Discuss:
Below are some statements related to the article "Fleeting Fame". Discuss the statements in a group or with a partner. Do you agree or disagree with what is being said?
- "It is nonsense that it is easier for people to become famous today. If you are in a viral video you are not really famous, and most people who post on social media such as Tik Tok, YouTube and Instagram get watched by their friends and families at best". Bob Margate.
- "Being in a reality show is not really a way to become famous. People who were famous already can become more popular after appearing on a show, but if you are completely unknown going on a reality show won't make you famous. People will just recognise you when you are on TV, and then forget you". Alice K. Jones.
- "I think TV, cinema and radio will all die out in a few years time. I never use it. I watch stuff on the internet, I listen to podcasts, watch clips on YouTube, read my news on websites. Sure I stream a series or watch a film sometimes, but really not that much. Having a TV, a radio set, going out to a big, cold, uncomfortable cinema, all that is on the way out." Henry James Moore.
- "I have 5000 followers now, so I post stuff every day. I feel I owe it to them. Sometimes my friends and family get mad at me because I film stuff we do and post it, but I mean, who doesn't want to be famous? Why make a fuss? If they want to be in my life they have to accept that I share that life with the world." Sebastian Cromer.
Analyse:
In the box below there are several quotes about fame. Study all the quotes, then pick five of them and try to explain what is meant by each one.
Work with a partner. Write down shared answers.
- The highest form of vanity is love of fame. George Santayana.
- It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely. Albert Einstein.
- Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. Henry David Thoreau.
- Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame. Arthur Schopenhauer.
- Fame is proof that people are gullible. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
- Let the dead have the immortality of fame, but the living the immortality of love. Rabindranath Tagore.
- Worldly fame is but a breath of wind that blows now this way, and now that, and changes name as it changes direction. Dante Alighieri.
- Andy Warhol said we all get our 15 minutes of fame. I've already had an hour and a half. I mean, I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse. Barack Obama.
Research:
The article "Fleeting Fame" focuses on positive ways to become famous. Sometimes people do extreme and harmful things to gain fame.
- Find examples of people who have broken the law in order to achieve fame and write down the facts about what they did and why they did it.
- Present your findings to a group.
- Discuss why people can become so obsessed with becoming famous that they are willing to do anything.
Perform:
Make a short play about someone who desperately wants to become famous. The play should be around 10 minutes long. Work in groups.
Perform your work before the class, or make a film that is shown in class.
Make sure everyone in the group is given some responsibility. For example: writing the script, performing the play, doing make-up, making props, scenery, costumes, or similar.