it back in slow motion. Cameras and recording machines not only transcribe experience but alter its quality, giving to much of modern life the character of an enormous echo chamber, a hall of mirrors. Life presents itself as a succession of images or electronic signals, of impressions recorded and reproduced by means of photography, motion pictures, television, and sophisticated recording devices.”

    This book was written before the internet and social media which have only increased our “image-centrism” tenfold. Selfies, avatars, memes, filters, photoshop, and AI have all continued to add more layers to this hyper-reality between manipulated images and how we choose to present ourselves.

    This constant barrage of cultural images shapes our beliefs and map of reality. It subconsciously puts ideas in our heads about what “happiness,” “success,” and “beauty” are supposed to look like.

    Once these social images are set in our minds, we naturally feel the desire to live up to them.

    Narcissists can often be the most sensitive to these social images because they fear their true self isn’t good enough, so they take society’s picture of “success” and try to mirror that image back to others.

    On the surface, the narcissist is a crowd-pleaser. They don’t trust their own judgement, so if society says this is what “happiness” or “success” looks like, then they will try to mimic it the best they can.

    Everyone has an audience now

    Technology, internet, social media, cameras, and recording devices have created a world where everyone feels like they have an audience all-the-time.

    Family photo albums and home videos were early stages in turning “private moments” into “public consumption,” but now we have people over-sharing every meal, date, and shopping spree on their social media feeds.

    Lasch correctly identifies this trend back in the 1960s-70s, including a mention of the popular show Candid Camera, which was one of the first “hidden camera” TV shows:

      “Modern life is so thoroughly mediated by electronic images that we cannot help responding to others as if their actions – and our own – were being recorded and simultaneously transmitted to an unseen audience or stored up for close scrutiny at some later time. ‘Smile you’re on candid camera!’ The intrusion into everyday life of this all-seeing eye no longer takes us by surprise or catches us with our defenses down. We need no reminder to smile, a smile is permanently graven on our features, and we already know from which of several angles it photographs to best advantage.”

    Life is recorded and shared now more than ever before. Today everyone has an audience and many people can’t help but see themselves as the “main character” of their own carefully edited movie.

    Unfortunately, we have this audience whether we like it or not. Every time we are out in public, someone may whip out their phones, capture an embarrassing moment, and upload it to the internet for millions to watch. You never know when you may go “viral” for the wrong reasons. The rise of online shaming, doxing, and harassment puts people in a perpetual state of high alert.

    That’s a stressful thought, but it perfectly represents this state of hyper-surveillance we are all in, where there’s always a potential audience and you feel constant pressure to showcase the “best version of yourself” in every waking moment, because you never know who is watching.

    Self-image and excessive self-monitoring

    In a world that rewards people solely based on the “image” they present, we naturally become more self-conscious of the image we are projecting to others.

    This leads to a state of endless self-monitoring and self-surveillance. We see ourselves through the eyes of others and try to fit their image of what we are supposed to be. No matter what we choose to do with our lives, the most pressing questions become, “How will this make me look?” or “What will people think of me?”

    While people naturally want to present themselves in the best way possible and form strong first impressions, an excessive degree of self-filtering and self-management can cause us to lose our sense of identity for the sake of superficial acceptance, internet fame, or corporate climbing.

    At worst, we increasingly depend on this these manufactured images to understand ourselves and reality:

      “The proliferation of recorded images undermines our sense of reality. As Susan Sontag observes in her study of photography, ‘Reality has come to seem more and more like what we are shown by cameras.’ We distrust our perceptions until the camera verifies them. Photographic images provide us with the proof of our existence, without which we would find it difficult even to reconstruct a personal history…

      Among the ‘many narcissistic uses’ that Sontag attributes to the camera, ‘’self-surveillance’ ranks among the most important, not only because it provides the technical means of ceaseless self-scrutiny but because it renders the sense of selfhood dependent on the consumption of images of the self, at the same time calling into question the reality of the external world.”

    If you didn’t share your meal on social media, did you really eat it? If you didn’t update your relationship status online, are you really dating someone?

    For many people, the internet world has become “more real” than the real world. People don’t go out and do adventurous things to live their lives, but to “create content” for their following.

    Who looks like their living their best life? Who is experiencing the most FOMO on the internet? In a narcissistic world, we start seeing our “digital self” in competition with everyone else – and the only thing that matters is that it looks like we are having a good time.

