Analyzing Fame Through the One Direction Movie
Our celebrity obsessed culture promotes fame as something to be desired but is it really? Several of the children in my life have expressed the desire to have fame and fortune as their sole interest in what they want for their future. This seems short-sighted but with social media influencers, viral videos, and the lives of entertainers constantly shoved in their faces, who can blame them? With that in mind, I decided to watch the 2013 documentary, One Direction: This is Us, to get a glimpse of just how high the cost of fame can be.
The band was formed in 2010 and broke up in 2016, so the documentary was at the height of their fame. I thought it might prove to be interesting because Morgan Spurlock — the mastermind behind Super Size Me and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold — directed it. I hoped Spurlock might give a riveting analysis on celebrity in general and the big business of musical groups in particular but I was disappointed. Even so, the movie said more than it meant to.
As a documentary, This is Us is not great. It clearly was designed as promotional material for the band, One Direction. Since I’m not their intended audience and didn’t know the basics, the movie informed me that the band was comprised of five young men (the oldest was 22) from the United Kingdom. They were five strangers who were formed into a group after being…
