Dickstein was half right. As the culture reacted to the collapse by creating an instigation of fast fame it didn’t just have a phenomenon in escapism. Escapism in the scope of coveted money and fame aspirations is centered on the pop-culture phenomenon. The Kardashians are a huge part of “The current recession has speeded up changes in American life that were long in motion.” 1There popularity has only grown, even with controversial family issues and political ties their names and money grow. They illicit the idea of who everyone wants to be, beautiful and wealthy. 2 Everyone wants to be paid to have no talent, but in a reaction against this coveted ideal there’s another side of how fast fame creates celebrities.
Greta Thunberg, the famed young girl against climate change, became a household name in a short amount of time. One day she was only known by a small number of people, then the next she’s giving speeches at the UN climate change summit. This social trend is both dependent and beyond the fast fame phenomenon. Without the internet and the idea of overnight fame Greta would not be famous and influential in politics, but she has become famous for an incredibly different reason than the Kardashians. The pop culture fast fame phenomenon has gone beyond skin deep fame. Ideas, political fervor, and activism can now give a famed name to a person.
Dickstein has a point when he addresses the modern phenomenon of fast fame, but politics and activism are so deeply ingrained in American culture that fast fame is now more than it used to be. It has transformed. People now see that fame is a platform for change, and use that platform for their political beliefs.3 Even the Kardashians have used their platforms to advocate for the release of unjustly incarcerated people. There is still a remnant of what fast fame was, but in the modern age is becoming more political and belief driven.
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A Cultural New Deal
