Young people often feel pressured to fit in. Inundated with media showing famous, good-looking guys and beautiful women in up-to-the-minute clothes, hanging out on the red carpet … this tends to cause unfair comparisons with everyday people in real life.
The result for the younger generation is a general perception of so-called cool kids on the campus who should be looked up to, followed and esteemed, while the quiet, less-flashy teens are ignored and even demeaned or outright bullied. The in-crowd are seen as local “stars”: their lives coveted in the same manner as the rich and famous.
However, we need to remind our young people that even celebrities’ supposedly perfect lives are, actually, not perfect at all. Indeed, some are now convicted criminals. Others are villains hiding in plain sight, in between the more upstanding and honest famous folks. Something to remember, when considering who to look up to. It is more worthwhile to treat everyone with the same courtesy, and to consider that those quiet and less-popular teenagers may well grow up to be successful and decent members of society.
I recently came across an essay by Meena Chopra, a renowned artist, poet, author and art curator, currently living in Ontario, Canada. She gives us an important message, and it is worth reading. I have been given permission to post it here.
Image Over Substance: A Challenge to Creators in the Age of Celebrity
Meena Chopra: November 13, 2024
In an era of relentless celebrity worship, we, as writers, artists, and creators, are often seduced into the orbit of image—a crafted, manufactured thing that too often takes precedence over substance. Celebrity culture doesn’t just prioritize image over authenticity; it thrives on it, using artifice as currency. But in this game of appearances, can true art, real expression, or genuine innovation ever thrive? If we’re to create something that lasts, something meaningful, we must dismantle this glossy, curated myth and embrace the difficult, sometimes chaotic truths it conceals.
The modern world operates on surface impressions. Quick flashes, bite-sized visuals, and perfectly staged moments fill our screens. But we should question every polished image, every brand “story,” and every crafted persona for the illusion it projects. As creators, we’re often encouraged to play along, become brands, and mold ourselves into digestible narratives. We’re sold the idea that if we build our “image” with enough followers and enough clicks, we will somehow become our truest, most successful selves. But is that what we want our art, writing, or ideas to be—a shallow echo of celebrity culture?
Influence today is rarely about ideas or talent alone. Power often lies in those who can create the most palatable, shareable version of themselves, who can trade in the currency of “relatability” without ever risking real vulnerability. But the truth, real art, is messy. It has contradictions, sharp edges, and uncomfortable realities. Celebrity culture, in contrast, sands down those edges, hides the cracks and encourages everyone to wear the mask of flawlessness. Where does that leave us, those who aspire to explore the human condition in its rawest form? This question must disrupt us, and haunt us. Are we willing to discard depth for the sake of a clean aesthetic, to abandon our convictions for the illusion of mass appeal?
For those of us committed to real creativity, these glossy images should serve as a cautionary tale. They are the antithesis of what it means to create. They tell us to stay in our comfort zones, to adhere to a formula, and to play the part that resonates best with an audience. But art—and the people behind it—should never be that predictable. Real innovation, the kind that changes paradigms, doesn’t come from appeasing expectations; it comes from shattering them.
Imagine what happens when we refuse to construct these shallow identities. When we choose to be complex, contradictory, and difficult to categorize. Imagine what would happen if we allowed our cracks, our messy truths, our unfiltered ideas to be seen. True expression demands more than surface appeal. It demands transparency, courage, and a willingness to stand on the precipice of one’s vulnerability.
Our world is desperate for authenticity, but the pressure to conform to a glossy, influencer-friendly template is suffocating the voices that would otherwise disrupt and expand our understanding of the human experience. If we are to create, we must break out of this aesthetic prison. Let us not just critique the culture that prioritizes image over substance—let us dismantle it, replacing it with something real, raw, and lasting. This is a call to revolt: reject the lure of image, disrupt the comfort of your own carefully crafted personas, and remind the world what art, in its most unvarnished form, can truly be.
Let’s be the ones to disrupt, provoke, and demand a world where substance eclipses image, and where influence is earned through bold ideas rather than staged moments. Because real art, real writing, and real creation come from the place where we are no longer asking how we look—but how we feel, how we think, and how we can challenge the world around us to be something deeper, something truer, than a pretty picture.
Original Source: Restless Streak of Meena’s Art: