Professor Tiger SOAN 281 4 April 2012 The Production of Celebrity: Will Smith

In the early 1990s, Will Smith and his manager James Lassiter evaluated a list of the top-ten highest grossing films of all time. At this critical point in his career, Smith was on the cusp of stardom. He garnered popular acclaim as both a hip-hop artist and achieved success as the leading male actor on the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Given his growing popularity, Smith strongly wanted to transition from the small screen to the big screen. On the verge of entering the movie industry, both he and his agent understood how crucial crafting

Smith’s image would be in shaping his young career. Despite his growing fame and easily marketable personality, it was Smith and Lassiter’s understanding of consumer culture, as articulated by both Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, that contributed most significantly to Smith’s unbelievable celebrity status. In the case of Smith, he not only understood the same ideological perspective as Horkheimer and Adorno regarding the culture industry, but he also successfully applied the fundamental beliefs set forth by both authors in laying the foundation for his own monumental fame. In “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,”

Horkheimer and Adorno address how the entertainment industry creates a consumer culture that builds its enjoyment around what it is directed to want. Using the tools of capitalism associated with large studio companies and advertising firms, Horkheimer and Adorno also propose how mechanical reproduction makes possible the construction and reinforcement of celebrity. Likewise, Smith and his agent developed a clever approach following these basic tenets when deciding to treat his future career strictly as a business, focus on consumer culture, and ultimately expand his celebrity on a worldwide scale.

When Smith and Lassiter sat down to chart out a future business career, they alluded to

Horkheimer and Adorno’s belief that mechanical reproduction dominated both the film industry and capitalist society. Smith understood that studying the trends of the film industry would reveal which types of films were in high demand and how the economic gains further incentivized their mechanical reproduction. During their meeting in the early 1990s, Smith and

Lassiter examined the list of the top-ten highest grossing films of all time and said “ ‘O.K., what are the patterns? We realized that 10 out of 10 had special effects. Nine out of 10 had special effects with creatures. Eight out of 10 had special effects with creatures and a love story.”1 In turn, Smith and Lassiter found that the mechanical reproduction of certain themes and plots provided an age-old secret to producing movies of high economic value. Although

“mechanical production and reproduction [of similar content] promises that nothing changes, and nothing unsuitable will appear,” (134) Horkheimer and Adorno add that the economic incentive to reproduce the same material continues to exist because “any additions to the well- proven culture inventory are too much of a speculation” (134). There is inherently too much risk in producing a film that stretches the boundaries of popular culture. As a result, Smith and his agent in large part purposefully chose pragmatism over passion when it came to both making movies and money. Aside from Smith’s first attempt at film, an independent titled Six

Degrees of Separation, his next five movies were Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black,

Enemy of the State, and Wild Wild West. All five were action films that included special effects, creatures, a love story, or a combination of these elements. Following Smith’s analysis of the highest grossing movies of all time, it comes as no surprise that all five were blockbusters,

1 Keegan, Rebecca Winters. “The Legend of Will Smith.” Time Magazine.

profited far beyond their budgets, and each made millions of dollars.2 At the time of its release,

Independence Day happened to become the second highest grossing film of all time.3 Due to the success of these films, Horkheimer and Adorno allege “that because millions participate in it, certain reproduction processes are necessary that inevitably require identical needs in innumerable places to be satisfied with identical goods” (121). As a result, the prevalence of mechanical reproduction in the film industry becomes more common as do sequels. This is none more so evident than Will Smith taking part in Bad Boys II, Men in Black II, Men in Black

III, and the rumored Independence Day II.4 Building upon Horkheimer and Adorno’s assertion that “movies and radio need no longer pretend to be art. The truth that they are just business is made into an ideology in order to justify the rubbish they deliberately produce” (121), Smith chose to perfectly craft his career around blockbuster movies, rather than stretch himself as an actor with more challenging and less lucrative independent films.

As Smith and Lassiter made the decision to transition to film, they fully understood how

Horkheimer and Adorno’s focus on consumer culture could enhance Smith’s value as a product, broaden his marketability to a wider audience, and allow them to capitalize on his newfound celebrity. Horkheimer and Adorno make a case that “consumers appear as statistics on research organization charts, and are divided by income groups into red, green, and blue areas; the technique that is used for any type of propaganda” (123). Likewise, Smith followed this line of thinking when " ‘every Monday morning, we sit down [and ask]--'O.K., what happened this weekend, and what are the things that resemble things that have happened the last 10, 20, 30 weekends?' "5 Smith and Lassiter not only embrace the mechanical reproduction

2 “Will Smith – IMDb.” IMDB. 3 "Independence Day.” Box Office Mojo. 4 Eisenberg, Eric. “Independence Day 2 Won’t Be Made Any Time Soon, But It Is Happening.” Cinema Blend. 5 Keegan, Rebecca Winters. “The Legend of Will Smith.” Time Magazine.

they witness every weekend, but they also focus on how consumers respond to each film, during each season, and around each holiday. In turn, they can more closely examine consumer culture and premeditate the release of Smith’s movies at the optimum time. In one case, Smith expresses this understanding when noticing that “summer movies are about things that happen, and fall movies are about how people respond to things that happen.”6 Furthermore, Smith finds that he has conditioned himself to develop “a youthful energy […] that fits during that time of release and rejuvenation” around the July 4th weekend, which makes him more accustomed to producing “things-that-happen” movies such as Independence Day.7 His reflection proves that he is just as much an active participant, albeit a cunning one, as anyone in this culture industry that dictates which themes and topics the audience should enjoy. In the words of Horkheimer and Adorno, Smith believes that “not to conform means to be rendered powerless, economically and therefore spiritually––to be ‘self-employed’ ” (133). He certainly identifies with this concept economically since his uncanny ability to conform has not only kept him employed, but has made him a highly desirable actor as well. Smith recognizes

Horkheimer and Adorno’s assertion, moreover, that “there is nothing left for the consumer to classify. Producers have done it for him” (125). As a result, Smith’s close study of consumer culture allows him to ascertain what the audience should already want, making his job to provide an escape for the viewing public that much easier.

