#17: Charisma Recession
Does anyone have it anymore or is being perpetually online robbing our entertainers of charm and nuance?
Hiii everyone. Is it just me or is everyone talking about The Bell Jar this week? Rebecca Makkai tweeted that she’s never read. The illustrated edition kept popping up on my TikTok feed. Rafaela Bassili wrote about the novel’s legacy for The Atlantic yesterday. It’s neither here nor there, but I felt compelled to mention.1 ANYWAY. Let’s talk about something else that’s been hounding me.
I fear we’re in the midst of a charisma recession in the entertainment industry. Three threads of thought converging here: (1) Rachel Handler’s Venice Film Festival pulse check in Vulture, “The Vibes Are Off at Venice,” owing to the absence of striking actors (2) This NPR segment from July that poses the question, “Are we witnessing the death of the movie star?” And (3) an unnamed TikTok marketer who predicted that influencers would soon overtake movie stars in terms of cultural relevance & social capital and become our primary entertainers on and off their social media platforms.
Handler reports that panels at Venice are in dire straits thanks to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ bout of bone-headedness. The SAG strike means studios forfeited their most valuable promotional tool: movie stars. This caught my attention because, do we even have those anymore? This thinking originally surfaced with the 2021 announcement of Ticket to Paradise, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Finally, I thought, the real movie stars are back. They of crackling chemistry, inimitable bonhomie, mystique!!! The 2022 film was a bust but proved that Clooney and Roberts each have an ineffable quality that today’s actors just….. don’t. I’m hard pressed to identify an actor or actress these days who can open a film on name alone.
In the NPR segment Scott Detrow and Aisha Harris investigate the endangered movie star species, citing prestige television, franchises, and social media as likely predators. When stars adopted social media, many of us realized their grandeur was a mirage… they were as normal as we were, albeit with access to trainers, beauticians, and stunning vacation destinations.2 Still, it’s challenging to put someone on a pedestal when they’re giving you access to the most mundane parts of their lives.
Detrow and Harris also discuss the old studio systems that created larger than life stars like Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. They dyed hair, fixed noses, changed names, and curated wardrobes to cultivate distinct, enduring images and personalities for their actors and actresses. Eventually actors pushed back, wanting more control of their careers. As the system broke down so too did the meticulous management of these stars and the subsequent muddying of their godlike sheen.
What I’d like to add to their conversation is another major cultural shift since the Golden Age of Hollywood—the normalization of glamor practices. Those with means now have access to once gate-kept tools and professionals, completely blending the line between celebrity and civilian. Cosmetic surgeons perform the same procedures across patients regardless of SAG card possession. With a healthy bank account anyone can look like Nicole Kidman, thus diminishing the power of appearance in movie stars.
Here’s the biggest rub of this whole ordeal, nobody is assuming the charisma mantle in this context. That’s what makes that TikToker’s observation… brazen, to say the least. Some TikTok creators are likable enough, akin to watching a neighbor or a friend’s older sister. Which makes sense. The platform was built on relatability and real world application, an antidote to influencers slinging wares on Instagram. Some creators may even be media-genic. Almost all of them are conventionally attractive. But I’m telling you, no one is disarming. No one is sexy and mysterious. No one is a total package. Entertainers are building brands online or onscreen, but no one is developing a personality.3
This phenomenon is important to me because it’s tangential to the "everyone looks hot, but no one is having sex" conversation. And that makes me sad! I love pageantry, I love spectacle, but in making that a round-the-clock occupation for entertainers (and ourselves), we’re losing something real and human. Charisma evolves in the off hours, marbleized in the messy middle. The years spent flunking auditions and waiting tables. Now gigs are supplemented by sponsored content. Anyone with a phone can become famous overnight. I’m sure some people find this democratization of celebrity refreshing, or maybe they’re sickened by fame altogether. Idols are always going to be a part of our societal makeup, that’s just human nature. What I’m asking is for them to be worthy of the recognition and not just look the part.
Circling Back
I had lots more to say about charisma than I initially planned, so several topics were shelved for this week’s newsletter. My preoccupation with flattening consumer tastes, however, compels me to highlight this brilliant piece from fashion writer Rachel Tashjian. She articulates practically everything I feel about the market reflected gaze. The entire article is worth a careful read. I relished this quote from Michael Diaz-Griffith, director of the Design Leadership Network,
If you can just live in an Ikea room happily, you should. If you could just wear T-shirts and jeans every day, you should… But if your soul cries out for something else, then how do you follow that call to a state of peace and joy in your physical environment?
Yes yes yes yes. Delicious. Next week we’ll talk about self-citations and curated consumption lists!
Sidewalk Report
A literal sidewalk report today. Made me think about this. For an additional laugh, can’t get over the accuracy of this.
Thank you for reading!! And subscribing!!!
Especially given my fig branch allusion in last week’s letter!!
I honestly think this is a big part of Emma Stone’s appeal. (She’s on my mind because of the rave reviews she’s receiving for Poor Things at Venice.) She’s completely off social media, so the crumbs she gives us—interviews, plus her actual projects—are delightedly snarffed right up. Like my golden retriever licking the carpet for biscuit remains
There’s evidence of charisma recession elsewhere…. But that’s a separate letter…!!