Janet CollinsIn Search of Fame and Fortune
April 19th 2010 04:26
Can the kids of today think past anything other than being a celebrity? It seems that fame and the fortune that goes with it is foremost in most children’s minds today. Forget school books and the thought that any kid these days would even contemplate higher education. Being a famous person is what they want and all the perks and the money that goes with it.
In UK’s The Guardian this weekend, journalist Emma Brockes asks why every kid these days wants to be famous and rich. Brockes recounts a survey in Britain last year where the top three career aspirations for five-to 11-year-olds in Britain were “sports star, pop star and actor” something vastly different she says to 25 year ago when the top career aspirations were teacher, banker and doctor. I think if the same survey was done here in Australia, the results would be very much the same.
Things have changed in 25 years. We all have to concede that but once a doctor, accountant, lawyer or many other university professions would have been what most young people may have aspired to, especially so in the last 25 years where university education has been more possible to so many more people. Generations before that couldn’t even hope for that.
To give the kids of today credit, I know I would have entertained the idea of being a Shirley Temple or a Paddy Duke in my younger years too. It was probably more of a fantasy than a reality. The thing is for the young people today it is more of a reality than a fantasy. That is because they see so many people do actually become overnight successes. One day someone is a waiter, a shop assistant or a receptionist, and the next - they are host of a television show of their own.
Reality television has certainly played a big part in the new ambitions of a generation that yearns for overnight success. So too has social networking and the internet given a generation a belief that success can be just around the corner. Anyone these days can upload pictures and videos of themselves and actually believe that someone will “discover’ them. No need is there anymore for some third party endorsement such as an agent or a publisher. You can do it all yourself.
And then there is reality television. Only last year Julie Goodwin won the Master Chef competition on Australian TV and her first cookbook is about to be released. Runner up, Poh Ling Yeow, now has her own television series, Poh’s Kitchen on ABC TV. Who would have thought even ten years ago that a talent for cooking could have landed someone their own TV show?
So it is easy to see that no-one is really that interested in “normal” jobs anymore. That is, if they can get a job that puts them on screen and gives them a lot of perks to go with it. Who can blame them? It beats sitting in an office five days a week or working in a shop ridiculous hours and dying of boredom. As for becoming a lawyer, well that seems all too hard and boring.
There’s another thing too that is really interesting. In the last 20 or 25 years stars’ wealth has continually been reported. This was once something that once was a private thing: personal wealth that is. Even if we knew stars earned a hell of a lot of money for one movie alone, their private wealth at one time was kept really under wraps.
No more. We constantly are told of the wealth accumulated by these stars and what they are worth. Only recently, the mags were all talking about the reported $300million that both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had amassed over the years.
This alone would drive any youngster or teenager away from slugging it out in any real profession. The thought of studying for years on end only to start out on some meager salary like $30,000 or $40,000, that could go on for some years while they “learnt the ropes”, would be enough to turn any adolescent away from education.
When I was growing up, achieving stardom or fame or even having a job that was remotely interesting in these fields seemed pretty remote unless you were a terrific dancer, a brilliant actor or had the looks that could turn you into a supermodel. Oh, and you could think of being a rock star if you had the talent and the drive.
In reality, most people even if they aspired to these professions, held down pretty boring jobs in between jobs and unless you were really lucky, these gigs were more for fun than money-making.
Now it seems everything is possible but are we giving them all false hopes? Are we setting all of a young star stuck generation up for a hell of a disappointment in the end?
There is definitely no harm in anyone having a go at something that may eventuate in fame, fortune or even just one lucky break. The reality is though that very few will achieve it. Think of all the contestants on Master Chef who would have dreamed of being in the position Poh is today. The reality is that while some will find their dreams, there are many more who will not and that means serious disappointment for many.
It is not that anyone can’t make it to celebrity status. It is just that very few will and while it may be a very entertaining idea to most of our younger ones who can’t bear the thought of having a day job, the reality is that most of them will have to have one whether they want to or not.
Call me a killjoy if you will but even some of our most successful actors and singers have had to find other ways of making a living in between. Even some of our most successful ones, have had to resort to other professions in between gigs or when their time has run out.
There’s no harm in anyone dreaming or aiming for what they want but it does anyone good to have a regular reality check. Everyone won’t be a star or anywhere near it. Most people have to “work” - dare I say that dirty word – for what they want in life. So, it might be a good idea to brace these kids for what’s really ahead of them because stardom will grace very few.
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Comment by Journeywoman
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I Dream of Hollywood
Fashion Peach
I'm glad you admitted that you thought it would be cool to be famous when you were young, Janet, because I'm pretty sure we all did! My friends and I used to pretend we were pop stars and actresses all the time when we were little, but kids just love to make believe. We shed those aspirations as we grew up, went to University, and became teachers, medical practitioners, writers and business people.
It's just a sign of the times, and not a particularly shocking one at that. By the time they grow up they'll know that there are more important things in this world than fame and fortune. No reality check needed when they're still just kids.
Comment by Janet Collins
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The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
Maybe they should try to bring back games for kids like "doctors and nurses"