BeenThereDoneThat

* Quote from an interview with Curtis Sittenfeld in Red Magazine, published in the UK.

Some of us love celebrity culture, some of us hate it; where do you sit? Do you agree with the author or could we take it one step further and claim it‘s a two-way mirror?

Megabooks, BarbaraBB

squirrelbrain @Debinhawaii @Deblovestoread @DGRachel @eraderneely @ErikasMindfulShelf @GatheringBooks @Gissy @hes7 @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @IndoorDame 1y

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squirrelbrain
@TheBookHippie @TheKidUpstairs @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @E.Bolhafner @sbolhafner @JoyBlue 1y

squirrelbrain @thebookhippie 1y

Bookwormjillk I don‘t pay a lot of attention any more. I used to when I was in my teens/20s. 1y

GatheringBooks Not really sure about the “mirror to our lives” as I don‘t really follow “celebrity culture” or news for that matter all that much, finding it to be of little interest to me. That being said, I still find the entire premise of the book (The Night Owls patterned after SNL) to be riveting and compelling. I do recognize passion and enthusiasm in one‘s work and the main character clearly has all that. 1y

SamAnne I do not follow celebrity culture unless they are musicians or artists I love. The occasional interesting smart actor. But in general, no they do not serve any window into my own life. 1y

merelybookish Gosh, I'm going to sound so negative and repetitive in all my comments. ?? But I found it kind of dated. Yes celebrities play out powerful narratives in our culture (about love, money, power). And that comment about celebrity culture being a mirror feels like an insightful observation from 2006 when celebrity blogs exploded and celebrities "they're just like us" became a thing. (Sorry, I really didn't like this book.) 1y

AmyG I think younger people (more than older) follow celebrity culture. Look at the Kardashians, for example,and the effect they have had on our culture. Young women want to look like them, dress like them. 1y

squirrelbrain It‘s fine that you didn‘t like the book @merelybookish - it makes for more nuanced discussions anyhow! Do you think ‘celebrity culture‘ has got worse with the rise of social media? I don‘t really do any social media, but I do flick through those weekly ‘celebrity‘ magazines. It‘s my guilty pleasure.(I call the day they‘re all published ‘Trash Tuesday!‘ 🤣 (in my defence I don‘t actually buy them, I read them digitally, as if that makes it OK!😊) 1y

Leniverse I don't even know what a celebrity is these days. I follow some people whom I guess have celebrity status, like Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, but I get my info about them from them and not from gossip or paparazzi. The kids only care about YouTubers. I really understand the mirror comment. What's being mirrored? 1y

merelybookish @squirrelbrain No judgement! I used to read a lot of celebrity mags & blogs. But not so much in the last few years. My understanding is that social media made celebrities more accessible and created more of the impression that we can "know" celebrities. I think it's called a para-social relationship, where you think you have a relationship with someone but it's one-sided. 1y

BarbaraBB @merelybookish I recognize what you say about the moment we realized “they are just like us” with the arrival of social media. I do like it at times though. Regarding the artists I admire like @SamAnne says but also some juice channels at times. Most is very uninteresting though. 1y

jlhammar Hmmm, not sure about the whole “mirror to our lives thing.“ I'm not really interested in celebrity culture. I agree @merelybookish , so much in this book felt tired/dated to me. 1y

batsy I disagree that it holds a mirror to our lives, as ordinary people's lives are materially different by the sheer fact that most of us are not rich. Sorry to get all Marxist about it. It's a weird comment to make as an adult. Maybe Sittenfeld has earned enough from her writing where it seems celeb life holds a mirror. I think celebs are fun to read about at times, when I'm in the mood, just like I enjoy reading about aliens and UFO sightings 😁 1y

Meshell1313 Social media has made celebrity culture almost unavoidable! I feel like I know more than I‘d like to because it‘s everywhere and hard to ignore! 🤣 1y

batsy Agreed @merelybookish @jlhammar ! 1y

JenReadsAlot I'm not on social media so avoid a lot of that! 1y

CatLass007 @batsy I completely agree. And I don‘t find your views Marxist. I think when I was in elementary school and junior high I was all about Donny Osmond, Bobby Sherman, and David Cassidy. But it‘s been a while since I‘ve actually followed any celebrity news. In fact, I do my best to avoid it. If an actor I like is in a TV show or movie, I may be interested. If an author I like writes a new book, I am interested. (cont)⬇️ 1y