    More and more, we consume and understand ourselves through these technologies and images. We depend on photo galleries, reel clips, and social media posts to chronicle our life story and present the best version of ourselves to the world. If the internet didn’t exist, then neither would we.

    In the sci-fi movie The Final Cut people have their entire lives recorded through their eyes; then after they die, their happy memories are spliced together to give a “final edit” of the person’s life. Many of us are perpetually scrutinizing and editing this “final cut” of our own lives.

    The invention of new insecurities

    Everything is being observed, recorded, and measured, so we have more tools than ever to compare ourselves against others.

    This leads to the invention of all types of new insecurities. We are more aware of the ways we’re different from others, whether it’s our jobs, homes, relationships, health, appearances, or lifestyles. We can always find new ways we don’t “measure up” to the ideal.

    New technologies create new ways to compare. Before you know it, you have people in heated competitions over who can do the most steps on their Fitbit, or consume the least amount of calories in a week, or receives the most likes on their gym posts. The internet becomes a never-ending competition.

    Of course, measuring your progress can be a valuable tool for motivation and reaching goals. The problem is when we use these numbers to measure up against others vs. measure up against our past self. Always remember that everyone is on a completely different path.

    It’s well-known that social comparison is one of the ultimate traps when it comes to happiness and well-being. You’ll always be able to find someone who has it better than you in some area of life, and with the internet that’s usually an easy search.

    These endless comparisons touch on all aspects of life and heighten self-scrutiny and self-criticism. Finding and dwelling on even “minor differences” can spiral into a cycle of self-pity and self-hate. If we don’t remove ourselves from these comparisons, then we have no choice but to try to live up to them and beat ourselves up when we fail.

    Conclusion

    The goal of this article was to describe some of the key forces that are making society more narcissistic and self-centered.

    Different cultural beliefs and attitudes incentive certain personality traits over others. Our current world seems to continue moving down a more narcissistic path, especially with the increased focus on “image” (or “personal brand”) that we build for ourselves through the internet and social media.

    Most of the ideas in this article are based on the book The Culture of Narcissism which, despite being written over 40 years, is an insightful look into how these social forces continue to grow and evolve.

    Do you feel like our current society is getting more narcissistic? How have these social forces influenced the way you live?


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    Steven Handel

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  • Memorabilia auction for HBO’s ‘Succession’ takes in $627,000 as fans scoop up props, including Tom Ford sneakers at $2,125

    Memorabilia auction for HBO’s ‘Succession’ takes in $627,000 as fans scoop up props, including Tom Ford sneakers at $2,125

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    “Hey Buddha, nice Tom Fords,” says Roman Roy, pointing to Kendall’s sneakers in episode two, season four, of the HBO drama Succession. For a final price of $2,125, those Tom Fords could have been yours, spiritual teachings not included.

    The shoes were among 236 lots of memorabilia from the hit series auctioned by US Heritage Auctions on Saturday, fetching a total of $627,000. The priciest item: pink notecards scribbled with the eulogy that Roman (Kieran Culkin) left undelivered at his father’s funeral in the final season. The cards sold for $25,000.

    Succession, the story of three uber-rich siblings vying to take over their father’s media company, ended in May and is currently dominating the awards season. A week ago, the show scooped up four Golden Globes including best TV drama series.

    One of the most iconic items listed was the “ludicrously capacious” Burberry bag carried by an outsider to a family event, which sold for $18,750. The sight of which made Tom Wambsgans, played by Matthew Macfadyen, famously quip, “What’s even in there, huh? Flat shoes for the subway?”

    Collectors also vied for Lukas Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgard) vape device; Roman’s Walmart kid’s T-shirt, which sold for $1,875; and Kendall’s (Jeremy Strong) fictional Forbes cover issue.

    “We could not be more pleased with Saturday’s auction, and we’re sure those taking home a piece of the Roy legacy will feel the same way,” Heritage Screenbid Managing Director Jax Strobel said in a statement.

    The auction brought in “a lot of fan engagement, not just collectors, but real fans of the show that are participating and bidding,” Strobel said in a separate statement.

    The show led to Instagram accounts documenting the characters’ outfits and is credited with sparking the so-called “quiet luxury” fashion trend. A few lucky collectors now have their hands on Kendall’s Prada suit, sold for $7,500, or Shiv Roy’s (Sarah Snook) Max Mara power outfits.

