Our friend Jonee sent us an article from the Huffington Post about celebrity narcissism that you can read here.
It always amazes me as to what topics people will take up to task. Last week, I posted an interview from the Evening Standard where Simon discusses the band’s sexism. I didn’t receive many (any?) comments here. There were a few on Twitter…but most people steered far and wide. Too dangerous a topic?
Today, Amanda posted a new daily question game on Facebook and Twitter. We’re choosing which photos of the band members we like best. You betcha…we’re asking you to choose solely on looks now. Objectifying much? Absolutely. We’ve gotten comments galore, whether it’s about which photo is best based on looks, composition, lighting…or just the way Simon appears (we’re starting with Simon from the early 80’s).
It’s always been my feeling that very few fans will actually stick their neck out to criticize the band in any fashion, and many that remain appalled that Amanda and I would dare. The fact is, I’m not perfect. The band is not perfect. I never fell in love with the band because I thought they were perfect, and I certainly haven’t stayed a fan all of these years completely immersed in their perfection. I’m a fan simply because the band keeps me thinking. Sure, the looks are great, the music is fantastic – but I’d have gotten very bored of all of it by now if the band didn’t give me food for thought on a regular basis. We figure it’s OK to talk about all of it because there’s never any malice (on our part) intended. We’re fans, legitimate, long-time fans. We’re not brainwashed individuals that feel the only commentary on their work and person is that they’re perfect. The blog would have ended fairly quickly had that been the case. Yeah, we’re outspoken. So that is the place where this blog comes from, no matter the topic of the day.
So back to that article on celebrity narcissism. The article opens with Kanye West, of all people. By his own words, it’s pretty clear that he thinks very highly of himself. Self-esteem? Most definitely. Madonna is another example – she says that she doesn’t care what you think, as long as it’s about her. To a certain degree, I think that when you’re a celebrity, being slightly narcissistic comes with the territory. Let’s be fair: when your entire world revolves around YOU – being narcissistic helps. When you are selling YOU, it is imperative. The beauty for us mere mortals is that when you’re sick of hearing Kanye refer to himself as God’s Vessel – you can merely click the red X in the corner of the screen, change the station, turn the channel or flip the page. Am I right?
Almost thankfully, the article tries to tie this back to something a little closer to home: ourselves. Narcissism is something that I think most of us have a little lingering about, and that’s just part of being human. A little self-esteem isn’t a horrible thing, is it? No, it’s not…but narcissism is very different. Self-esteem is confidence. Narcissism is…well…inordinate fascination with oneself, or extraordinary self-love. (dictionary.com)
I have personally read at least one band member refer to himself as slightly narcissistic. It doesn’t really matter, at least for our purposes, which one, and I’ll let you all ponder that on your own. I just find the question itself – whether or not the band really IS narcissistic – an interesting one. Would we love them all regardless?
Let’s face it, self-confidence is sexy, is it not? I can remember being attracted to confident people even back in grade school. There is something very attractive about someone knowing that they’ve got what it takes. I think the band has that…at least, they should after this many years in the spotlight, don’t you think? That said, there is also something attractive about being a little vulnerable and unassuming. I remember back when the original five were reuniting and they had said in several interviews that they weren’t sure the fans would want them back. After I picked my jaw back up off of the ground and closed my mouth, I smiled. I loved that they weren’t sure, that they weren’t overly confident, and that they were asking for our reassurance!
I can remember back in the 80’s, when the band was being shuttled from country to country. I’d imagine that to a certain extent, every want, need, and desire of theirs was not only catered to, but under contract. During that decade, the band were all in their 20’s. They’d gone (in most cases) from living under the roof(s) of their parents homes to being superstars. Now, I can’t speak for the band – but I did a lot of maturing in my 20’s. I got married when I was 24, and I became a parent when I was 26. It was a time for huge adjustment. Not only did the world stop revolving around me…but my sole purpose (or so it seemed) came to be as a parent. I would imagine that just in the same way my experiences molded me, the band’s experiences also molded them. When you spend that much time during that stage of your life knowing that every single thing you need or experience matters to a whole company or host of people around you – I think it is probably only natural to start believing you are “IT”. When you are the commodity that is being sold, how can you not?
I can site all of the evidence I want in either direction, and there is plenty to go ’round. What I’m most interested in though, is what other fans think.
So in your view, are the band (or members thereof) narcissists, or is it self-confidence?
-R
@EasternViolet here. I'll bite! I Superficially, is Simon for example, as narcissistic as Kanye? Not even close. At the same time, I think of an image of the venerable SLB that is around the internets… of him in a pink pair of plastic pants, with a very prominent… uh… bulge. Pulling off that outfit takes ALOT of confidence. (aka… balls, sorry for the pun). Walking out in public in those pants… well, requires a certain fascination for one's… member does it not?
And Warren is also one as well. Anyone recall what he moulded into chocolate? The idea that all women would want that requires a narcissistic personality for sure.
But none of them are at the level of Kanye. (That level is just plain old disturbing). I think they (the 5 current members of the band) have a groundedness too. Their star rose rapidly, and also fell a little as fast. That has to be humbling. (I got that sense from JT's book too)
I just wanted to leave a comment about the pink pants. It is all about me, after all.
Without getting into a heavy debate over the pants, I will say that I think the band, or even certain members thereof are a lot less narcissistic than they think they are. In some ways, I think that by even acknowledging one's narcissism (at least in the example in my head), that makes them less so – because a true narcissist wouldn't even question such things. “Of COURSE it's all about love for me. Why wouldn't it be?”
That said, they DO have their moments. As do we all. -R
Since I have never personally met anyone in the band, it is difficult to know definitively if any are truly narcissists. However there is a real narcissist in my family (which is why I am posting anonymously). This person makes everyone around them miserable, and is very angry and controlling. So, I hope for the sake of their children that none of them are like my relative. People who are true narcissists demand attention and get very ugly angry if they don't get the attention and respect they think they deserve. Kanye has those kinds of outbursts – agitated that people don't recognize his genius, violent with people who don't do what he wants (I'm talking about hitting paparazzi). I haven't heard stories like that about DD. But, they are performers, do there is always the possibility that all we ever see is the cultivated persona they want us to see. I do think you need heaps of self confidence to put yourself and your art out there like they do.
Agreed. It's difficult to say whether the band is or is not narcissist, but I kind of feel that we'd have at least a sense of it, if that were truly the case. I just thought it was an interesting sort of question (in a week where I have ZERO BAND NEWS.) 😀 -R
I think the guys always cared of their image, to look like the “best ones” to appeal, to get more (female) fans, but their priority has been music, with and without the Taylors, with every guitarist, etc… . Albums like Pop Trash, Red Carpet Massacre have been flops, but they were still “good looking”: so if they used their faces as the weapon to sell more records, that wasn't the right tool to.
Maybe the Berrows + EMI in the 80s may have pushed the guys to concentrate more on their outfit, – Andy mentions that John as “… a pin-up was an EMI “secret plan” sort of – but those amazing sales were results only of their talent.
To end, I think the guys are self-confident.
Actually, John was the one who really pushed their relationships with the pinup magazines – it wasn't an EMI thing really, and I guess I disagree that it was only their talent that sold records. I think it's pretty obvious that it was not – here in the US their image/package/brand had everything to do with why they sold records, it wasn't just their music – not when we look at the demographic of who bought their music back during that time.
The most interesting part of this comment though is that when I wrote the blog, I wasn't really discussing their image. The blog is about whether or not their narcissistic. Sure, sometimes you can pair good looks or celebrity image with narcissism…but most of the time one has nothing to do with the other. -R