Halloween
has become big business. A strip-mall near us opened a seasonal store in an
empty space that once housed a chain’s craft store. It is advertised as being
some sort of “Halloween central.” Looking through the massive windows as I
passed by, it appeared like every imaginable item for Halloween was on display.
Ghoulish costumes were hung beside life-like skeletons. Pumpkins were
positioned beside fake caldrons which I suppose will be a prop for a costumed witch.
The mega-mall of Halloween “necessities” also had racks and racks of costumes
depicting various professions and popular personalities. I can only guess that
somewhere among those racks there was some kind outlandish outfit that
represented Lady Gaga.
There is no question that Lady Gaga
continues to be a famous cultural figure. Recently she was listed in Time
magazine’s list of 100 most influential people of 2019 right beside Taylor
Swift, Michelle Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump, and Pope
Francis, among others. As a trick-or-treater, which costume depicting one of
the 100 most influential people would you choose? Would your choice say
something about you?
Popularity carries with it a lot of
baggage. If you have any doubts, consider a three-word tweet that Lady Gaga,
the 33-year old
Grammy and Oscar-winning singer posted, “Fame is prison.” The tweet has
generated all sorts of speculation even suggesting this is the title of her
next album. Others conclude she is expressing the pressure she faces due to the
constant scrutiny and oppressive expectations people place upon her. It is well
known that Lady Gaga has battled anxiety and depression since her teenage years.
Days before this tweet, her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, was on “CBS This
Morning” talking about the struggles Gaga had that led up to their co-founding
“Born This Way Foundation.” This foundation focuses upon helping young people
to practice mental and emotional wellbeing.
Whether or not this is the title of her
next album is not the main point. It is a reality – “Fame is prison.”
History
is littered with people who have had their lives smothered by fame. Aggravating
this problem is social media as well as mass media in general. How many of us
have sadly seen a celebrity’s child hounded by paparazzi as they are simply trying
to go about ordinary tasks in their everyday lives. It is sad to see a
photograph of Princess Charlotte going on a simple task with her mother,
Duchess Catherine, surrounded by cameras pressing upon her. What a
claustrophobic experience for a young child. How can she live normally? Her
fame has caused her to be surrounded by people who cared little for her. They are
preoccupied by her fame and have imprisoned her daily activities with
unnecessary intrusions. Do all people bearing the burden of fame feel the same
emotional weight?
How does one deal with such pressure? Jesus
knew something of the pressure of fame. Fame comes from many sources. There is fame
associated with popularity when a person is held in high esteem. Jesus was
regarded as a popular speaker and engaged in magnificent works. The result was
he was surrounded by people pressing upon him. A whole city was gathered at the
house where he stayed so that there was no more room for people to get near him
(Mark 1:32-33; 2:1-3) and he and his disciples did not even have time to eat
(3:20).
There is another sort of fame that arises
when one becomes a cultural pariah – when one is considered the enemy of culture’s
status quo. Jesus faced this too as the religious establishment looked at him
as competition who would upset life as they lived it (John 11:46-48). They
looked at him and his fame and ultimately plotted to eliminate him and
influenced a crowd to join them in this quest.
Emily
Dickinson well said, “Fame is a fickle food - Upon a shifting plate.” The same
people who crowded around Jesus because they could not get enough of him were
the same people later in his life that wanted nothing to do with him. They
wanted to destroy him. They cried, “Crucify him!”
Lady Gaga looks at her fame as a prison.
Perhaps it is now, but the fame will dissipate. Fame is a moment in time that
will pass as it dims into oblivion. Considering this may I offer several
suggestions: don’t live for fame; don’t be distracted by fame; don’t be ruled
by fame; and don’t be changed by fame. Work on being a person of godly character,
not a person of temporary fame. Character always trumps fame!
