Chapter 11 - Discourses of scandal, politics, activism and legacies

Summary

The lead vocalist of the Irish rock band U2, Bono, who is well-known for participating in global charity efforts, has said that celebrity is a kind of currency that needs to be used wisely (quoted in Assayas 2005: 103). The same could be said about stardom. Embedded in that currency there is an inherent cosmopolitanism that goes beyond the aforementioned debates on the transnational, global and international dimensions of a performers’ career. Even though cosmopolitanism ‘has a history of being associated with imperialism and colonial thought’ (Baban 2013: 135; Young 2001), in recent years there has been a growing body of literature that is rethinking the cosmopolitan ideal for a globalised world (Appiah 2006; Hiebert 2002), embracing ‘some fundamental values and qualities that connect us together despite our visible differences’ (Baban 2013: 136; Nussbaum 1996). It can be argued that part of those cosmopolitan tropes, when it comes to bringing together the stardom community, include scandals – with their power to unveil truths concealed behind the star image (deCordova 2001) – and the signifying power of the star to enact potential social, political and even economic change. These characteristics seem to be universal, beyond any specific industry, albeit normally being anchored in local particularities. As will be explored in the following pages, it is indeed the cosmopolitanism of the star/celebrity currency that reconfirms Darín as a star beyond his native nation.

Martin Shingler and Lindsay Steenberg have wondered about the place of the film star in what they called the ‘age of (digital) celebrities’ (2019: 446). The contemporary shift in cinema distribution, such as the rise of streaming platforms, and ‘the theatres of stardom and celebrity (e.g., the rise of social media)’ (2019: 446), generate new forms of interactions with the audience, further breaking down the boundaries between the private life and the public image of a star (Qiong Yu 2018; King 2015). Under these circumstances, whether scandals are still playing a role in the rise and fall of stars, and whether stars have enough power within global and national politics to really instigate social change, are key aspects we need to delve into to grasp the current effectiveness of the star currency.