Timothy Caulfield - Blog 1

         In this interview, Timothy Caulfield tells us some important and interesting things about celebrity in American Culture. One important point he made about  celebrity culture is how it effects the youths career oriented goals. He tells us that there has been a shift from the want to grow up as a firefighter or astronaut into a celebrity, actor or sports star because of the increased value in the image of celebrities. This directly connects with a premise that Joseph Epstein says in our reading Celebrity Culture is Pervasive, "They are the values, almost exclusively, of publicity." This is the idea that Timothy Caulfield explains as the value that the youth see's in celebrity.Another important point he makes is that becoming a celebrity or famous is  part of the American dream. He explains this as the peoples attainable idea at social mobility, when it is actually a myth. One final important point that Caulfield makes is that becoming famous can be very quick and easy through the use of social media. He tells us that because of social media's ability to project yourself into the world very quickly, fame becomes this accessible illusion. This is important because it demonstrates the captive hold that celebrity can cause in social media settings.