    Subscribe to the new Fortune CEO Weekly Europe newsletter to get corner office insights on the biggest business stories in Europe. Sign up for free.

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    Irina Anghel, Alicia Diaz, Bloomberg

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  • Past, Present, and Future: Lessons from A Christmas Carol

    Past, Present, and Future: Lessons from A Christmas Carol

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    From ‘Bah, humbug!’ to redemption: Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ unfolds as more than just a festive fable, offering profound insights into self-discovery, kindness, and rewriting one’s life story.

    Charles Dickens’ timeless classic, “A Christmas Carol,” isn’t just a heartwarming tale of holiday spirit; it’s a profound exploration of human psychology and the power of personal transformation.

    Many of us have heard the story before through countless movie and TV adaptations, especially the infamous Scrooge, whose name has now become a common insult toward those who fight against the holiday spirit of joy, kindness, and charity.

    If you’re interested, you can read the original 1843 novella A Christmas Carol for free at Project Gutenberg. There are also many free audiobooks you can find and listen to.

    The story opens the day before Christmas with Ebenezer Scrooge at work, a strict businessman who is described as miserable, lonely, and greedy, without any close friends or companions. His nephew visits, wishes him a cheerily “Merry Christmas!” and invites him to spend dinner with his family, but Scrooge rudely brushes off the kind gesture and responds with his trademark phrase “Bah humbug!”

    Scrooge’s cynical and negative attitude is on full display in the opening chapter. “He carried his own low temperature always about with him.” In one instance where he is asked to donate money to help the poor, the wealthy Scrooge asks, “Aren’t there prisons? Aren’t there workhouses?” and then complains about the “surplus population.”

    It’s clear that Scrooge’s only concerns and core values in life are money and wealth. If it doesn’t help his profits or bottom line then he doesn’t care about it, especially the well-being of others which he claims is “none of his business.”

    The archetype of Scrooge is more relevant today than ever, especially in our corporatized world where rich elites isolate themselves from the rest of society while income inequality, crime, and economic woes continue to rise for the average person. Dickens observed early signs of increased materialism, narcissism, and greed almost two hundred years ago, but these unhealthy instincts have only grown rapidly since then. Social media has particularly warped people’s perceptions of wealth, status, and fame, which has in turn blinded us to many other important values in life.

    In many cases people like Scrooge live lonely and miserable lives until they die, clinging to their money as they are lowered into their graves. However the story of “A Christmas Carol” provides hope and inspiration that people can change their paths in life if they are given the necessary insight and wisdom.

    As the well-known tale goes, Scrooge is haunted by 3 benevolent spirits on consecutive nights (The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future), each teaching him an essential lesson on what really matters in life.

    This breakdown of past, present, and future creates a complete picture of one’s life. It’s a powerful framework to spark self-growth in any person. Once we reevaluate where we’ve been, where we are, and where we want to go, we have a much clearer idea on what the right path forward is.

    Keep in mind you don’t need to be religious to reap the benefits of this story. Its lessons are universal. While there are supernatural and spiritual elements, the wisdom is real and tangible.

    Introduction: The Ghost of Marley

    Before Scrooge is visited by the three spirits, he encounters the ghost of his former business partner Marley who had died seven years ago.

    The ghost of Marley is shown to be in a type of purgatory, aimlessly roaming the town, entangled in many heavy chains with cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses made out of steel, representing a lifetime of greed and selfishness:

      “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?”

      “Or would you know,” pursued the Ghost, “the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!”

    The ghost lets Scrooge know that his actions have far-reaching consequences too. He will suffer a similar fate if he doesn’t change his ways, but there’s still hope for redemption! He then leaves, announcing to Scrooge that he will soon be visited by three spirits that will guide him to a better path.

    Marley’s ghost serves as a warning, but also a sign of hope.

    The Ghosts of the Past: Forgiving Your Former Self

    Scrooge’s first encounter is with the “Ghost of Christmas Past,” who serves as a poignant reminder that we must confront our history to understand our present.

    The Ghost of Christmas Past transports Scrooge through various memories he had as a child and young adult, showing his psychological development over time.

