Teenage Paparazzo critique

Back in late September, I saw the HBO premiere of Teenage Paparazzo, Adrian Grenier’s latest project. You may recognize him from the hit show Entourage, which depicts the dramatic life of a working actor and his posse or “entourage” in LA. However, in Teenage Paparrazo, Adrian strips himself of his celebrity-ism and grabs a camera, filming the insatiable American appetite for celebrity gossip.

After getting “sprayed with 10-15 rapid fire shots” by a 13 year old who could barely lift the camera up to his face, Adrian was utterly shocked that this young boy was taking his picture and being paparazzo. By documenting the life of 13 year old Austin Visschedyk-the premature, fast-talking paparazzo- Adrian wanted to discover this obsession with celebrity life and what motivates people to stalk the famous.

That's Austin

It was quite interesting seeing this little kid get calls at all times in the day about where Kim Kardashian is, or where Paris Hilton is, and then having to grab his camera and jet to the site to take some shots. What’s funny is that these celebs are more willing to let Austin take their pictures, because they see him as a little, “cute,” and adorable boy, but the fact that he’s profiting off of their social life, and their every move doesn’t really affect them. This kid makes $500 -$1000 a picture, and it really is showing of how much we are willing to spend just to see a celebrity getting into their car, or leaving a bar.

They seem like hounds

  As the documentary points out, people want to get as close to these celebrities as possible because they feel they know them personally from seeing their movies or hearing their songs. We feel a connection. However, we must realize that we only know their characters or their personas…not themselves personally. In addition, within ourselves we feel a little desire to be celebrities too. While Adrian was filming Austin, Austin asked him if the paparazzi will go and take his (Austin’s) picture when the film gets released. This desire to be famous, and be in the spotlight is exciting to many, but to some it only shows vanity. The stereotype about celebrities is that they are self-centered, always want to be in the pictures, and indulge in their glamorous lifestyle. However, the documentary also does a great job of balancing the pros with the cons of celebrity-ism.

Several appearances by well-known celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, Paris Hilton and others, show that while the glam is all cool for a little while, it stresses their private life, giving them little privacy at all. After hearing their stories, I realized that the little things we “normal people” do everyday are extremely difficult for celebs; going to the grocery store, shopping at the mall, walking the dog, and hanging out with friends. We can do these things with no hassle, but the moment a celebrity steps out of their house, they are swarmed by the paparazzi. This funny video puts it all into perspective.



But in all seriousness, why are we that interested in the lives of celebrities? As the documentary stated, we feel their lives are different from ours, but in all truth they are just as human as we are. They use the bathroom, they brush their teeth, they cook, and they clean too. They are “normal people living abnormal lives.” What’s sad is that these celebrities are ridiculed for the smallest thing. We hold them to such a high standard that when we see an imperfection with them, it becomes a huge deal. For instance, when those recordings of Mel Gibson lashing out at his girlfriend were released, it shocked the public and now his career is down the toilet. I’m not defending Mel because he’s totally crazy, but people get into arguments/fights all the time, and it’s not nearly as shocking as when a celeb throws a fit. Look at when Rihanna was abused by Chris Brown, his career is poop too, but the point is tons of women are domestically abused everyday and we don’t see their stories on the news. Even worse, look at Lindsey Lohan, her bout with alcoholism and going to court has been going on way too long, but yet we are still wrapped up in her story because it’s Lindsey Lohan. If it were any average Joe, would we care?

The documentary serves to point out that these celebrities are public figures. When starting this career, they know that paparazzi and stalking and random people asking for autographs all come with the lifestyle. But I believe we are going too far. For instance, remember when Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears were having their babies, magazines paid millions… (Millions!) to have the first baby pictures. To me, these celebrities are cashing in on their private lives. The more exposure they get, whether they do good or bad, means the more people are using tossing their names around at home, the more movie or recording deals they may get. And ultimately, the more fame they receive. In addition, in a post documentary interview, Adrian points out how important the need for fame is especially in Hollywood, where everyone is vying to keep their name in the lights. In New York for example, we have more than one industry. We have Wall Street, the fashion industry, and big corporations. Entertainment isn’t our only industry as it is in Los Angeles. In addition, there are so many people in New York, so it’s easy to fade out of the limelight here, than it is in California. In a way the paparazzi are helping the Celebs keep their status and their reputation.

Adrian tackles all of these themes of privacy, fame, money, and dignity that seem to be taken advantage of in the lifestyle of a celebrity. His documentary also shows how being a paparazzo at such an early age has changed Austin and has affected his life. For instance, at one point in the film, you can see Austin yelling at his mom and telling her what to do. Obviously he has lost his place as a child by being involved in an adult world. What concerned me was how this kid is missing out on his childhood, by chasing celebs. Austin; there are better things to do in life! Youth doesn’t last forever, so enjoy it while it lasts. At the close of the documentary, I think Austin begins to realize how much of a monster he has become and declines his Reality show deal and returns to being a normal teen.

In short, I think Adrian did a fabulous job. He really covered how the paparazzi affect celebrities and vice versa. We have to remember, that as cruel a job as it is, the paparazzi need to pay their bills too. Furthermore, Adrian didn’t take a biased standpoint. Being a celebrity himself, he realized how important it is to have the freedom to take pictures and make movies. The mere act of him making this documentary was representative of how everyone has the right to buy a camera and go out a film something; nothing should stop you. Check out his interview.


However, we must realize that celebrities need their space too. Even though I mentioned that I won’t talk about celebrity lives on this blog, I couldn’t help but report on this documentary. It really is exemplary of how hard their lives are, and of their unforgiving lifestyle. While some enjoy being starry-eyes wannabes and others like saying cruel things about them, this documentary conveyed how much celebrities sacrifice and how corrupt (idk if I’m using the right word?) the entertainment industry is. Seriously, to me celebrities seem like puppets in a fake world that’s just as easy to enter as it is to leave.

Check out this song, it was originally performed by Courtney Love, but Hole remade it in1998. Called Celebrity Skin, this song depicts the harsh celebrity world; how easy it is to be forgotten, how easy it is to be transformed from the real you to a made up/ crowd pleasing personality. In comparison to the documentary, this song shows other aspects that celebrities undergo in the entertainment world. The lyrics speak of the struggle to remain famous while everyone around you is making you up to be a “walking study” for the world to pick at. It may seem like some sort of grunge anger at how superficial the industry is, but I guess it speaks the truth at the lifestyle, just as Adrian’s documentary did. Here’s a glimpse at the lyrics and check out the song.



“When I wake up in my makeup
It's too early for that dress
Wilted and faded somewhere in Hollywood
I'm glad I came here
With your pound of flesh
No second billing cause you're a star now
Oh, Cinderella
They aren't sluts like you
Beautiful garbage beautiful dresses
Can you stand up or will you just fall down

You better watch out
What you wish for
It better be worth it
So much to die for”