Fame vs. semi-fame
Photo: Jessica Zebra, acrylic paint and papier-mache, by Jay Lozada and me
Hanging out with my friend E is a walking demonstration of the difference between Fame and Semi-fame. I am semi-, okay, quarter-famous among people who read contemporary Filipino authors. E is extremely famous among people who listen to contemporary Filipino music. Fact: More people listen to music than read books. Fact: E’s old band was hysterically popular and they had a concert last month.
At my, uh, level, I get asked for an autograph or to have someone’s picture taken with me a couple of times a week. Sometimes I get chatted up, most times people just gawk while pretending not to gawk, either because it’s not cool or I might cut their heads off. E gets stared at openly, and by a wider demographic. If big, beefy guys looked at me the way they look at him, I’d call the police. While walking he gets stopped and asked to pose for pictures every 100 meters. Every waiter in the restaurant we ate in had their photo taken with him.
I think the fame level of E’s current band suits him better: you can actually talk to him now. The whole time I worked with the ‘heads he only spoke in monosyllables. That’s the way to torment me: converse in monosyllables.
If you’ve never been famous, you may have a dream view of fame. Fame carries lots of perks. You acquire certain advantages, whether you deserve them or not. Fame is a kind of artificial beauty: when famous people walk into a restaurant, conversations pause and chewing of food is suspended. It’s just like what happens when beautiful people walk into a place, except that the famous can look like trolls. Who wouldn’t want the illusion of beauty?
Being famous sounds like the cat’s pajamas. Well I’ve tried making my cats wear pajamas, and they loathe it. It’s pretty when you’re looking at it from the outside, but when you’re in there you might feel like an idiot. You suspect that you’re constantly being watched and judged, and you would be right. My theory is that vacuous people handle fame so much better because they don’t have a self to override.
But I’m talking from the mezzanine and the view from the penthouse is probably different.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
April 21st, 2009 at 00:57
It’d be interesting to see how this Susan Boyle thing play out in the end. Okay, somewhat off-topic. I wish the Eraserheads would do a final concert in Visayas and Mindanao as well. There. On topic.
April 21st, 2009 at 09:57
kapag nasa public places ang artista tapos hindi sila “on duty” (or they’re not there to work), hindi ako nagpapapicture or i dont stare at them kahit gusto ko sila. pero kapag nakita ko si E, ibang usapan na yan. hehe
April 21st, 2009 at 18:27
When famous people are within sight, I am oftentimes not aware of it! It takes prodding from my companions that so-and-so famous person is in the same restaurant/mall/breathing space as I am. I just don’t have the built in celebrity-within-radius radar.
I just hope when it comes to E (and I am such a fan), my celebrity radar is on high! I just don’t know if I can be nonchalant about it because it’s my fervent wish to see him up close with a souvenir photo and autograph. I just might act as your average overzealous fan that he’ll wish not to cross paths with me!
And Jessica, when I saw you in a mall years ago, I could only stare, having gone tongue-tied. It was at the time you still have a TV show on Studio 23. It was a good thing I was with a friend who pointed you out to me. How I wish I could have been indifferent but when it comes to celebrities whose careers I have followed (with you, it started with your Twisted articles on Today), I could just act like a fan that I am.
April 21st, 2009 at 20:17
your sister used to be my office mate many years ago and kapag pinupuntahan mo sya, I can only stare a few cubicles away. at patago. one time nasalubong kita sa lobby and I acted as normal as I could but when you passed behind me para akong nanlambot na pusa. I don’t know if you can still remember pero ako ang nagmamay-ari ng apat na Twisted books na pinapirmahan nya sayo. pina-abot ko nalang sa kanya, baka kasi himatayin ako pag pinirmahan mo sa harap ko :)
pero kung si E ang makikita at masasalubong ko baka hindi lang panlalambot ang maranasan ko.
April 22nd, 2009 at 00:14
I like to think I won’t get breathless and giggly if I ever met someone I was in awe of, regardless of degree of notoriety. The coolest semi-celebrities I’ve met are the ones who haven’t let their fame go to their heads, and project a “treat me like a normal person dammit” aura.
I may, however, let out a squeal if I ever relive my friend’s British Museum experience: she was in the same room as a man whom she recognized in a flash as Kenneth Branagh. They made eye contact, he winked at her, and moved to the next room.
I wonder how celebrities who attract some really disturbed followers deal with it, though, and I don’t mean stalkers. Like the (apocryphal?) tale of Kurt Cobain being horrified to hear that two men had raped a girl while singing the Nirvana song “Polly”. (Cobain was probably not the best example of someone knowing how to deal with fame.)
April 23rd, 2009 at 09:00
For the most part, I love and do music more than reading and writing. But the latter two are the stuff I can better pull off than the former until I fall asleep.
I also like think I can differentiate the music from the musician (familiar?). But I can’t and I won’t. It’s like splitting Chip Tsao from his sarcasm.
That’s why ( I hate to confess it even to myself) I’m one of those rabid fans. And here’s the rub – I’m not the only one. And if stalking is not a fuss, I’d be that sicko. Master E is the lover I’ve always wanted for the 19 years of my lackluster life! (Peace!)
But/And since I’m sharing.
Last year, we actually thought of inviting you, Ms. Zafra as our main event in our org activity at school (but, buts are buts). And the mere thought of it made us ‘HIGH’. Even as we already ideally set ourselves, I can’t compose myself with this simple question “How do I exactly talk to her?” (Like I said, I can’t find a way to separate the writer from her works, if you know what I mean).
Mr. Manuel Quezon III (our former resource speaker) shared his experience with you, actually. He said he asked you some tips of good writing with the facial language (can’t judge if it was the exact), and he said you only said one word. “READ.” That alone made us itch.
So I’ve come to my wildest guess:
I can better talk with Master E than with You. Or deal, at that.
_Confessions of a writer-and-musician-wanna-be_
PS.
And how do you mean by quarter-famous? You are miles famous Ms. Z. Among us. But who cares about being famous anyway (esp when you’re a writer)? Fame makes one hypocrite.