    The first scene brings Scrooge back to his childhood town, where he is immediately rushed with feelings of nostalgia, cheerfulness, and joy. These positive memories depict a very different Scrooge from present, revealing his once optimistic and hopeful disposition. What happened to him since?

    The memories begin to grow darker. Multiple scenes show Scrooge spending Christmas alone as a young child, one time being left by himself at boarding school while his friends were celebrating the holidays with family, and another time sitting solitarily by the fire reading. Scrooge begins to shed tears and show sympathy toward his former, abandoned self.

    One of the most pivotal memories is when young adult Scrooge is speaking with his past lover. She notices a fundamental change in him that has become a dealbreaker in their relationship.

      “You fear the world too much,” she answered, gently…”I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one-by-one, until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you…”

    She sees that money has become Scrooge’s God which he puts above all other values, including love. The young woman continues…

      “Our contract is an old one. It was made when we were both poor and content to be so, until, in good season, we could improve our worldly fortune by our patient industry. You are changed. When it was made, you were another man.”

    Here we begin to see Scrooge’s hardening into the man he is in the present.

    His pursuit of wealth as his main source of comfort and satisfaction has damaged his relationship beyond repair. The lover sees no other option but for them to go their separate ways. The memory deeply pains Scrooge and he cries out for the ghost to show him no more.

    In truth we are all a product of our past, including our environment and the choices we make in life. Scrooge has clearly gone through hardships and taken wrong turns that have influenced where he finds himself today; but it’s not too late.

    The Ghost of Christmas Past forced Scrooge to remember events that he had long forgotten, neglected, or ignored because they were too painful to think about. While these old memories cannot be altered, you have to accept your past, be honest with yourself, and forgive yourself if you want to learn, grow, and change for the better.

    One of the main lessons here is that you need to take responsibility for the past before you can take power over the future. Scrooge is suffering, but he’s learning.

    Making the Most of the Present: Opportunities for Joy and Kindness

    Scrooge’s next encounter is with the “Ghost of Christmas Present,” who teaches Scrooge all the opportunities for good that cross his path every single day.

    The spirit is colorfully dressed with holly, mistletoe, berries, turkeys, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch surrounding him, a representation of the simple pleasures in life we can all learn to appreciate, savor, and be grateful for.

    First, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge for a walk outside in the town during Christmas Day, observing all the happiness, zest, and cheer overflowing through the streets. Everyone from all backgrounds is enjoying the festivities.

    When two people bump into each other and start a small fight, the ghost sprinkles a magical substance on them which instantly ends the argument and brings both back to a more joyful demeanor.

      “Once or twice when there were angry words between some dinner-carriers who had jostled each other, he shed a few drops of water on them, and their good humour was restored directly. For they said, it was a shame to quarrel upon Christmas Day. And so it was! God love it, so it was!”

    On Christmas, all fights are optional.

    The ghost then leads Scrooge to the home of Bob Cratchit, his current employee who he often treats poorly. Here Scrooge is introduced to Bob’s sick and disabled son Tiny Tim, who despite his illness is still excited to spend holiday time with the family. The poor family makes the most of the limited food and time they have together, including a fake “goose” dinner made out of apple sauce and mashed potatoes.

    Scrooge looks on in sympathy and wishes he could do more to help them. He asks the spirit about the current state of Tiny Tim’s health:

      “Spirit,” said Scrooge, with an interest he never felt before, “tell me if Tiny Tim will live.”

      “I see a vacant seat,” replied the Ghost, “in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.”

    In another scene, Scrooge is transported to the home of his sister’s family, the same party his nephew invited him to the previous day. Everyone in the household is enjoying the Christmas holiday while singing, dancing, and playing games. Several times Scrooge is brought up in conversation and everyone can only laugh and shrug at Scrooge’s relentless misery and gloom.

      “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is!” said Scrooge’s nephew. “He wouldn’t take it from me, but may he have it nonetheless. Uncle Scrooge!”

    Scrooge knows that these events and perceptions by others are part of his own doing.

    At every turn, Scrooge denies taking advantage of daily opportunities for happiness, including rejecting a group of children singing carols, responding rudely to acquaintances (“Bah humbug!”), and refusing to give to charities or help others when it’s fully in his power.

    These events are small, but they build up over time. Whenever Scrooge is given a choice between kindness vs. coldness, he chooses to be cold. After enough tiny social interactions, Scrooge has cemented his reputation around town as being the miserable miser.

    Can he still change it?

    The Shadows of the Future: Shaping Tomorrow Today

    The final spirit Scrooge meets is the “Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come” or the “Ghost of Christmas Future.” This ghost blends in with the darkness of the night, wearing a long black robe that covers their entire face and body, except for a boney hand it uses to silently point.

    The ghost begins by showing men on the streets joking and laughing about someone who has just passed away. At a pawn shop, robbers are selling stolen property they recently seized from the dead man’s estate, saying it’s for the best since the items will no longer serve any use to him. Scrooge, perplexed by the meaning of these scenes, intently watches on. Another man jokes:

      “It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral, for upon my life I don’t know of anybody to go to it.”

    Scene by scene, people show ambivalence toward the death. Scrooge grows frustrated and asks:

      “If there is any person in the town who feels emotion caused by this man’s death, show that person to me. Spirit, I beseech you!”

    Now they see a family that was in debt to the dead man, and they are feeling humble gratitude and quiet glee that they no longer have to worry themselves about such an evil creditor:

      “Yes. Soften it as they would, their hearts were lighter. The children’s faces, hushed and clustered round to hear what they so little understood, were brighter; and it was a happier house for this man’s death! The only emotion that the Ghost could show him, caused by the event, was one of pleasure.”

    Already having suspicions on who this man is, Scrooge begs the ghost to finally reveal where his future lies. The ghost travels to a graveyard and points at a tombstone that upon inspection reads: Ebenezer Scrooge

    Scrooge’s heart sinks. Next it’s shown that Tiny Tim hasn’t recovered from his illness and has also passed away, and at such a young age. Feeling completely hopeless at this point, Scrooge desperately begs:

      “Answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?”

      “Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead. But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!”

    As long as you’re alive and breathing, you have the power to change.

    When we think about death, it puts everything about life into perspective. Our time is finite in this world and we must make the most of it without being distracted by trivialities and lesser values. If you were laying on your deathbed right now, what would your main regrets be?

    When Scrooge reflects on his own death and what influence he’d leave on the world, it shakes him at his core – but also transforms him.

    The Power of Redemption: Transforming Scrooge’s Tale into Our Own

    After the visitations of the three ghosts, Scrooge wakes up a changed man ready to start his new life. He rises from bed excited, hopeful, and giddy that he’s still alive and still has a chance to change his current course.

    Upon finding out it’s still Christmas Day, he buys a prize turkey to send to the Cratchit family and begins giving generous amounts of money to children and the poor. He continues to walk around the town square, giving everyone warm greetings and a hearty “Merry Christmas!”

    When he sees Bob Cratchit the next day at work, he immediately gives him a raise in salary and promises to take care of Tiny Tim and assist the family in anyway possible. He becomes a lifelong friend to the family.

    This sudden change in Scrooge’s behavior confused the townsfolk at first, including many who made fun of this rapid transformation that was so uncharacteristic of Scrooge. But these words and gossip didn’t bother him:

      “Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter[…] His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.”

    At its core, “A Christmas Carol” is a story of redemption and heroism. Scrooge’s journey from miserly recluse to benevolent samaritan exemplifies the human capacity for change.

    By reflecting on his past, present, and future self, Scrooge discovered the best path forward – a process that applies to all forms of self-improvement.

    This story has insightful lessons that can apply to anyone’s life, no matter what situation they find themselves in. We can’t change the past chapters, but we can change how our story ends.

    Never forget you have the power to rewrite your life story at any time.


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    Steven Handel

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  • Less Phallic, More Spiritual: Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cobra”

    Less Phallic, More Spiritual: Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cobra”

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    While one might automatically assume that a song called “Cobra,” coming from Megan Thee Stallion, would be inherently innuendo-laden (it was, after all, in “WAP” that Cardi B declared, “I need a king cobra”), in the end, the rapper’s latest single is more spiritual than sexual. Because, lest anyone forget, the cobra is known just as much for being able to shed its skin as it is for its phallic nature. 

