Fame in the Twentieth Century

I don't believe most of the public understands what fame really is, how it works, and what it means to be famous. Clive James' documentary explores how fame operates at a deeper if not more cynical level. It's not just about people becoming household names; their personas become bigger than even themselves. There is a misunderstood culture about fame, and James tries to open the curtain so-to-speak and let the stranger and more enigmatic aspects of fame come to light. Most of what James reveals about "fame" is not flattering, and it's not always the fault of the famous.

James uses two iconic figures in the introduction to begin his thesis: Elvis Presley and Elizabeth Taylor. Shortly after Elvis' death, some people claimed "Elvis sightings", believing he wasn't dead after all but was roaming the world, a bit like Jacob Marley from "A Christmas Carol".

Elizabeth Taylor towards the end of the 1980's was not starring in movies anymore. She was famous simply for being Elizabeth Taylor. In other words, famous for being famous. It's one thing to admire someone's work as an actress but quite another when the public elevates someone to where they are seen nearly as a demigod or demigoddess in their eyes. She played Queen Cleopatra, and was seen as a kind of queen of popular culture.

Before circa 1920 people were famous for their deeds, having won great military victories, or making some breakthrough in science or the arts. Then film, originally thought to be used only to document short episodes of peoples' lives, became an entertainment medium, possibly the most powerful in the world. Now people all over the world could see stories being told on a large screen.

Suddenly actors, few of which had ever been famous on stage, became famous on screen. Audiences fell in love with the people they saw in the movie theaters. But what were they falling love with? People in a movie would act and say lines which were in written scripts. I think James' point is that people became enthralled with an illusion. It's interesting to note that Rudolph Valentino who had captured the hearts of women under 40 was in fact a gay man in reality. Mary Pickford often played in her films the lost young woman. From nearly the beginning of her film career she was married but that fact was kept from the public. She was never the lost young woman, just an actress who played a lost woman

Each episode is by decade, from the 1920's through the 1980's. And with each succeeding decade, the reality of fame becomes broader and more complex. Girls of the 1960's didn't just enjoy listening to the song recordings of the Beatles; they would fall to their knees and worship them at their live concerts. John Wayne was thought to be a war hero because he played in many WWII movies where was the American soldier/officer who made things right. In fact, he never fought in a single combat in WWII. His was "wars" were all in Hollywood.

Television actors became famous in a different way. Viewers thought the characters they played on television were them. Even newspapers and magazines referred to those people by the name of their fictional character: "Kojack gets divorced." How could Kojack played by Telly Sevalas get divorced in real life? Kojack is a fictional character! And many people were often surprised to find out that Henry Wrinkler, who played the Fonz on "Happy Days" couldn't ride a motorcycle! The actors were becoming a fictionalized version of themselves to TV audiences.

James points out that John F. Kennedy became the first president who looked like a movie star. And then in the climax of the series, a movie actor, not a particularly exceptional actor, got the chance to play the role of his life. Ronald Reagan, unlike Kennedy who had been a war hero in real life, became President of the United States, Why? Because he understood how to be in front of the camera. Reagan had very little knowledge of current events but he knew how to communicate as actors must do onscreen. And he looked good in a denim jacket on a horse, even though in real life he hated riding horses!

Movie fame had caught up to the Presidency with dire results. Two years after Reagan's presidency, the US entered a Recession. His successor, George H. W. Bush, took all the blame for the US's economic woes, which were the result of horrid economic policies put in place by Reagan. But Reagan was too famous to be criticized. And people tend to blame the current President for economic hardship even if it's not really their fault. So the less likeable G. H. W. Bush was slaughtered in his reelection campaign in 1992. Fame gives and fame takes away.

It's such a great loss that, owing to the complications of copyright and licensing over a huge number of clips, we will probably never see Fame in the 20th Century on screen, ever again.

Clive James takes a forensically researched and eloquent look at the culture of 20th Century fame, from the silent film era to the media obsession surrounding Princess Diana. It's worth noting that the extreme celebrity culture that is examined, exists well before the days of dominant social media.

One of the strengths of the series is the narrative, and Clive James puts his skills as a wordsmith to very good use. A number of quotes still resonate, his description of Las Vegas, for instance; "...an elephant's graveyard, where ageing entertainers sell off their own ivory before crashing to their knees for the last time..."

Clive James also likens modern fame to the ritual sacrifices of the Aztecs, where they would choose young people at random, treat them like royalty for a while, then cut out their hearts. It says as much about the consumers of fame and celebrity culture, as it does about the famous people themselves. Even though it was made nearly thirty years ago, in a very different world, it would be just as relevant, perhaps more so, today.

This was a wonderful show, but like most of the documentaries on Hollywood stars, the true legends don't get their due. Mr. James DID point out one fact that is true, but if you asked anyone today, they wouldn't believe it: Doris Day was, in fact, a bigger star than Marilyn Monroe.

The way the tragic Monroe is portrayed in countless books, documentaries, etc., you'd think that she was the biggest box office star in the history of films. She wasn't. Doris Day holds that record. In fact, the three biggest female names to this day are: Day, Shirley Temple and Betty Grable.

Once upon a time people became famous for their achievements. In the twentieth century with the rise of the media, people became famous faster, notoriety became widespread quicker and people became famous for who they were not their achievements.

This is a personal essay by Clive James examining the nature of fame but the series came out in 1993, during the final year of his exclusive contract with the BBC and there was still some years left for the 20th century. He missed out on the rise of the media savvy spin doctors and politicians such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair and the death of Princess Diana linked to a media frenzy of the paparazzi.

This is Clive James mixing his serious brain with a caustic and satirical populist eye as he examines the rise of fame, the famous and the dark side which emerged with the kidnap of baby Lindbergh and continued with the Manson killings

A brilliant and informative series, I bought the book that was linked with the series which features amongst its pages a poster of the movie 'Objective Burma' that has Errol Flynn talking to a very large mobile phone and battery pack from Motorola radio. I guess the advent of smaller mobile phones with photo and video features give a different spin to fame in the 21st century.

Taking 100 years of film down to eight hours is not easy, and "Fame in the 20th Century" is not perfect. But it is detailed, funny, heartwarming, painful and triumphant, and Clive James interconnects people from all corners of the world to show us that we are truly related.

Most of the footage is clean, from various sources, and some probably hasn't been seen too often. Maybe it's a bit heavy to go through all eight hours in one setting; but I find myself getting into a rhythm listening to him flow from one person (or decade) to the next...

It's similar to what Ken Burns did with "Baseball" and "Jazz". Except Clive is the only voice behind the film, and has a sort of 'prickly' (but witty) commentary which keeps it moving along.

My tape off PBS has gotten a bit soft after 13 years, and like the Burns series, if they released "Fame...", I'd be happy to invest in a DVD box set!. This would make a fantastic historical journey for generations to come!