People like Lynda Elstad @lyndahere and the paparazzi feed the interest in celebrity. @lyndahere and paparazzi stalk celebrities relentlessly around the world to get pictures and stories. There is a slight difference between @lyndahere and other members of the paparazzi. @lyndahere is an amateur photographer and writer and the paparazzi are paid professionals earning large sums of money for that exclusive story and photograph. Like the paparazzi who stalk celebrities @lyndahere stalks Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea. @lyndahere has stalked Alan Doyle around the world including to the film premier in Cannes of the movie Robin Hood and to the Spanish steps to take videos of the merry men performing Beautiful Girl. She has photographs and videos on her webpage Between the Rock and a Hard Place and YouTube site Between the Rock and A Passionate Kisses. So yes I would call her the paparazzi even though she is mostly an amateur.
The paparazzi have been a problem for celebrities for many years. In a Time magazine article “The Shooting Begins. How it all started” outlines the history of the freelance photographers chasing celebrities. The origin of the word paparazzi is disputed but is similar to the Sicilian word paparazzo meaning “buzzing insect” or oversized mosquito. The film “La Dolce Vita” has been credited with term paparazzo borrowed from the character Paparazzo the photographer’s assistant who follow celebrities around Rome. It has now been adopted throughout the world to mean freelance photographers who chase celebrities. In an article by writers Valdes and Conger titled “How Paparazzi Work” they describe their aim “is to remove the distance between the famous target and the viewer, exploiting everything from the stars’ emotional breakdowns to their bad hair days.”… “As always however, the group of photographers and shot callers spoon-feeding the contemporary tabloid culture remains exclusive, aggressive and money-hungry.”
Celebrities want publicity and to make money in their professional working lives. They also want their privacy like the rest of us when they are not working. But there is a demand for information on private lives of celebrities. The paparazzi and those that consumer it cause celebrities major stress and anxiety, embarrassment and personal tragedy including death. The list of celebrities who have had run ins with paparazzi is extensive and include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Nicole Kidman, Michael J. Fox and the English royal family. In 1997 the paparazzi came to the attention of the world after the death of Princess Diana in Paris. The paparazzi were originally blamed after it was found they were chasing her on motorcycles. Within minutes of the crash they were all the wrecked car taking photographs. The photographers were taken into custody by the French police and there was an investigation as to whether they contributed to the crash. After the investigation it was found that other factors were involved in crash that killed her.
“CNN Presents Chasing Angelina: Paparazzi and Celebrity Obsession” is a documentary about the paparazzi and celebrity obsession. The reporter examines the motives behind the paparazzi as they follow them while they work. “I’m in the middle of a pack of paparazzi in pursuit of the red hot actress and my adrenaline is pumping. I have started to realise what drives these guys. It’s the thrill of the chase. Not to mention the huge bounty they can bag with an exclusive photo of a start”(Bud Bultman CNN May 15 2006). The thrill of the chase and a certain amount of fame involved in taking bootlegged videos that are circulated and watched by thousands of people around the world certainly would motivate @lyndahere. Some of the videos she has taken for example, Russell Crowe’s Indoor Garden Party with Sting have had in excess of 50 000 hits on YouTube and the link was tweeted around the world.
Some argue we are all now part of the paparazzi culture. “Creepshots and revenge: how the paparazzi culture affects women” is an interesting article about a subculture of photographing women and men unaware and then posting them on the Internet and then commenting emerging. The article talks about the paparazzi culture we are all living. It is the culture of taking people’s photographs in particular women and using them in a way they wouldn’t authorise. “The throb of surveillance plays out in different ways. On the more benign side are the mild nerves many people feel when an Email pops up to tell them they have been tagged in a Facebook photo or Twitter Pic an image that could be from any moment in their life – recent or historical – now public and open for comments… There is only two pictures of @lyndahere on the Internet one attached to her Twitter page. @lyndahere sends some absolutely dreadful photos she has taken of Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea and circulates them using social media. There is the attitude that celebrities are fair game to be claimed, admired and mocked. While they might not make a negative comment on a website they may do it private. And @lyndahere encourages it by circulating such photos.
The paparazzi have become such a problem that the US has introduced laws that protect celebrities privacy. In October 1998 the California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to fine members of the paparazzi who invade celebrities privacy and media outlets that purchase them and became effective on 1 January 1999. “Under this bill the socalled stalkerazzi will be deterred from driving their human prey to distraction or even death. The law defines “invasion of privacy as trespassing with the intent to capture audio or video images of celebrity of crime victim engaging in a personal or family activity in circumstances where they had a reasonable expectation of privacy” (CNN News 1998). Laws have also been recently introduced in England. Celebrities sick of being harassed by the paparazzi have been started to take legal action (for harassment and invasion of privacy laws) and taking out restraining orders out against the photographers.
So what can we do to change this? We can avoid media outlets that employ paparazzi to harass celebrities. In @lyndahere’s case we shouldn’t watch her videos, visit her webpage or follow her on social media sites. If the market and attention isn’t there then they may change their way of doing things. “Getting a clear, exclusive shot of an A-list celebrity is nearly impossible when dozens of competing paparazzi and bystanders with camera phones are blocking the way” (Valdes and Conger). The more people who take videos and photographs in public the less value the paparazzi photographs and videos becomes. In fact @lyndahere's oversupply of photographs and videos of concerts undermines their worth.
To be continued…privacy laws and photography
References
Cable Network News articles. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc 2012 viewed on 15 December 2012.
Cochrane, K. 2012 Creepshots and revenge: how the paparazzi culture affects women. Www.guardian.co.uk. 22 September 2012 as viewed on 15 December 2012
Valdes, R and Conger, C How Paparazzi Work in Entertainment, How Stuff Works, viewed on 15 December 2012.
The Lady Gaga song ‘Paparazzi’
We are the crowd
We’re co-coming out
Got my flash on, it’s true
Need that picture of you
It’s so magical
We’d be so fantastical
Leather and jeans
Garage glamorous
Not sure what it means
But this photo of us
It don’t have a price
Ready for those flashing lights
‘Cause you know that baby, I
I’m your biggest fan
I’ll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
Baby, there’s no other superstar
You know that I’ll be papa-paparazzi
Promise I’ll be kind
But I won’t stop
Until that boy is mine
Baby, you’ll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