    So it is that the Douglas Bernardt-directed video begins with a circular close-up on Megan Thee Stallion’s mouth (with the entire rest of the screen in black) as she informs us, “Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.” Amen. Soon after, the camera zooms out to show Thee Stallion with snake eyes. Bernardt then cuts to a very birth-like scene (you know, think: emerging from ya ma’s vaginal canal) of Megan, practically in her birthday suit, crawling out of the snake’s mouth. After making her way out into the wilderness-y milieu, another snake awaits as the rock-oriented (by rap standards) beat drops and Thee Stallion commences her tale of woe and overcoming it with the lyrics, “Breakin’ down and I had the whole world watchin’/But the worst part is really who watched me/Every night I cried, I almost died/And nobody close tried to stop it/Long as everybody gettin’ paid, right?/Everything’ll be okay, right?”

    Surely, these are lines that Britney Spears can relate to. In addition to, “I’m winnin’, so nobody trippin’/Bet if I ever fall off, everybody go missin’.” Indeed, part of Spears’ big “fuck you” to the many who wronged her, particularly her family, is to shirk the music industry altogether at this point (with rumors still swirling that she’s due to “return” any day now). So if Megan ever wants to take the same approach, she knows who to look to for inspiration. At the same time, Spears has shown her cobra-like strength by shedding the trauma of her own past and still “daring” to interface with the public at all (mostly on Instagram). And, besides, this is the same girl who iconically draped a snake around her shoulders while shimmying to “I’m A Slave 4 U” at the 2001 VMAs. The snake metaphor has long been in her wheelhouse (much to Taylor Swift’s dismay).

    As for the moody guitar rhythm of “Cobra,” brought to listeners by Bankroll Got It, Shawn “Source” Jarrett and Derrick Milano, it reminds one of ANTI-era Rihanna—namely the sixth track on the album, “Woo” (co-produced by Hit-Boy, Kuk Harrell and, yes, Travis Scott). But the visuals themselves are pure Nicki Minaj (complete with a similar state of undress) in the video for 2018’s “Ganja Burn,” off the Queen album. And, like “Cobra,” “Ganja Burn” also offers a prologue, this one written (instead of spoken) as follows:

    Once upon a time, in a world unknown… there lived a queen. The generous queen. One day, her enemies all came together to hold a secret meeting and concocted a plan to take the generous queen down. They conspired with someone who was once very close to her & struck like a thief in the night. Though the queen could hear & see them in her mind, she decided to allow them an easy victory. She advised her army to do & say nothing. They slaughtered her village. What they perceived as death was a deep sleep. Once the generous queen had enough of her rest, she began to arise as she blew life back into her army. They all assembled, stronger & better than ever. They became more protective of the queen than ever before. She made a command. One command. ‘Kill everything in sight.’ With those words, her enemies were all put to death. The queen’s empire celebrated. They asked her, ‘Why did you allow us to be defeated?’ She responded, ‘So that generations for years & years to come would know, that even in the grave, he is lord.

    Megan Thee Stallion wants to convey a similar message to her own enemies, with especial focus on the man who caused so much of her suicide ideation for the past few years, Tory Lanez. It is he that The Stallion refers to when she provides the aforementioned rap, “Breakin’ down and I had the whole world watchin’/But the worst part is really who watched me/Every night I cried, I almost died.” And yet, despite understanding the preciousness of life after her near-death experience, Megan still can’t help feeling “very depressed.” We’re talking wrist-slittingly depressed.

    Addressing the conundrum of being rich and successful, yet still feeling empty inside (to bring up Britney again, she already explored that pain with 2000’s “Lucky”), Megan sings, “How can somebody so blessed wanna slit they wrist?/Shit, I’d probably bleed out some Pinot/When they find me, I’m in Valentino, ayy.” Needless to say, the expensive wines and the designer labels aren’t enough to fill an emotional and spiritual void. Which means, like Britney in 2003, maybe it’s time for Megan to seek Kabbalah counsel from Madonna, who once told her dancers that after their tour (2004’s Reinvention Tour, to be exact), she hoped they had become “more compassionate to other human beings and more responsible for your actions and your words, because without those two things your gifts and your talents mean nothing.”

    Perhaps Thee Stallion is starting to pick up on that message, even if still allowing herself to wallow in her melancholia just a little bit longer. During the chorus, she speaks to that sadness on a new level, channeling Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) in the vulvodynia episode of Sex and the City (“The Real Me”) when she says, “This pussy deprеssed, hmm/I’m about to stress him, yeah.” This is said while Megan is in a human-sized tank meant to mirror the kind that “pet” cobras and other snakes are usually kept in, all while strangers watch her and take her picture. Thus, she takes Taylor Swift’s “fishbowl” metaphor from the “Lover” video and remakes it with a snake tank. For that’s what it is to be famous: trapped inside a glass prison with everyone on the outside examining and dissecting your every move. Inside the tank, Megan peels off another layer of skin from her face. 

