Transformations of Heroism
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Transformations of Heroism Fame, Celebrities, and Public Performances Fredrik Schoug Schoug, Frodrik 1997: Transfo rmation of Heroism. Fame, Celebrities, and Public Performances. - Ethnologia Europaea 27: 105-118. As tho audience, we have a proponHity to 1:1eoktho "truth" about 1:1tars and horoe1:1. We want to know "how they really are" and soc tho reality "behind" the public porfilrmancc. Thus, heroes and celebrities arc increasingly depicted as com mon people in the media, which in turn indicates a revaluation of ordinariness. Since the Great Men therefore belong to the past, classical expressions of heroism arc antiquated whi le now forms emerge. These new forms arc required by the modern search for identification that presupposes a "bringing down" ofthe hero to the level ofordinary people. The transformation of heroism results in hybrids that blur the boundaricR between the star's role as hero and average person, due to the fa ct that the ordinary becomes a constitutive clement in the charisma. Hence, the medial ization of celebrities tends to expose formerly hidden roles and spheres. Especially televisi on ha::; i ncreased th e focus on emotional expressions and private life. This eager attention to the hidden indicates that we live in an age of curiosity. Secret affairs ought to be discovered, fishy stories should be revealed. This tendency is explained in the light ofthe fragmentation and mobility of everyday life that create numerous stashes in every personality, to which importance and truth can be ascribed and which thereby can be transformed into desirable secrets. Thus, information about these hidden recesses becomes indispensable to stipulate identities. Fredrik Schoug, Ph.D., Department ofEthnolo gy, Lund University, Finngatan 8, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] an who chopped off the penis of her husband Patterns of Fame John Wayne Bobbitt, who nevertheless regained Every day we meet celebrities and famous peo his former virility with the aid of modern sur ple. Their faces keep gazing at us from advertis gery and signed a porn-filmcontract. Such life ing signs, centrefolds, newspaper pages, and stories appear "mesmerizing" or "thrilling" and television screens. As the successful conquerors are therefore well suited as consumer products of publicity, they are always at the center of in advanced media society. Thus, the old idea of attention, and the constant invention of new fame as the glory of achievement seems an channels of publicity brings us a continuous tique. flowof new celebrities. It seems, however, that Notoriety does not necessarily presuppose differentmedia epochs create different kinds of deeds, but it does require publicity. Public he heroes and, at the same time, different fo rms of roes or villains are thereby created with the public reception of them and their public per capacity to survive their biological existence. formances. In the age of bards and rune stones, Hence, the theme of fame has been put in princes and warlords used to gain priority in relation to death. Whereas Christianity held the consciousness of posterity. With the diffu spiritual immortality as a reward or a punish sion of mass media and the increased plurality ment, which was dispensed with bodily death of values in our times, the roads to fame have and which retrospectively was to give meaning been multiplied. Not long ago, vast media at to the finishedlif e, secularized civilization has tention was payed to Lorena Bobbitt, the worn- posed fame as the replacement of the belief in 105 an af'ierlif'e (cf'. Buumun 1994/1. 992:40 and pas and authenticity thai I believe is characteristic si m; Braudy 1986:28). Thw;,the modern world or modern heroism. has fo und its own ways to individual transcend Heroes of sport have national (or local) rele ence. Since more and more cry out for attention, vance without being cast in the traditional it has, however, become increasingly difliculi to parts ofHistory, thai is, without carrying up the stay in the public fo cus. Diffe rent characters historical greatness ofihe nation. Even if Bjorn create different forms of enthusiam, devotion, Borg, Diego Maradona, and Jesse Owens are prestige, or abhorrence, and their ability to said to be prominent figures of'"sporis histo ry, " make lasting impressions therefore also diflers. such stars primarily cause outbursts of emotion Some heroes play the roles of History. Charac at the moment of victory. People might rejoice ters like kings, warlords, artists, authors, sci retroactively over these "unforgettable mo entists, explorers, inventors, airmen, politicians, ments," but in the long run they nevertheless or traitors are sometimes inscribed in the an tend to be forgotten or at least faded. New nals of nations, civilizations, or peoples. Thus, generations, who were not present during the their time is extended. While the aura ofhero or event, arc more attracted by contemporary villain can survive their physical appearances sports heroes, rather than looking buck at ex for several centuries or even millennia, some ploits they never witnessed. Since the ability of achieve a similar prominence only after death. sporting stars to attract the public attention is The significance ofthcsc characters is general temporary, their fame tends to be episodic. ly far greater in mythology than in the course of Therefore they represent the contemporary, history. rather than the historical, greatness. Every epoch has its own symbols of heroism Compared to rock stars, sports heroes seem or villainy, undermining the historical stability to play slightly different roles on the public of devotion or identification. Since, fo r example, stage. The world of rock music consists of both nationalism is under constant transformation, well-behaved "mushy singers" and subversive changing its fo rms of expression and its rhetor or "insufferable" stars. The subversion of the ical pitch, the appeal of various national heroes latter is based on different strategies, depend differs. Ye sterday's kings and princes appear to ing on what is oppositional at the actual mo be ruled out as national symbols or incarna ment. Sexual "indecency," political protest, glo tions of heroic qualities and replaced by more rification of drug abuse, "disordely conduct," up-to-date characters. Their place has been "brutal" music, long hair, abusive language, taken by, for example, sports heroes, whose and the smashing up of hotel rooms or guitars informal and ordinary personalities are better are some of most popular methods. suited to symbolize the nation in accordance The world of sport is distinguished by a with its contemporary shape (cf.Lofgren 1993). shortage ofcontroversiality. Of course, athletes Thus, heroism has changed and its traditional are sometimes suspended, for example, for drug idolatry no longer seems a self-evident fe ature. abuse, but generally the limits are narrow. My aims is to analyze this transformation and Sport is characterized by a norm of conscien outline some ofthe modern trends ofheroes and tiousness. When the British fo otball player Paul fa me. Since renown presupposes an audience, Gascoigne responed to a provocative question all fe atures like fa me, heroism, celebrity, and by burping in the microphone, he was fined,and notoriety are relational constructions. Hermits when the German midfielderStef an Effenberg can never be famous and, accordingly, the pub made a pejorative gesture to the audience dur lic has to be considered. The admiration of ing the World Cup in 1994, he was immediately heroes and celebrities creates community. Na sent home and has never since played in the tions, fan clubs, and supporters' clubs are such national team. Sometimes the stars frustrate communities that are generated and reinforced the audience's hopes by not participating in the by this interplay. In this study, sporting stars national team. In that case, no measures are will be particularly in focus, as they provide taken by sports organizations, but mass media significant examples of the plain ordinariness often depict them as traitors and praise the 106 loyal ones who consider ii an honor io represent Charisma and Heroic Unaffectedness their country. Tho examples arc numerous. In the world o!'spori, there is u con tinuous ctl'oriio Heroes and celebrities noi only create sensa put an end to u ndes i red fo rms of behavior, Lions and passions among the public. Some although these arc noi noco�;sarily violations of Limes ihey also gain the attention of social the rules and thereliJre cannot always be classi science. By ihai, I do noi mean the abundance fied as cheating. Fair play, decency, and l oyalty of hagiographies ofGreai Men, but rather anal to the icam mates and the country arc virtues yses of f�m1e and illustriousness itself.A line of that should characterize sport. Sports organi development, many times pointed out in this zations and the media are therefore engaged in research, is the increasing divergence of fa me punishing breaches ofeiiqueiie. Thus, sporting or heroism from divinity. While the illustrious stars arc demanded io �;erve a�;mo dels ofbehav heroes of ihe pasi were Great Men, associated ior, which is a demand ihai would be impossible with superhuman, divine qualities, celebrities (and seem ridiculous) io impose on oppositional of today have become more ordinary. Ancient rock stars like Sid Vi cious, Johnny Rotten, or fame was primarily the property of princes and Jim Morrison. warlords, and the roads to such a prominence Accordingly, rock stars never have to radiate were fe w. While this dominance broke up, fa me health or conscientiousness or worry about increasingly became connected with social mo breaches of etiquette. They aiiain their posi bility. Particularly, renown was conveyed io tions in an interplay with the audience. They characters who managed to rise fr om lower might benefit from musical competence and positions and stand out fr om the multitude.