The Reluctant Icon: Public Figure, Public Outcry
The Washington Post had a great article discussing Michelle Obama’s reluctant ascent to fashion icon status. A good discussion of celebrity and public canonization, it talks about her ardent defenders and how they actually stifle any discussion of reality.
To me, public perception creates a new identity in addition to that which actually exists–the identity of the “celebrity” vs the person herself. But how does the celebrity mitigate these differences with the doting public? Does she play up their image, or realizing she can’t be what they want, does she shut herself off?
In her closing paragraph, the author of the piece, Robin Givhan, asks similar questions:
Being an icon is not for the faint of heart. How unnerving it must be to know that your actions have disappointed some stranger. How odd to have anonymous citizens rising up in your defense over something that has caused you no upset. And even more frustrating: How do you show your gratitude or tell your defenders to back off?
Sad that we have a whole industry devoted to telling us how celebrities are just like us. By so doing, they actually perpetuate the public myth.