    Intercut scenes in black and white then start to show up, featuring Megan in her most Nicki-looking aesthetic yet. A smattering of heads contained inside a sea of snakes also serves to highlight Thee Stallion’s overarching message that she will always triumph over her enemies, hitting back when they least expect it with her own set of venomous fangs. Dancing in the middle of a spiral jetty during the mercurial guitar solo (at its most “80s rock” yet), Thee Stallion again gives off major “Ganja Burn” video vibes. Soon, a montage of images that we’ve seen throughout the video play at a rapid-fire pace before the camera finally pauses on Thee Stallion’s face looking back at us, her back arched and her breathing visible. It is in this moment that the viewer can understand the full weight of her focus on the cobra as a spirit animal. For it is she who posted an image relating to the cobra’s symbolic meaning that stated, “Cobras exemplify courage and self-reliance. They stand tall and fierce in the face of challenges, teaching one to tap into their inner strength and rely on oneself to conquer their threats. Emulating the cobra helps one be more confident in the person they are within.”

    How fitting, then, that “Cobra” should serve as the first single from Megan’s Hot Girl label. Part of a larger company called Hot Girl Productions LLC—and secured after years of legal battles with 1501 Certified Entertainment—it’s no coincidence that her first release since 2022’s Traumazine is a marked departure from the sound of previous music. Not just the melding of rap and rock (of the variety perhaps not seen since Run DMC and Aerosmith joined forces), but with the amplification of her deeply personal lyrics. The kind of lyrics that are generally not associated with being “rap topics” (because that can only extend to repetitive mentions of bands and booties, n’est-ce pas?).

    This includes exposing further vulnerability by alluding to her breakup with Pardison Fontaine, as she refers to his infidelity via the lines, “Pulled up, caught him cheatin’/Gettin’ his dick sucked in the same spot I’m sleepin’.” Here, again, it’s worth remarking that Minaj was the mainstream’s progenitor of these kinds of deeply personal lyrics in her rap music, with notable examples including The Pinkprint’s “I Lied,” “The Crying Game” and “Pills n Potions.” With “Cobra,” Megan Thee Stallion is amplifying the “vulnerability in rap” trend that Minaj started a decade ago and making it all her own.

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • Eazy-E is getting a Compton street named after him: Rapper ‘loved where he was from’

    Eazy-E is getting a Compton street named after him: Rapper ‘loved where he was from’

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    Soon, you can be cruising down Eazy Street in your ’64.

    Next week, Compton will unveil the newly renamed road dedicated to the late rap icon Eazy-E, who was born and raised in the city. The rapper, alongside fellow N.W.A. members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Arabian Prince, popularized Compton through their era-defining West Coast rap albums. Eazy-E, whose real name is Eric Lynn Wright, died in March 1995 at age 30, days after he announced he had been diagnosed with AIDS.

    In September, the Compton City Council unanimously voted to rename the 100 block of Auto Drive South, which runs off of Alameda Street and into the Gateway Towne Center shopping plaza, as “Eazy Street.” A block party will be held at the street on Nov. 22 to celebrate the moment with performances and appearances from the “Boyz-n-the-Hood” rapper’s children and his former collaborators.

    “My dad loved where he was from,” said Erica Wright, the rapper‘s daughter, in a statement. “Nothing could keep him from Compton. Nothing could keep his parents from Compton. This will forever be a highlight in my life.”

    Eazy-E’s son Eric Darnell Wright Jr., who rapped under the name Lil Eazy-E, added, “The street naming serves as a symbol of recognition and commemoration, ensuring that our father … has a legacy that will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”

    “It is a wonderful way for the city of Compton to honor his influence and the cultural significance that he brought to the community,” said Wright Jr., who will perform next week alongside DJ Yella.

    Compton native Eric Lynn Wright was a high school dropout who dealt drugs for a living before shooting to stardom in 1988 when his rap group, N.W.A., dropped the debut album “Straight Outta Compton” as well as Wright’s solo project, “Eazy-Duz-It.” Both albums were released under Wright’s label, Ruthless Records, which he co-founded with Jerry Heller. The releases would be considered the opening of a new era for hip-hop, a genre and industry that had primarily been defined and commercially dominated until that point by East Coast acts.

