Paparazzi Evolution Through the Ages

Paparazzi is originally a result of the Italian word Paparazzo referring to freelance photographer who hunts celebrities to get their candid moments. Over time the culture has changed for the better and for the worse. In this post, we explore how this culture evolved over the span of time. The roots can be traced all the way back to the 1960’s when an Italian photographer’s search for photographs of a celebrity hit the news. Latter, the term paparazzo was popularised in the 1954 film 'La Dolce Vita' initiating the time of Paparazzi.

But the celebrity culture continued to grow and people began to idolise TV show and movie stars and celebrities. People made these stars on a pedestal on such a large amount, that there was the need to have Paparrazi. The paparazzi fit fans’ demands to perfection – they wanted to be able to get a personal peek into the life of their favourite stars. That’s how the paparazzi got into society. 

The Tabloid Age

Tabloid journalism was invented in the 1970s and 80s and, together with the growing demand for occasion paparazzi photos, played a part in perpetuating the need for paparazzi photos. These personal photographs of some celebrities were used by the tabloids and magazines in a way that these personal photographs were used to light up controversies, write fake sensational stories and many other unethical ways in order to boost up the readership and sales of their own products and services. 

With enough images being fed into their stomachs of being able to see into the life of their favourite celebs, the paparazzi also gained money selling these images to media outlets that publish them. At the other side, the whole culture began to impact a lot on the life of the celebrities. They didn’t have that limited privacy they used to enjoy. It gets into their phones, it gets into their school, they don’t feel safe outside of their home. After a while though it became unbearable for the majority of celebs to deal with, meanwhile some enjoyed it and were always in the public eye. 

The Digital Age

With that came the extent of the digital age and social media that changed the entire land scape of the paparazzi culture not only for the paparazzi, but for the actors itself. The famous celebrities definitely did not want the public to know anything about them however the emerging actors found paparazzi to an opportunity to be back in the public eye. When it came to images, the digital age made things a lot easier, with cameras that were high quality and that were portable, something made easier with the arrival of smartphones throughout everyday life. These images also turned into a space on the internet to publicise or sale these. 

And, in the digital age, celebrities have also endeavored to accommodate to this pendulum. Once upon a time, some celebs actually liked the paparrazai and would do the publicity is good publicity thing, but then and as time flew, the celebs evolved and began using the paparrazai for their own advantage. Anyway, it is now so that the PR teams of many famous celebrities pay the paparazzi to take pictures when the celebrity clients do something candid. Paparazzi help celebs promote their own brands, but also those brands they are sponsored by. They organise paid photo shoots to give them the look of being real at the end of the day it’s a win win situation for the celebs and the paparazzi. 

Effects on Society

And socieuty has taken effect on the whole culture too. But in the past people used to idolise their stars, they used to like the paparazzi so of course they could see into their life. Over time, the audience has begun to appreciate the ill-effects of paparazzi on the star life. Some of the audience ranged from building para-social relationships with their idols to others being aware of the truth that the whole culture has intruded upon the privacy of many leaders. 

We’ve also seen a lot of paparazzi agencies being sued in all this. Now strict laws have been put up to better protect the privacy of stars. The paparazzi culture has no signs of slowing down as technology keeps moving forward. And already artificial intelligence is on a rise and already we could use it to fake paparazzi pictures. This problem is made worse by digital and advanced surveillance tools. With the rise of technology it will also become easier to take personal photos of celebrities. But the culture has had some advances too. Celebrities have become comfortable playing along with and using paparazzi to their benefit. If both the parties have such a two side relationship between them, it can easily turn into a respectful relationship between them. 

Conclusion

The problems that Paparazzi culture face are a lot but can be solved or solved if both parties desire to come together. What has been major in the evolution of Paparazzi has been from one where you risk your own life and chase a car just for one picture to just having a normal picture from your smartphone. This has not just been technological evolution but also biodynamic of media houses, contentView, celebrity paid promotions and so on. What will we do, however, is let you come to the conclusion of whether this rise of a Paparazzi culture is good or bad for the whole space.