The recent hacking of celebrity phones to share intimate images of their private lives has become increasingly common over the few last years. Sex and skin sell, particularly when celebrities are involved and intimate images of celebs are readily available through cyberspace (Karmack,11). Because of the nature of these hackings and their unwanted release, it is arguable that these images can be classified as revenge porn, causing significant amounts of damage to it's their victims. By considering such images as a form of revenge porn, our understanding of the presentation of the ideological spheres of public and private in regard to celebrity can be exposed
On the 31st August 2014 hundreds of intimate photos of celebrities were released to the public via the site 4chan.org (Lawson,607). These images were largely of female celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kaley Cuoco and Kirsten Dunst. In what appeared to be a targeted hack on these celebrity iCloud accounts, these photos became widespread phenomena in cyberspace, being viewed and shared thousands of times. This, in turn, breached the privacy of these celebrities, causing harm and damage to both their reputations and careers.O'Connor argues that celebrities should take responsibility in their role in said hackings, that they should have secured their photos better, or not taken the pictures at all given the inevitability of the targeted hacking of celebrities. However, regardless of O'Connor's claims that celebrities participate in their demise, there is presumably a larger argument, that we should view these celebrities as victims whose privacy was invaded because of the careers they hold. What we do in our private lives is just that, private and should remain so regardless an individual's presence in the public eye.
Citron and Franks define revenge porn as "nonconsensual pornography invole[ing] the distribution of sexually graphic images of individuals without their consent,"(346). It is often a way to seek revenge or humiliate the individual depicted in these images. By this definition then we can see 2014 iCloud hacking as a form of revenge porn. Nabil suggests that revenge porn is "driven by an increased interest by society in the private sexual encounters of ordinary people' due to the ‘sexualisation and pornification of new media'" (10). Arguably this can also be applied to the interest the public has in the lives of celebrities. Given the very nature of the manner in which the images of Lawrence, Cuoco, Dunst and other victims were released, it is clear that the release was without their consent and perpetrated with the intention of humiliating and exposing these women.” (O’Connor, 3). Morgan suggests that celebrity sex tapes, or in this case nude images factor into the revenge porn equation, that "the release of salacious images of well-known figures or even the rumor that they exist" can harm their reputation (96). Morgan also argues that these instances are beneficial to those in the business of selling the everyday lives of celebrities; gossip magazines and websites (1). With a growing interest in the authentic lives of celebrities; the need to see and know everything about them being encouraged with the presence of new media, hackings like this one could become a regular occurrence. This could lead to the acceptance (perhaps encouragement) of the publication of revenge porn.
As an invasive breach of privacy, the 2014 iCloud hacking raises questions about the way society views celebrities, the blurred boundaries many fans hold when it comes to the private and public spheres these stars reside in. There are often assumptions that due to being present in public so often celebrities are public property and should allow fans to know everything about them. Lawson suggests that “the release of these nude photographs highlights the tensions between celebrities’ desire to maintain private selves and the public’s desire for an authentic, intimate glimpse of those private selves’ (608). Fans often see themselves as responsible for these celebrities careers, the fans holding the power to engage with the work celebrities produce and make it an economic success, or vice vera, thus controlling their levels of fame and success (Marshall, 636). This is often the rationale behind their belief in a 'right' to have full access to these celebrities' lives With the rise of a ‘fast-moving digital world' that allows us to be continually updated, private and personal information of celebrities is easily accessible, despite attempts to conceal it (Mitchell, 283). Marshall argues that the discourse that accompanies fame often leads to the "breaking down of the representational layers of dealing with the private self in public" meaning celebrities expose their "private worlds for public consumption" (639). Sometimes this is intentionally done through a celebrity’s social media posts or interviews but is accomplished through the exposure of their worlds via means such as the iCloud hacking or paparazzi photos. Knee uses the term "unauthorized authenticity" to discuss our need to find the "true nature of celebrities" via these sort of sources (163). Instead of glimpses of their idealized lives mediated by publicists, manager and movie executives, we can access their authentic selves through leaked or captured images that we believe to be real (163). Lawson argues that images like the ones from the iCloud hacking, give viewers a sense of intimacy that they crave with their favourite celebrities, experiencing the private selves, they rarely get to see (608). By viewing this as the only way of gaining access our favourite celebrities, we become a society constantly reliant on tabloids, gossip sites, and paparazzi to expose their private lives (Lawson,607). This subsequent ideology towards celebrities creates a society where individual public and private spheres no long exist when it comes to our interest in their lives.