    With iconic music videos showing Wright and his group parading through the streets of Compton, they placed the Los Angeles County city in America’s pop-cultural consciousness.

    Alonzo Williams, one of Wright’s earliest collaborators, is known as the godfather of West Coast hip-hop and now heads the Compton Entertainment Chamber of Commerce. He spearheaded the naming of Eazy Street. Williams was the owner of Compton’s Eve After Dark nightclub, which helped launch acts including Dr. Dre and Eazy-E and was referenced in the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show.

    Wright went to Williams for advice when setting up Ruthless Records and introduced him to Heller, Williams recalled in an interview with The Times’ 404 correspondent Greg Ruben. And even after Wright found fame, Williams said, the rapper would often visit him at his garage, where N.W.A. recorded their first songs. The two would pass time cracking jokes.

    Wright was active in the community and often paid for and hosted events for residents, Williams said. He hoped having Eazy Street would be an extension of that legacy.

    “People come to Compton to see what Compton has to offer,” he said, “and there are no tourist attractions in Compton.” He also plans to start the city’s own walk of fame.

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    Jonah Valdez

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  • Irene Cara: ‘Fame’ and ‘Flashdance’ star dies at 63 – National | Globalnews.ca

    Irene Cara: ‘Fame’ and ‘Flashdance’ star dies at 63 – National | Globalnews.ca

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    Oscar, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy winning singer-actress Irene Cara, who starred and sang the title cut from the 1980 hit movie “Fame” and then belted out the era-defining hit “Flashdance … What a Feeling” from 1983’s “Flashdance,” has died. She was 63.

    Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was “currently unknown.” Moose also confirmed the death to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday. Cara died at her home in Florida. The exact day of her death was not disclosed.

    “Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose wrote. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”

    During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Breakdance,” “Out Here On My Own,” “Fame” and “Flashdance … What A Feeling,” which spent six weeks at No. 1. She was behind some of the most joyful, high-energy pop anthems of the early ’80s.

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    Tributes poured in on Saturday on social media, including from Deborah Cox, who called Cara an inspiration, and Holly Robinson Peete, who recalled seeing Cara perform: “The insane combination of talent and beauty was overwhelming to me. This hurts my heart so much.”

    She first came to prominence among the young actors playing performing arts high schoolers in Alan Parker’s “Fame,” with co-stars Debbie Allen, Paul McCrane and Anne Mear. Cara played Coco Hernandez, a striving dancer who endures all manner of deprivations, including a creepy nude photo shoot.

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    “How bright our spirits go shooting out into space, depends on how much we contributed to the earthly brilliance of this world. And I mean to be a major contributor!” she says in the movie.

    Cara sang on the soaring title song with the chorus _ “Remember my name/I’m gonna live forever/I’m gonna learn how to fly/I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry” _ which would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for best original song. She also sang on “Out Here on My Own,” “Hot Lunch Jam” and “I Sing the Body Electric.”

    Three years later, she and the songwriting team of “Flashdance” _ music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Cara _ was accepting the Oscar for best original song for “Flashdance … What a Feeling.”

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    The movie starred Jennifer Beals as a steel-town girl who dances in a bar at night and hopes to attend a prestigious dance conservatory. It included the hit song “Maniac,” featuring Beals’ character leaping, spinning, stomping her feet and the slow-burning theme song.

    “There aren’t enough words to express my love and my gratitude,” Cara told the Oscar crowd in her thanks. “And last but not least, a very special gentlemen who I guess started it all for me many years ago. To Alan Parker, wherever you may be tonight, I thank him.”

    The New York-born Cara began her career on Broadway, with small parts in short-lived shows, although a musical called “The Me Nobody Knows” ran over 300 performances. She toured in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” as Mary Magdalene in the mid-1990s and a tour of the musical ”Flashdance“ toured 2012-14 with her songs.

    She also created the all-female band Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel and put out a double CD with the single “How Can I Make You Luv Me.” Her movie credits include ”Sparkle” and “D.C. Cab.”

    ___

    Associated Press reporters Hillel Italie and Freida Frisaro contributed to this report.

    &copy 2022 The Canadian Press

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