The HK entertainment sex scandal (the story continues... or at least people are continuing to be baat, waiting to see if any new photos come out or what x or y will do next) got me thinking... how prevalent are "casting couches" in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, the United States, and elsewhere? Or executives and managers demanding sexual favors in exchange for promoting an "artist" trying to break into the industry?
Should we financially support such an industry, if the majority of its key players are like this? Now, maybe things are not that corrupt in E. Asia (or here in the U.S.), but how do we know that they are not? It's not as if they are marketing fine art, but entertainment idols with their 'beauty' and youth who will keep the money coming in. Even if it's not a majority, how much is enough?
Or what about giving our time, attention, and money to artists who really do not contribute much for the edification of others? (For example, they are arrested for drunk driving or caught doing something indecent in public.) Besides, cohabitation and fornication seem to be on par for many young adults today, and even a greater percentage of "artists" and celebrities? Some have written about how hypocritical some Asian idols are, draping themselves with a pure and innocent image while doing the opposite in their private lives. (I read a while ago that the Korean singer Ivy has been in hiding since an ex-boyfriend blackmailed her, threatening to leak a compromising video. While he has been arrested and jailed, she is still in hiding.) At times I don't know which is worse, being hypocritical or being brazen about living such a lifestyle.
The suicide of Heath Ledger also reminds us that the entertainment industry attracts many who are psychologically or spiritually unhealthy, or it makes them so. The term "attention whore" is used often by teenagers to refer to themselves and others when they post photos of themselves online to solicit compliments; perhaps the whoring part is more literal when it comes to the dealings of managemers and company execs. (Are there any ties between the mainstream entertainment industries and pornography producers?) How many aspiring actors and actresses are there who decided to go into acting precisely because they thought this was the way to get the attention that they didn't get at home?
If we were to go into an economic depression, how much of the entertainment industry would survive? Should we be encouraging entertainment workers to get an honest job instead? (And if the case may be, to reform their lives?)
Both of the first two sets of questions require us to look at formal and material cooperation in evil, and it seems to me that it is possible to continue financially supporting such people without approving of the evil that they do. So perhaps the most morally relevant question is still this one: What about supporting the "art" that is created? Should we be wasting our money on projects and products that are not worth it? (And should we be providing them a livelihood when the products they provide are of questionable quality? Or should we be subsidizing better endeavours?)
We have become used to buying products aimed at pleasing the senses and not much more as "having culture." We are passive users of such products, instead of acting creatively, virtuously, artistically. Someone might object: but haven't patrons always been passive consumers of the art they supported? First, it is not a good thing for us to neglect our own native abilities to create art, especially with respect to music and singing. Not everyone is born tone-deaf. Second, the patrons of the past were not without the necessary background and education to appreciate great works of art. Most of us are. Third, it is one thing to patronize a life performance, and another to buy a recording. When we consider how much better some performer sounds on CD, because of the manipulation that can be done in a recording studio, as opposed to live in concert, are we wrong to think we have been deceived in thinking that someone has more talent than is actually possessed? If we can only listen to performances at certain times, we have to have some measure of self-discipline. A concert can be inserted into the life of the community or be given more meaning by being tied to some celebration. But now, all we need to do is pop in a CD or listen to our ipod or mp3 player--instant gratification, often while we ignore our neighbors sitting next to us.
I find it hard to believe that parents will buy their children an Ipod or mp3 player, and let them plug in. When I was growing up, I was envious of those who had a Walkman or Discman at such an early age, but now... doesn't it go against good parenting to stunt the emotional, aesthetic, and moral development of one's children through such toys?
As for movies... that discussion will have to be postponed...
Consumption is also part of the mindset/hunger behind idol-making and following. We project onto the idol and seek to possess him or her, perhaps creating a vivid fantasy life around the idol. At the very least we objectify the idol by focusing on that which pleases us (outer appearance and maybe talent) while remaining ignorant of their true personality. In this way, idols are not heroes, people whom we admire, honor, and seek to emulate (though we may wish to become a celebrity and have a luxurious lifestyle). We merely wish to have them. (Becoming a celebrity stalker is just this mindset going to an extreme.)
Celebrity 'worship' is strengthened, if not begun, during the confused years of adolescence, when hormones are first making their power felt. (With parents failing to protect their children from the influence of mass media and marketing, children as young as 7 and 8 begin to acquire these attitudes as well.) If only it were so easy for them to stop idolizing celebrities. Can we say that we eventually outgrow such childish attachments? But how many married women in their 30s and 40s still have their little crushes on George Clooney or Brad Pitt, for example? Do we start to believe that beauty is owed to us, and that we deserve nothing less?
I started writing on 2/12--by now it seems that the scandal is dying down, with the announcement by the actor at the center of it all that he will be retiring once his current obligations have been met. What impact will it have on the lives of the women involved? Is there a double-standard in how they are treated and viewed in Chinese society? It must be said that the actor has lost some advertising and spokesman contracts.
Lust knows no end in Hong Kong
By Kent Ewing
Edit: 3/2
More rumors that photos of other female celebrities have been found by the Hong Kong Police.
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