Flashy Brands and celebrity fame

Remember Adam Sandler’s long haired crazy mate in the movie “Bedtime Stories”? He was played by rising British comedian Russell Brand, aka Katy Perry’s other half. Mockingbird recently posted a BBC interview with him on youtube. He was hocking his autobiography of course but the interviewer raised some questions regarding the nature of fame and the answers Russell gave were fascinating.

(I enjoyed the whole interview but below are the parts that really resonated with me)

Jeremy Paxton: Why did you want to be famous?

Russell Brand: I grew up in industrial Essex...The idea of something glistening yet visceral were very appealing to me. Fame is seemingly accessible even when you live in areas when it's miles and miles away from you...

JP: Why is it so many people crave celebrity now?

RB: Because we're presented with the attractive spectacle of fame to distract us from the mundanity of our everyday lives, it's bread and circuses Jeremy.

JP: In that case it's utterly empty

RB: Of course 

JP: In itself it's not something worth striving for

RB: It has absolutely no value in itself, it's a spectacle or an illusion, a distraction. All of us are aware of that.

JP: What happens to you when it finally arrives?

RB: ...you have the initial thrill of achievement, oh my word, the same as if you'd acquired a pair of shoes that you'd long craved and then you realize that the shoes are too tight, they ain't that comfortable, I want another pair of shoes. Walking around in these things ain't the same as I thought it would be. And you realize that you need nutrition from a higher source something more valuable. Celebrity in and of itself is utterly, utterly vacuous. It's like being presented with the most glorious meal and then when you eat it there's no taste, there's no succor, there's no nutrition. It's tiresome.

JP: You don't regret seeking celebrity and the effect it's had on you?

RB: No, because what else would I be doing? Having spent a great proportion of my life not being famous, that didn't have any particular value either. I didn't particularly enjoy working as a scab labourer, as a postman. I didn't particularly enjoy working in pubs, or selling ink cartridges for Hewlett Packard. These weren't salvation either. It weren't to be found there. So, no I don't regret it but now that I'm here, I wonder if it's possible to use it to acquire something more valuable, more beautiful... we're making this documentary currently on the subject of fame and consumerism and the way that we're sold these narratives and the way they keep us dumb and the way that I, myself was seduced by it… growing up in Essex and thought 'oh yes, I want to be famous' and now I am famous and what does it mean? Ashes in my mouth.

Do these sentiments sound familiar to you? Have you ever read the thoughts of King Solomon; the most powerful, rich man of his time?

“…Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content...”

“… So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”

Russell has a way to go before he hits Solomon’s standard of living yet even if he gets there he will still not be satisfied. How did Solomon conclude this “chasing after the wind” that is life?

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

Or as Paul would say “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ"