Summary Of Celebrating Inequality By George Packer
1154 Words5 Pages
From Greek mythology to 21st century TV shows, the idea of what a hero is been distorted. The antagonist was always condemned for his wrong doings and mishaps, while the protagonist was always glorified and rooted for during his journey: meanwhile, the audience was always eager to find out what was going to happen next. The “hero’s journey” was the traditional, saccharine, and orthodox concept of the good and humble person embarking on a new adventure, with an objective that s/he must reach; in overcoming obstacles along the way, the hero should develop. Surprisingly, that all changed when we, as the audience, began to empathize with the “bad” guy during his journey. Those bad guys are not only in TV shows but are also in reality represented…show more content… George Packer, author of “Celebrating Inequality,” uses a disappointed and bitter tone when he states, “Our age is lousy with celebrities” (Packer 475). He highlights how today’s society is mesmerized and continues to make it a point to praise celebrities. Our generation fails to see the bigger picture of how certain celebrities have come to be. Packer claims there is a quality of self-invention to their rise when he asserts, “The person evolves into a persona, then a brand, then an empire with modification that transgresses boundaries by substituting celebrity for institutions” (475). In an attempt to convince readers, Packer reinforces how celebrities aren’t just people who are famous but also are brands that we tend to idolize. Luckily for them, celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jay-Z “worked” their way up to the life they live in now. Packer exposes these celebrities obliquely stating that they have done and continue to do nothing substantial for the amount of attention and celebration they receive. Kim Kardashian made an empire for herself, but she only got there through a sex tape. Today, she is making millions of dollars, shooting her eleventh season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and has over 51 million followers on Instagram. Packer compares todays generation with the Roosevelt Republic era in which people were fascinated by celebrities but did not make them essential. He adds, “… their successes and screw-ups were a sideshow, not the main event” (475). The obsession with celebrities appears to be threatening. We are losing sight of what and whom we should be directing our focus and adoration onto. Our heroes are people who leave us behind and tend to forget. Packer explains how we are putting celebrities on a pedestal which will be detrimental when he states, “The celebrity monuments of our age have grown so huge that they dwarf the aspirations of ordinary people