Entertainment is such a big part of everyday life. It is everywhere, it's unescapable. To the average person, being in the entertainment business seems like such a glamorous job. All of the press, getting to wear all designer everything, going to events, and having all the attention on you. However, is the entertainment business everything it is cracked up to be? Through "How Does Stephen Colbert Work?" a podcast from slate.com, "Jill Torrance," "Rip Torn," and "Hots Michaels" from Studs Terkel's Working, we are given an inside to what it is like being in the entertainment business.
Personally, I think being in the entertainment business is subject and personal to each individual. Jill Torrance is a model. She grew up in a small town and her original plan was not to be a model. She had planned to go to college but had only saved three hundred dollars. So when the opportunity arose, she went to New York City at eighteen. Upon arriving to New York, she had never worn any make-up besides lipstick and had never walked in heels. She has come a long way from that. Now, Torrance is a successful model earning the cities top rate, fifty dollars an hour. But, does success equal happiness in the entertainment world? Although Torrance is successful, she doesn't seem happy with her job. She says, "I feel guilty because I think people should be doing something they really like to do in life. I should do something else, but there is nothing I can do really well" (54). In this quote, she reveals that modeling is not her passion. And because she never went to college, she can't get a "real job." She feels that she can't do anything else well. Because she is good at modeling and she makes good money doing it, she sticks with it even though it does not make her happy.
On the other hand, Hots Michaels, a bar pianist, really seems to enjoy his job. Michaels is not super famous or successful, but he makes a decent living. Michaels plays the piano in bars as background music to the talking that goes on there. He is an entertainer. But what sets Michaels apart from Torrance is that he loves what he is doing. He says, "I hate to see it end. I'll dread the day it comes, because I enjoy the action. I enjoy the people. If I were to suddenly inherit four million dollars, I guarantee you I'd be playin' piano, either here or some other place" (251). It is clear that Michaels really loves what he does. He isn't in it for the money or fame, he does it because that is what makes him happy.
In sort of a middle ground, Rip Torn, an actor, seems to neither love nor hate his job. Throughout the passage, he expresses that it is important to be successful in your work, but you should also enjoy it a bit. He says, "You work out of necessity, but in your work, you gotta have a little artistry too" (85). I think this shows that he is fairly successful as an actor, but he also enjoys it. He does share about the ups and downs of his career, which helps keep him honest and believable.
Personally, I think in the entertainment business, you really have to love what you are doing to be happy. If you do something just for the money or fame, you will end up unhappier than ever. Sure the entertainment business seems great, but is it really all it is cracked up to be?
Some things to think about:
-Does success have a direct link to happiness? Does being successful automatically mean you will be happy?
-Is it more important to put what you love and your happiness over the amount of money you will make, or the amount of fame you have?
Until next time...
Camille
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Why Work?
What is the point of working? Is it purely to get a pay check at the end of the week? Is it something we enjoy doing? Is it something that makes a difference in the world? Is it a combination of some or all of these? I think the point of working is open for interpretation. In "Shop Class Soulcraft," there is a quote from Alexandre Kojève:
"The man who works recognizes his own product in the World that has actually been transformed by his work: he recognizes himself in it, he sees in it his own human reality, in it he discovers and reveals to others the objective reality of his humanity of the originally abstract and purely subjective idea he has of himself" (3).
We can relate this quote to the stories of Mike Lefevre and Lincoln James from Studs Terkel's Working. Lefevre is a laborer. He works long days, most day of the week, doing physical labor. Lefevre likes what he does because at the end of the day he can point to something and is able to say, "I made that." He says, "I'd like to make my imprint. My dodo bird. A mistake, mine. Let's say the whole building is nothing but red bricks. I'd like to have just the black one or the white one or the purple one" (xxxviii). Lefevre works to create something. He wants to be able to point something out to his kids to show them what he's done. He believes a purposeful mistake is good because it distinguishes what he has done personally, it shows him his work.
On the other hand, James works for more reasons than just being able to point to something. He says, "I like what I'm doing. I never been laid off in thirty-six years. I look forward to going to work. I'd be lost if I wasn't working" (112). Throughout his story, readers can obviously see he takes pride in his work but his purpose is so much more than just that. James works because it helps define who he is. Working gives him a purpose, a sense of direction. Without work, he doesn't know where he would be or what he would be doing.
I think there are many reasons to work and why people work is subject to the individual. Some things to think about: is work only meaningful when you can stand back and point out what you've done? Or is there fulfillment in knowing you've impacted someone's life? Or is it just as satisfying to do what you love for work, even if the financial element isn't as high as you'd like it to be? We've been talking about this throughout the entire course and I don't think there is an answer. It is completely subjective, in my opinion. What do you think?
Until next time...
Camille
"The man who works recognizes his own product in the World that has actually been transformed by his work: he recognizes himself in it, he sees in it his own human reality, in it he discovers and reveals to others the objective reality of his humanity of the originally abstract and purely subjective idea he has of himself" (3).
We can relate this quote to the stories of Mike Lefevre and Lincoln James from Studs Terkel's Working. Lefevre is a laborer. He works long days, most day of the week, doing physical labor. Lefevre likes what he does because at the end of the day he can point to something and is able to say, "I made that." He says, "I'd like to make my imprint. My dodo bird. A mistake, mine. Let's say the whole building is nothing but red bricks. I'd like to have just the black one or the white one or the purple one" (xxxviii). Lefevre works to create something. He wants to be able to point something out to his kids to show them what he's done. He believes a purposeful mistake is good because it distinguishes what he has done personally, it shows him his work.
On the other hand, James works for more reasons than just being able to point to something. He says, "I like what I'm doing. I never been laid off in thirty-six years. I look forward to going to work. I'd be lost if I wasn't working" (112). Throughout his story, readers can obviously see he takes pride in his work but his purpose is so much more than just that. James works because it helps define who he is. Working gives him a purpose, a sense of direction. Without work, he doesn't know where he would be or what he would be doing.
I think there are many reasons to work and why people work is subject to the individual. Some things to think about: is work only meaningful when you can stand back and point out what you've done? Or is there fulfillment in knowing you've impacted someone's life? Or is it just as satisfying to do what you love for work, even if the financial element isn't as high as you'd like it to be? We've been talking about this throughout the entire course and I don't think there is an answer. It is completely subjective, in my opinion. What do you think?
Until next time...
Camille
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