CatLass007 But as a general rule, I tend to avoid celebrity gossip. 1y

Megabooks I can see what you‘re saying @merelybookish . I don‘t follow much of celebrity culture anymore. It did seem more zeitgeisty then, and I was in my 20s - prime time for being interested. Like @batsy I don‘t find much of their lives relatable. Most of the “influencers” I follow are plus size fashion bloggers that have a similar body type to me just for ideas of what to wear. Otherwise my instagram has a lot of dogs and friends. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 1y

Megabooks Plus I feel like there is more competition for attention now. You‘ve got traditional celebrities (actors, musicians), then you‘ve got reality tv stars, then you‘ve got online influencers. Which is she talking about? I‘m guessing traditional, but I see more of myself in reels that the algorithm shows me of people making quick meals. If they have regularly 600k views on their recipes, does that make them a celebrity? 1y

Suet624 @batsy I was going to go Marxist with my comment, but I see you have that covered. :) 1y

Suet624 I've never watched the Kardashians & I don't look at celebrity mags. I pretty much only pay attention to political action, attempted coup attempts and arrests resulting, and Dave Grohl. I do, however, understand the concept of 'why would someone so good looking be remotely interested in me even though I'm smart and caring.' Don't know if that has anything to do with celebrity culture, but it's always been true for me, so maybe that's the mirror. 1y

Soubhiville Although I wouldn‘t consider myself interested in celebrity culture, I do read memoirs by musicians and actors I admire. So I‘m not sure? I agree with others above that thinking a lot about celebrities and their lives seems more important and riveting when you‘re younger. I was kind of obsessed with bands and young actors as a teen, but don‘t care much anymore. 1y

Deblovestoread @CatLass007 You made me think of Tiger Beat and mentioned all my first celebrity crushes….swoon! The older I get the less I care about celebrity but will still read a memoir of someone I‘m interested in. I‘m sure my day to day life is world‘s a part from theirs. 1y

peaKnit I do not enjoy celebrity stuff or the Royals but I do like a good music or relatable hardscrabble celebrity memoir. My 23 yo daughter is up on celebrity gossip and I think it creates a chasm between us as it‘s hard to care about what she is talking about sometimes and I feel bad about it but not bad enough to watch her versions of Jersey Shore🫣 1y

Larkken I also found much of this book to retread old ground. Hadn‘t thought of the old “celebs are just like us” movement being another aspect of it @merelybookish @jlhammar ! 1y

CatLass007 @Deblovestoread Tiger Beat! When I was in the Fifth Grade I wrote a letter to Benny DeFranco, and it was published. When I was in Twelfth Grade a new member of the Select Chorus asked me if I was the Jane Bond from our town who got her letter printed in Tiger Beat. As I recall, she was two years younger than I was. She told me how envious she was when she saw it all those years ago. It‘s a small world. And don‘t forget 16 Magazine! 1y

Larkken No celeb culture for me. I‘ll follow creatives I like to see what they‘re working on but generally I‘m hopeless. For actors, I generally only know them by characters I like and it can drive people crazy that I don‘t know the name of the actor - I just doubt that I could know the famous people let alone like them so it seems fake and thankless 🙊 apparently I am not this books target audience! 1y

Laughterhp I follow some celebrities online(mostly my favorite actors), but I‘m not big into celeb culture. I don‘t know anything going on in celebs lives and I‘m okay with that. I only know when my husband tells me something for the most part. 1y

willaful I've never had any interest in it. That didn't stop me from enjoying the book, but I probably would've been less interested if the celeb was an “influencer“ or generally famous for being famous rather than a musician. Kind of hate the recent trend of fiction about such celebs. 1y

Cinfhen The minute I moved overseas I COMPLETELY lost track of all things celebrity- I literally have no idea who‘s in/ who‘s out - what‘s hot/ what‘s not and trust me…when I was living in the states I was CONSUMED! I think the culture of wanting to “be like” /dress like celebrities is much stronger in the states. I used to read PEOPLE and US WEEKLY like they were my bibles every week but I haven‘t picked up a copy in 9 years! I do like celebrity memoirs 1y

