|
Nila Priyambodo
Editor in Chief
Everyone knows that there are perks to being a celebrity, but I didn’t think that some of the perks would amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Yes, I’m talking about the ever popular “celebrity swag.”
Anytime a celebrity appears at an event, he or she is either given a gift bag or they can attend a make-shift boutique where they pick and choose from thousands of dollars worth of designer items for free. Yes, they receive cameras, phones, perfume, purses and bags, jeans, jewelry and even airfare and a hotel to a vacation destination. All for free.
For instance, award shows have now become infamous for their gift bags. At last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, $30,000 gift bags were given to celebrities who performed or presented an award.
But that’s nothing compared to the gift bag celebrities will be given at this year’s Academy Awards. Celebrities presenting an award or celebrities that don’t go home a winner will receive a gift bag worth $180,000. It makes you think whether you want to win a statue of a little gold man who will collect dust on your shelf, or if you want to lose because you’ll still come out a winner gathering hundreds of thousands dollars worth of free loot.
Celebrity swag also tainted this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The Festival is supposed to be an event that features, encourages and awards independent films.
Instead it brings the likes of reality television stars, such as “Bachelorette” Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter and “Laguna Beach’s” Jason Wahler.
At the center of this Festival is the “Queen of Celebrity Swag” Paris Hilton. She is the one person who needs free stuff the least, being an heiress and all. Yet, where celebrity swag goes, Paris closely follows.
Last summer, the Live 8 concert was more about awareness and less about actually donating money. Not only was the concert free, but performers also received a $15,600 gift bag. This is supposed to be charity. Celebrities should want to help without being promised a hefty gift bag in exchange. Live 8’s motto is “Make Poverty History.”
Instead of giving these celebrities who practically have everything in the world these gift bags, the money could be donated to the people of Africa who need it most and can in fact “make poverty history.” But no, they decide to give people like Madonna more things they can get bored of.
Some celebrities, like Lindsay Lohan, will not even show up to an event unless they are promised free stuff. Lohan reportedly did not agree to play at a celebrity charity poker game until the organization signed a contract guaranteeing a “Thank You” gift bag. I thought charity was about giving, not receiving. Maybe I’m wrong.
Celebrity swag started in the 1980s as a sign of appreciation for presenters and performers. Now it has escalated to a point where it’s not just about honoring people at award shows, featuring independent films at festivals and raising money for charities. It’s about giving celebrities gift bags and swag that is worth as much or even more than an average person’s annual income.
We can blame celebrities for being greedy, but the blame also falls on society. The companies’ goal is to have their merchandise be seen in the hands of celebrities. They know that most people would buy clothes, bags or jewelry if a certain celebrity wore the same kind too. If we didn’t put an emphasis on “who we’re wearing,” maybe celebrity swag wouldn’t be a problem.
Nila Priyambodo, a senior journalism major, is editor in chief of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at npriyambodo@ulv.edu.
|
