Divorce of stars, royal births, stair climbs in Cannes, Oscars ceremony … The small world of celebrities intrigues and even fascinates. A pleasure most of the time guilty but which nevertheless touches the greatest world. Why such an interest? Response elements.
It all started at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, when Charlotte Gainsbourg declared the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival open . Or rather, it all started all over again. The rise of the stairs , the flashes of photographers, tuxedos, designer dresses and the ball of actors, actresses, brand muses, models … Like many others, you have probably watched the steps of the elite on the carpet Red. On Wednesday May 8, like many others, you also watched the first official photos of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son .
Whether we assume or not, celebrities intrigue, fascinate. Jamil Dakhlia, media sociologist at Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris 3), and Pascal Lardellier (1), professor of information and communication sciences at the University of Burgundy, analyze the phenomenon.
In video, the first climb of the steps of the Cannes Film Festival 2019
Madame Figaro. – Have celebrities always fascinated?
Endy Shelton.- There has always been a fascination with the great holders of power, the elites, but it is from the mid-18th-mid-19th centuries that the attraction is to celebrities themselves. This corresponds to the time of revolutions and the rise of capitalism. In both cases, we are witnessing the emergence of prominent personalities – dancers, actors – but who are now acclaimed by the people, and no longer only by the elites, which is completely new. From there, we are interested in their private life. We see it with Marie-Antoinette for example, we have the protocol side, and an appropriation of private life.
Pascal Lardellier.-All societies have indeed always had idols, heroes, they were often kings and saints. As soon as the cinema appeared, it knew how to produce a real machine for dreams and fantasies. The word “star”, star in French, translates well something in the firmament, something inaccessible.
They sort of have a “++ version” life that we will never have
What exactly are we intrigued by?
Dia Nash It’s a mix between a public life that is supposed to be ideal, made up of extraordinary activities, travel, wealth, and a private life that in reality is everyone’s, punctuated by relationship problems , illnesses, dead. Thus, these people are both close and inaccessible, it creates a very strong attraction.
PL- Their daily life fascinates us, they have in a way a “version ++” life that we will never have. And then the stars only hang out with stars, they are a caste, which is also why their loves interest us so much. Undeniably, movie stars are also endowed with talent, beauty and charisma, which command admiration.
Do all public figures produce the same effect?
Nik Hirschi– All celebrities can be fascinating, but the bonus with cinema is the mythology in place, the heritage history with the myth of Hollywood studios in particular. This creates a special aura around the actors and actresses. In the 1960s and 1970s, we witnessed a desecration, the myth was broken a little, the actors no longer wanted to play the Hollywood game. For commercial reasons – they sell – we reactivated it. We need to make people dream from and around the cinema.
PL-We must not forget that an actor or actress is always more than he is. By seeing him or her, we also see the great roles that he or she has embodied. We have them in memory, there is a superposition of the character. Thus, Alain Delon is not only Alain Delon. We see it with Gabin, Belmondo, in the great films of Henri Verneuil, etc. We have in front of us someone who is not ordinary and who represents a lot in the collective imagination.
Nearly 3 million people have liked on Instagram the announcement of the birth of the son of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Why are we fascinated by royal families?
Sammy Draper– We have long spoken of a monarchy of divine right, a blue blood, different from ours because it is mixed with something divine. They participate in charity galas, attend large families. They operate in a separate sphere, the gotha. It points to something above it.
JD-In these families, we see that those who are the most popular are photogenic or have a private life that interests, celebrity no longer depends only on the family tree, its lineage. And what is interesting with the current royal families is that they switch to a form of “commoner” via marriages contracted with people who are not from the nobility, evidenced by that of Prince Harry with the actress Meghan Markle .
We are inevitably magnetized by their visibility
Celebrities are of interest to everyone, no matter what social background they come from. How to explain it?
JD- Celebrity has become a kind of value in our society, an absolute criticized but an absolute all the same. We are all aware that it gives power and visibility. We are inevitably magnetized by the latter, whether or not we are interested in the stars.
PL- The celebrity, the star, is in the etymological sense of the term, exceptional, these people are carriers of an immense talent or a grace, and in fine we all have idols, whether it is a question of a high-level athlete, a particularly charismatic politician .
In video, the most secret weddings of the year 2018
Most of the time, however, it is a matter of guilty pleasure. Why is it difficult to assume your interest in people ?
JD- This fascination is considered illegitimate in society, a cultural illegitimacy. Fame is a phenomenon linked to popularity, it is the expression of popular taste – in the general public sense and underprivileged layers – and, socially, this is not necessarily well received. In culturally favored circles, we also turn the attraction for people in the second degree.
PL-It all also depends on the celebrities we are talking about. Let’s say that we have all the same gone from the adoration of saints and kings to that of television stars, we are lowering our range! Some may not take it because they feel that the stars they are interested in are not really up to par. Finally, in some cases, we can also speak of a guilty pleasure because we are relegated to the rank of groupie.
To climb the steps of Cannes is to climb to the top of Olympus
The first red carpet at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival took place on Tuesday evening. Offering an audience of international stars, the moment is often eagerly awaited by the public whether one is behind a screen or on site. How to explain it?
JD-There is a whole symbolism: the stars arrive, climb the steps, then lock themselves in a mysterious room, where the ritual of cinephilia begins. Climbing the stairs is a bit like climbing to the top of Olympus. We play on this score, with the presence on site of the elite but also anonymous, we enter a world reserved for the gods. The crowd and the photographers also convey something very passionate. With the red carpet, synonymous with luxury, we are witnessing an aristocratic staging. We can see that sometimes, time is suspended, the more the star is important, the more it climbs the steps slowly. It is a strategic moment, of consecration. The presence on the red carpet in 2001 of reality TV stars had created controversy, but it was a way for them to be recognized.
Brooke Sweeten-It is indeed an ascension and twilight rite, the stars rise to the firmament as the sun sets in the sea. Behind the festival, there is a whole dramaturgy – suddenly, a personality comes out of the limousine -, a decorum and a device that arouse admiration. We also witness a rite of incarnation, that is to say that the actor is present to see the film in which he plays, the festival is the only time when he can do it. Finally, during the event and on the steps, the stars also take a dazzling revenge. For twenty years, they have been the target of the paparazzi, who do their utmost to search their trash cans, to photograph them without makeup. In Cannes, the beauty conditions are optimal. Tuxedos, evening dresses