Kimberlone Yes and no…if you‘re on any type of social media it‘s pretty hard to avoid being fed celebrity news via algorithm. I‘d say I find celebrities a lot less interesting now that everyone is a brand and shares so much more about themselves. The pre2000s celebrity eras are so much more interesting to me. I recently watched a documentary on HBO about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward called The Last Movie Stars, which was fascinating! 1y

Ruthiella Agree with everyone here that celebrities are NOT a mirror for regular folk. I used to follow celebrity culture avidly (and I read far fewer books!😂) but with the rise of reality tv, I lost interest. 1y

DebinHawaii I get headlines from People magazine in my in-box & on my phone news app but I‘m not into celebrity gossip & culture like I used to be & half the time when a name pops up anymore, I have no idea who they are as who is considered a celebrity has completely changed with social media. I agree with @Kimberlone that pre2000s celebrities were far more interesting. I do follow some I am interested in on Instagram (mainly chefs + a few other favorites ⬇️ 1y

DebinHawaii …into books & music) & I like a good memoir. But I don‘t see them as a mirror to my life. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 1y

BookNAround My husband jokes that I live in a bubble or a pop culture desert because I rarely know who any celebrities are and have never been interested in all of that. That said, authors are my celebrities and even with them, I don‘t really follow them or have any clue about their lives. 1y

peaKnit @BookNAround a pop culture dessert sounds like a great destination vacation! Or even a bubble. ☺️ 1y

LaraReads @Suet624 really good points! @Deblovestoread @CatLass007 YES! Tiger Beat I had pics plastered all over my walls of celebs from that! But yeah, as a “grown up” I could mostly not care less about celeb gossip. I leave that to my husband! Lol. Now book reviewers, YouTubers, authors, etc…I‘m in! (edited) 1y

ImperfectCJ @Cinfhen This is one of the things that makes me wonder if I belong outside the US. I have zero---or maybe even less---interest in celebrities. It's weird living in Southern California because Hollywood news feels almost like local news, and I'm not sure if I could care less than I do. I really enjoyed this book, though, in spite of my allergy to v 1y

ImperfectCJ ... celebrities. (Thumb slipped and hit send too soon) 1y

Hooked_on_books I think celebrities are “mirrors” only in the sense that they‘ve always driven trends. Everyone wanted Farrah hair or the Rachel cut back in those days. And I agree with others—the fascination with celebrities is often an affliction of the young. I was far more interested in celebrities in my youth than I am now (now I really don‘t care). And even when young I once sat three feet away from Bob Hope and didn‘t realize who he was. 🤦🏼‍♀️ 1y

CBee Omg so I used to be obsessed with celebrity culture - I would have people ask me questions like “who did ____ marry” or “who is dating ___.” I read People like it was going out of style 😂😂 I can totally relate with Curtis on this, but admit I‘m not as obsessed now 😅 1y

CBee @Hooked_on_books I never liked the Rachel hair 🫣😂 1y

Cinfhen @ImperfectCJ hahaha #BeenThereDoneThat yeah, I don‘t know if it‘s my age or the culture around me but I literally have ZERO interest in celebrities or their cousins…. reality TV “stars”😜i dont know anyone here who gives a F@ck whereas when I was living in the states we used to discuss in depth Jen, Brad & Angelina like they were our friends 🙄 But based on all the comments I think Littens don‘t give a F@ck either 😂 1y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books That is so funny that you mention the Rachel hair. When I see someone with such hair I always know she‘s American and I never thought they copied Rachel but that it was a US trend that Rachel followed too! 1y

BarbaraBB @batsy Totally agree Suba, that‘s not Marxist 😀 They are no mirror, or maybe a distorting one (the Kardashians for example) 😂 1y

batsy @BarbaraBB Yeah, a distorted mirror is spot on! 😆 1y

squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB - perfect analogy; a distorted mirror! 👏 1y

Hooked_on_books @BarbaraBB Her hair was definitely the start of that trend! It was cute on her, but I always thought Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) had much nicer hair. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 1y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I never realized that! And I agree about Phoebe‘s hair! 1y

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