The Loss Of Mystique

Ran across this article in the Hollywood Reporter about A-List movie stars and their drastically falling box office numbers, and this paragraph jumped out at me.

The decline of star power comes as consumers are viewing film actors differently. Such voyeuristic media outlets as “Access Hollywood” and TMZ.com have demystified celebrities even as they feed unprecedented interest. Why turn out for a favorite star’s movie if you can watch him walk his dog on TV and the Internet?

“Demystified celebrities.”

“Mystique is what draws people to the movies,” PMK publicist Catherine Olim says. “People want to go to the movies to get lost in a performance. And it’s hard to do that with so much interference.”

This insatiable interest in knowing every single mundane detail of celebrities lives has definitely ruined a lot of my own enjoyment of movies, and music. With a camera stuck in their face 24/7, I just can’t escape finding out their idiotic political views, or just how fucking retarded they really are.

This is exactly why studios used to control their stars, and limit and monitor their exposure to the media, so that you could accept a five foot tall freak like Tom Cruise as an action hero, or romantic lead. Tom’s career is over now because he couldn’t shut his fucking ignorant yap.

Actors and musicians depend on you thinking they know something you don’t, and as soon as you find out they’re drooling morons in real life, good luck selling them as a brilliant master of espionage, or a nuanced commentator on social issues through poetic lyrics and music.

This is also why Rock and Roll is dead. MySpace has killed rock. Killed it completely by giving us too much information, and allowing fans to interact directly with their beloved stars. An example:

Led Zeppelin used to have final approval on EVERY photo of them that was ever used. If a magazine published an un-approved photo that didn’t meet “Hammer Of The Gods” standards, that magazine never got to speak to Led Zeppelin ever again. They almost never gave interviews. Music journalists were granted very limited access to them. Led Zeppelin treated the press like the useful idiots they are. No one knew their opinion about politics or the environment. They understood the power of Mystique, and that holds up for them to this day.

Can you imagine Jimmy Page Blogging about inane bullshit? Robert Plant answering a moronic fans question about boxers or briefs?  I can’t, it would ruin the whole thing.

I think I listened to “Dark Side of The Moon” at least a thousand times, before I even knew what Pink Floyd looked like. Their lyrics could be interpreted a million different ways. Roger Waters didn’t go on MySpace and explain his lyrics right after he told you how hard it is to find a good cheeseburger in Tulsa. They understood Mystique as well as Zep, and they understood that without it, they were a pretty boring, unattractive group of fellas.

MySpace, TMZ, Perez Hilton, Access Hollywood, and the women who are the main consumers of this shit, have killed Rock and Roll, and are killing movies now by wringing every last tedious detail out of anyone that might have ever been remotely interesting, with endless “reporting” about shopping sprees and “Baby Bumps.”