The commodification of the Female Celebrity

The perceptions of female celebrities as disposable commodities legitimize viewing them as frivolous and superficial, rather than as creators or serious professionals. The commodification of women’s celebrity status is a manifestation of the capitalist society we live in. Like any other commodity, stars too come with an expiration date stamped on them and are forced to continually reinvent themselves to remain relevant and outlive this date and keep their audience. In the digital age of instant gratification, relentlessly rebranding and repackaging the celebrity identity is all the more critical as the market becomes brutally competitive and over-saturated. When adequate female representation and participation remain aspirational, women in entertainment are the ones allocated with the shortest shelf life.

Women in the show business are in a constant struggle to not let their age, looks, and personal life overshadow their craft. Women celebrities are forced to do this due to the status quo constructed and perpetuated by the societal and cultural context that regards the female existence as an object for male consumption. The entertainment industry primarily caters to the straight male audience and always strives to replace the females on stage with younger, fresher, and more ‘beautiful’ versions. Despite gradual changes, the exclusion of older women from popular culture and mainstream media in our own country is largely prevalent. The biggest superstars of the Indian film industry, the Khans, are men in their 50s who have been working since their 20s. In contrast, the female leads cast opposite them have been replaced over and over again by at least four different generations of women actors.

Taylor Swift, an American singer-songwriter, is one of the most influential figures in the entertainment industry and was named Artist of the Decade and Woman of the Decade in 2019. In her recent Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, one of the issues Swift spoke about was the constant pressure of reinventing herself as a woman in the limelight. She addressed the fact that female celebrities are compelled to “remake themselves 20 times more than the male artist” to keep themselves employed and relevant. Swift admitted that despite being one of the biggest pop stars in the world, she is continually looking for new sides of herself to construct so she can live out a narrative that people will find exciting and engaging, but not crazy enough to make them feel uncomfortable. With her 30th birthday approaching, Taylor Swift narrates a harsh truth about the industry she has now been a part of for a decade and a half, "We do exist in this society where women in entertainment are discarded in an elephant graveyard by the time they're 35. As I'm reaching 30, I'm like, I want to work really hard while society is still tolerating me being successful," she spoke candidly.

Celebrity culture is here to stay and the role that famous people play in defining media and our lives is undeniably influential. However, in a changing world where more and more people find themselves experiencing stardom as YouTube sensations and social media influencers, perhaps there is a need to critically analyze the commodification of female celebrities and how their journeys are different from the journeys of their male counterparts. The collective consciousness of generations is shaped by the media that surrounds them and how they interact with it. There needs to be a more gender-conscious and analytical outlook towards the media that defines our culture and values as a society from the perspective of both content creators and consumers.

References

Janardhan, S. (2017, November 28). Exploring The Shelf-Life Of Bollywood Actresses And Ageing. Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://feminisminindia.com/2017/11/29/shelf-life-ageing-bollywood-actresses/

Singh, P., & Jha, L. (2015, September 11). The Bollywood gender age gap. Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/7Q2MuNROlczfo31eEHEVAM/The-Bollywood-gender-age-gap.html

Wilson, L. (Director). (2020, January 31). Miss Americana [Video file]. Retrieved August 14, 2020, from https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81028336