Posted a thought resulting from the recent Madge/ZQ gossip on ONTD_StarTrek.
I don't know much about Madonna, but from the initial glance at comments and reactions, she doesn't seem to be unanimously respected or praised. Of course I know her hits, have seen her music videos, but I don't know her off-stage persona.
If life were a game, Zachary Quinto would be a pro-gamer. He has entered this new level, gained new skills, opened portals with keys, and now confronts new challenges that will mean larger rewards but also more risks and possible catastrophes.
"his hand over his midsection" - this line killed me. ZQ is imagined to be some noble protagonist to a 1960s epic in which the camera and direction emphasize closeups on his face while he concentrates on strategizing in difficult situations. It is a bad fanfiction, but it also obviously means people cannot help but portray him in the most romantic terms possible, because he is a romantic figure. His fans, although not as numerous as other celebrities, care so deeply about him because, if you're smart and you're a geek, you realize how unique his career really is, how sexily intriguing his persona has come to mean for so many who work their 9-to-5 cubicle jobs out there, who look for public figures who walk the talk.
This is a middle class discovering a new niche of Hollywood entrepreneurs like Quinto and BTD who promise an exciting self-made kind of philosophy in life that wrests us from our socioeconomic disillusions when those in real life do not demonstrate the same.
It doesn't matter who Quinto really is as a person. As a business, he has offered a romantic and admirable celebrity image that I think is inspirational across generations. That is why we care.
I also think that, as Quinto's celebrity rises, it's important to keep that healthy perspective in mind.
Celebrities craft IMAGES that REPRESENT values and concepts. These images can be used to inspire and motivate. But you should always keep the person behind the image and the image separate.
Keep reality separate from fiction. But fiction is used to create powerful stories, and there is nothing wrong with a story being valuable and meaningful to people.
PS. (I probably just made a lot of generalizations and stuff but this is my opinion. How I've observed his fandom so yeah lol sry guys <<disclaimer)
I think that the image that we were talking about, though, was as a mature, intelligent man who is likely to not become a gushing idiot because he's introduced to a person whose been famous longer.
Indeed, many were pointing out that he was playing the game well, likely knowing the networking and access that Madonna's, I suppose, 'good favor' can provide. But also that, historically, men who got too entangled did NOT benefit from the connection.
But we're hardly worried, because he's 32, he's been in Hollywood 10 years, and I'm pretty sure he's got his head on straight.
Hope that doesn't seem fangirl gushy, because I would say similar things about many of my friends.
I see, so that's the fear with Madonna then?
My comment was a little schizophrenic and quickly turned into a general comment on who ZQ is in general, rather than directly addressing the new Madonna development (if it can even be considered a new development, considering he's probably buddies with celebrities and notorieties galore).
My comment turned out the way it did likely because LaineyGoose's sort-of-silly, fan-fic-like language/writing style reflects the fanbase's undercurrent, and I wanted to bring that undercurrent to the surface. It isn't really about Madonna so much as why the gossip with Madonna might provoke the reactions it did. =)
Ahh, not as much here. *chuckle* This is not ONTD_ST, though there is crossover. Most of the commentary here was merely that we thought and hoped he was mature enough to not, as he himself described as 'self destruct' due to a new level of fame, nor was the depiction likely accurate, but was very speculative. The actual description of his reaction was 'calm' and 'bored interest'. The rest was what she thought was going on inside.
Given he's been around stars as big, and bigger, in his life, and power players, I doubt he was going to go giddy flailing over Madonna.
I agree with kann. Zach isn't likely to get all goggle-eyed over Madonna. But he's smart enough to realize she may be able to introduce him to people he needs to meet to further his career.
And I am NOT implying that he will use her; rather, that he will realize the value in knowing her, aside from possible friendship.
I think Zach is very much like the image he projects. He's too honest to live some kind of lie 24/7. He values his life, himself, and his friends too much for that.
@DZQP I really like - and relate to - the way you make the distinction between person and image. With Zachary especially I get that there's a difference, yet enough known - or more to the point NOT known about the person - to have me see the person as an honorable man and one worthy of carrying the image. As you can guess from my icon, I saw him up close in Vegas last year. And got very strongly that he was himself not at all the image - the projection - I might place on him. He is himself. And I do not know that person, but he seems very nice.
We only have one viewpoint from this whole thing- from someone who might have some sort of agenda.
I noted that line 'hand over his midsection' also- but read it differently. Here is a man who practices a form of Yoga that utilizes energy flow, among other things. I think he was probably making a self-protective gesture. He does subtle little things like that which do not even register with ordinary observers, which is fine.
One of the major things that caught- and kept- my attention with Zach is his quiet competency, his groundedness, his almost aggressive ordinariness. He has had his fanboy moments- watch and listen to him when he describes hanging out with Leonard Nimoy in some of his interviews- but also, pay attention to the under-current: there is genuine admiration and and wonder in his voice and manner. Leonard is a genuine, self-actualized person, and Zach really admires him.
I suppose that what I am trying to say is that I think Zach will be/do OK- no matter what sort of pop/h'wood 'royalty' he encounters. I am going to sit back and enjoy his work, keep tabs on how he is, enjoy his fans and friends here at the ZQC and elsewhere, and hope that he has success in his endeavors.
I may have started some of the controversy by pointing out the ridiculousness of the article. I have no concerns about Madonna and ZQ because she's shrewd, but he's smarter...It wasn't even about them, it was about the article. Seemed like it was paid for by Madonna's camp to make her seem more important than she is by being demeaning to ZQ. Not impressed.