Devin Glenn - Supplemental Post #2

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend the People’s Choice Awards. Much like the other seat filling events I’ve attended in the past, the day included a lot of waiting. When the production team was finally ready for us, we walked into the airplane hanger where the taping was happening and got ready to do our thing. The first seat I was assigned was right behind the table where Halle Bailey, Tom Hiddleston, Ice Spice, and Kathryn Hahn were. I wasn’t expecting any of them to be in attendance, so it felt especially cool to be so close in proximity to them. In this spot, I was also a table away from the entire Grey’s Anatomycast, two tables away from Rachel Zegler, and three tables away from Billie Eilish, Kylie Minogue, and America Ferrera. Although I got moved around quite a bit during the course of the evening, I did get to talk to Kathryn Hahn at one point, and her sweet daughter ended up volunteering to take a picture of her mom and me together. Kathryn Hahn is one of my favorite comedic actresses, so that interaction definitely made my day! 


One particularly interesting thing about the People’s Choice Awards that pertains to our class discussions is that because it isn’t the most prestigious of award shows, there are typically a lot of influencers who end up getting invited almost as “premium” seat-fillers of sorts. This year, the setup of the stage was such that there was a distinct divide between here the influencers’ tables were located and where the “real” stars’ tables were located. Structurally, I found it fascinating that the organizers didn’t even attempt to cloak the stratified social status system so apparent in the seating arrangement. Only after I left the taping and looked up TikToks using the hashtag #PeoplesChoiceAwards did I see that there was a bit of a controversy with Billie Eilish at the event. Apparently, before the program began, she was talking with Kylie Minogue and asked, “Why are there so many TikTokers here?” before she made a cringe face and shook her head. Although Billie tried to cover her mouth while she said this, a camera positioned at a different angle still caught her words. The irony of the entire situation—of Billie’s private moment being invaded by the very influencers she was complaining about (via their ever-poised cameras)—suggests the possibility that influencers have overtaken a large sector of what was traditionally occupied by the paparazzi. Though it’s true that Billie’s words could imply a sense of superiority that seeks to differentiate the everyday influencer from the iconic celebrity, they could conversely raise the valid concern that celebrities are no longer afforded any moments of solace outside their own homes as influencers now co-occupy many spaces with them. Before, a commercial break was a time for celebrities to turn off a for a bit before cameras were thrust back in their faces, but now, celebrities have to be on, even during “breaks” since there are cameras everywhere. The omnipresent threat of looming cameras wielded up fans and influencers alike could be viewed as a type of popular culture panopticon (a pop-opticon, if you will) that constantly monitors celebrities.

Postscript: This is more of a random side note, but on Tuesday night, I got to take my mom (who was visiting for a few days) to the Academy Museum for a showing of Killers of the Flower Moon followed by a Q&A with Lily Gladstone. We had a marvelous time and it was incredible to hear Lily share her experiences and insights as she was preparing for her role as Mollie Burkhart in the film. That, in addition to my experience at the People’s Choice Awards and the premiere of the new live-action Avatar the Last Airbender Netflix series I additionally attended on Wednesday, made it so last week was a star-studded constellation of evenings for me.

Killers of the Flower Moon Screening/Q&A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avatar The Last Airbender Premiere (Part 1)










 

Avatar The Last Airbender Premiere (Part 2)

 

 

 

 

 

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