Media Makes and Breaks Stars Essay

Total Length: 870 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 3

To say that Spears was exploited or hounded by the press is understatement. It is perhaps more accurate to say she was manufactured by the press and advertising industries. While Spears no doubt had problems, the extent and depth of her problems were compounded by the press and advertising media that capitalized on every possible invasion of privacy and whatever normalcy in life she attempted to pursue. Something that many of do, going to Starbucks for coffee each day, became an image of a caffeine addict who was putting her children at risk because she chose to drive herself to the coffee shop. Surrounded by hundreds of paparazzi whenever she ventured beyond the security of her gated home, perhaps she was jeopardizing the safety of her children who also became targets of incessant and seemingly deranged paparazzi. Never before has the media played such an integral role in destroying the life of a celebrity. The very public demise of singer Whitney Houston did not cause Houston to lose her children or, nor was she forced into the care a parent and her assets court ordered under the control of the parent. Today, Spears is rebuilding her public image and career in an effort to regain control of her life, her assets, and to get her children back whose custody was awarded to her ex-husband, whom Spears pays spousal support and child support to.

Spears established a media precedent, and we see a pattern emerging as the young singing star Miley Cyrus transitions from adolescent to a young woman.
The photos below, found online, show the transition of Cyrus from virginal, to sexual, to hedonistic.

Found online at http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&um=1&q=images+miley+cyrus+sexy&sa=N&start=18&ndsp=18

Like Spears, Cyrus began her career as a talented young, beautiful role model in the television character of Hannah Montana. A sensation with the "tweens," Cyrus has, like Spears, amassed a fortune in product lines and has a large fan base to sustain those products in combination with her singing talent. Like Spears, we see the paparazzi following the young woman's every move, and working relentlessly to sensationalize her personal life and follies. This is sending the worst kind of messages to the young star's fans: emerging womanhood is about risque and scanty dress, over indulgence, and promiscuity -- even though the young star's dating is probably normal for her age group. It also tells young people that they are entitled to not just the entertainment of the star's talent, but to.....

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"Media Makes And Breaks Stars" (2009, December 06) Retrieved May 16, 2024, from
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"Media Makes And Breaks Stars" 06 December 2009. Web.16 May. 2024. <
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"Media Makes And Breaks Stars", 06 December 2009, Accessed.16 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/media-makes-breaks-stars-16652