Applying the concepts set forth by Horkheimer and Adorno regarding consumer culture,

Smith continues to successfully produce his celebrity on a worldwide scale. Both he and his agent are aware that constructing his image, advertising his product, and creating his brand are paramount in delivering to the consumer a mechanical reproduction of what is repeatedly

6 Keegan, Rebecca Winters. “The Legend of Will Smith.” Time Magazine. 7 Keegan, Rebecca Winters. “The Legend of Will Smith.” Time Magazine.

desired. Horkheimer and Adorno concisely state, “the triumph of advertising in the culture industry is that consumers feel compelled to buy and use its products even though they see through them” (167). For this reason, Smith finds value in creating a personal image that is not only reproduced film after film, but is also bought time after time. Whether he is portrayed as an action star throughout his career, an amusing and lovable character in Hitch, or a devout family man in The Pursuit of Happyness, the consuming public will always view Smith as a very likeable “good-natured guy saving the rest of us from the trauma of aliens, robots, crooks or poor dating habits.”8 As a result, Smith and his agent capitalize on his consistent image and are able to successfully churn out economically profitable films that do not always abide to the action, alien, love story formula. The Pursuit of Happyness, one of the few exceptions from

Smith’s action-packed blockbuster mold, achieved phenomenal success in the box office thanks to his good-natured image and already distinguished celebrity. Smith reveals how critical his image must have been given that " ‘Pursuit of Happyness is essentially a movie about a black homeless guy who gets a job," he says. "There's nowhere near my fee for that movie. This thing has to be under $50 million." [Yet] The downbeat Happyness surprised everyone, not least of all Smith, by earning $305 million worldwide.”9 In turn, Smith continually reaps the benefits of crafting an image that the consumer culture holds in high demand. The surprising success of

The Pursuit of Happyness, moreover, further proves Horkheimer and Adorno’s theory that

“marked differentiations such as those of A and B films, or of stories in magazines in different price ranges, depend not so much on subject matter as on classifying, organizing, and labeling consumers” (123). Perhaps once celebrity status has been achieved, economic success is more contingent upon recognizing what Horkheimer and Adorno consider the consumer desires and

8 Keegan, Rebecca Winters. “The Legend of Will Smith.” Time Magazine. 9 Keegan, Rebecca Winters. “The Legend of Will Smith.” Time Magazine.

producing the very same consistent and likeable image the consumer has grown accustomed to wanting.

Overall, Smith and Lassiter nearly crafted the ultimate movie celebrity by treating the culture industry in much the same regard as Horkheimer and Adorno. Recognizing the mechanical reproduction of the business, analyzing consumer culture, and crafting an image that reflected their understanding of these elements allowed Smith to produce a celebrity unlike any other. As a result, he has already helped generate over $5.7 billion in gross movie revenue in his career.10 Despite his monumental fame, there remain purists who question at what point will he challenge himself and chose art over commerce. It is rare that audiences will ever witness him in a role contrary to his well-constructed image. He may not venture to portray an evil character like Denzel Washington in Training Day or a bad husband in a damaging relationship like Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road11, however, perhaps Smith did the right thing in carefully crafting his image and choosing not to pursue such controversial, yet critically acclaimed roles. Smith may not garner Oscar nominations year after year, yet he has certainly made more money and achieved larger celebrity status. In turn, it appears that

Horkheimer and Adorno could not have been more correct in their belief that consistently reproducing “the dominant forms of generality, into the language of music, painting, or words, in the hope that it will be reconciled thus with the idea of true generality” (130) will contribute to one’s worldwide celebrity status. Consumer culture strives for a generality in their entertainment whose constant reproduction seemingly converts the inauthentic into the authentic and provides a somewhat believable escape. Will Smith is this ever-moldable

10 “Will Smith – Box Office Data Movie Star.” The Numbers. 11 Simmons, Bill. “The Movie Star.” Grantland.

generality whose celebrity and success, as measured by net worth, shines brighter than any other.

Works Cited

Eisenberg, Eric. “Independence Day 2 Won’t Be Made Any Time Soon, But It Is Happening.” Cinema Blend, 14 Feb. 2011. Web. .

Horkheimer, Max and Theodor Adorno. “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception.” Dialect of Enlightenment. New York: Continuum. 120-167. Print.

"Independence Day.” Box Office Mojo. Web. .

Keegan, Rebecca Winters. “The Legend of Will Smith.” Time Magazine, 29 Nov. 2007. Web. .

Simmons, Bill. “The Movie Star.” Grantland, 29 June 2012. Web. .

“Will Smith – Box Office Data Movie Star.” The Numbers. Web. .

“Will Smith – IMDb.” IMDB. Web. .