This lack of boundaries between the public and private when it comes to society’s interest in celebrities is frequently two sided. Though we crave every little detail about their lifestyles, we are also often the first to judge when we disagree with what they are doing in their private lives as demonstrated in the release of nude images during the iCloud hacking. Though as previously mentioned Nabil sees society as becoming more interested other’s sexual encounter’s, there is arguably a double standard to this idea (10). While society does hold new interest in sexuality, we are also quick to judge these displays of sexuality. Displays of sexuality such as nude images or sex tapes that are intended to be shared privately between partners are seen as vulgar or ‘slutty’ as soon as they enter the public sphere, a place they were never intended to be in. Citron and Franks argue that "intimate photos are increasingly being distributed online, potentially reaching thousands, even millions of people with a click of a mouse" with the internet amplifying this exponentially(350). For celebrities, when images are released, or if there is even a rumor of such images existing, the double standard held in society increases. Society holds their favourite celebrities on pedestals, often expecting them to uphold society’s conservative standards. Fans often forget that celebrities are human too and that they are allowed to make mistakes, just like the rest of society. The recent iCloud hacking demonstrates that due to new media including blogs, Twitter, fan and gossip websites, these images are so accessible that it is easy to make quick judgments about these celebrities and these images (Marshall,634). Gone is the idea that these celebrities are victims of a crime (revenge pornography)instead replaced by the idea that they are participants in the cyber-porn industry. Lawson would suggest that these images are mentally aligned with what society assumes about pornography; filthy, overtly sexual acts that should not be accepted by society (608). As female celebrities suffered the bulk of the hack, slut-shaming also comes into play, women are criticized for exploring a healthy interest in sexuality and are declared 'bad influences' on young girls in society who look up to them (Citron & Franks,348). By maintaining this idea, society is endorsing the notion that a healthy exploration of sexuality is shameful when it should, instead, be turning it an open conversation, teaching youth that it is normal and completely acceptable to explore sexuality and intimacy but also online safety and repercussions (Lawson,608). The fascination with celebrity culture that society continues to hold is seemingly contradicted by the same society's harsh judgments surrounding sexual exploration and expression. Society continues to blur the margins of public and private while pushing ideologies that are harmful to both celebrities and youth.
The 2014 hacking of various female celebrities' iCloud accounts highlights many key issues in society. By viewing this as a form of revenge porn, we can have a greater understanding of the effects it has on its victims and society as well as the damage it has on the reputation of those involved. We can also begin to understand the growing interest of society surrounding this form of pornography, particularly when it meets with new media. The benefit of the images themselves is that they highlight the growing paradoxes in society when it comes to celebrity discourse, a double standard of the public and private spheres. As a society we are constantly curious about the authentic lives of celebrities, wanting to dive deeper into their privacy and contrast this with what they present to the public. On the other hand, though, we are also quick to judge a celebrity for indecency when what they do in their private lives does not meet our high standards. The mixed reactions to incidents like the iCloud hacking emphasize the contradictions our society has about the boundaries of public and private when it comes to the intersection of celebrity culture, pornography, and cyberspace.
Works Cited
Citron, Danielle Keats, and Mary Anne Franks. "Criminalising Revenge Porn.(Internet Privacy Regulation)." Wake Forest Law Review 49.2 (2014): 345-91. HeinOnline. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
Karmack, Mitchell D. "Empowering Celebrities in Cyberspace: Stripping the Web of Nude Images." Publication of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries 15.4 (1998): 11-16. HeinOnline. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
Knee, Adam. "Celebrity Skins: The Illicit Textuality of the Celebrity Nude Magazine." Framing Celebrity : New Directions in Celebrity Culture. Ed. Su Holmes and Sean Redmond. New York: Routledge, 2006. 161-77. Print.
Lawson, Caitlin E. "Pixels, Porn, and Private Selves: Intimacy and Authenticity in the Celebrity Nude Photo Hack." Celebrity Studies 6.4 (2015): 607-09. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
Marshall, P. David. "New Media - New Self : The Changing Power of Celebrity." The Celebrity Culture Reader. By P. David. Marshall. New York: Routledge, 2006. 634-44. Print.
Mitchell, Justine. "Censorship in Cyberspace: Closing the Net on ‘Revenge Porn’." Entertainment Law Review, 25.8 (2014): 283-90. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
Morgan, Richard. "Revenge Porn." Details 27.2 (2008): 96. General OneFile [Gale]. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
Nabil, Md. From Sex Tapes to Revenge Porn: Constructions of a Genre: Gender, Sexuality and Power in New Media. Diss. Stockholm U, Faculty of Arts, Department of Media Studies, 2014. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
O'Connor, Laurel. "Celebrity Nude Photo Leak: Just One More Reminder 'at Privacy Does Not Exist Online and Legally, 'ere’s Not Much We Can Do About It." Web log post. GGU Law Review Blog. Golden Gate University School of Law, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment