Timothée Chalamet said he wouldn’t want to work in ballet or opera “where it’s like hey, keep this thing alive even though it’s like no one cares about this anymore,” resulting in plenty of backlash; but how much weight should the words of celebrities carry?
Recently, all I’ve heard is “Timothée Chalamet ballet, opera, controversy” and honestly I think it gets to a point. So, I took a look at where it all started. For those who are unfamiliar, Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey had an interview in front of a live audience of students of the University of Texas. The interview, which ran for about an hour and ten minutes, captured everything from AI to the question that sparked the controversial comment: are our attention spans truly getting shorter?
Chalamet said that he believes some people just want to be entertained and quickly, which is why movies have become so popular over the years rather than other, slower forms of media such as TV series. He then remarks that he doesn’t want to work on ballet or opera, which he considers dying arts, and that “nobody cares about [them] anymore.” The real kicker was his saying all respect to ballet and opera people out there and that he lost 14 cents in viewership, an ill sting as that is not even a dent in his pockets, and therefore that loss does not affect him much at all.
On face value, his statements are not technically wrong, but the way he frames it is distasteful and ill-mannered.
From what I can see, there are two sides, a side that criticizes Chalamet for disrespecting ballet and opera as a performing artist himself, and the sector that focuses more on the implications of his statement.
In fact, many an article or comments titled, “Timothée Chalamet was right” have popped up, and I wonder why this idea is getting so much attention.
For one, many of them are adding the hidden implications to the discussion that Chalamet has not added himself; projecting reasoning other than, “these industries aren’t making money/getting public attention, and therefore I would not want to work in these areas.”
The opposite end follows a similar pattern of thinking, some commenting that he isn’t even talented enough to be in those fields, and that his statement is a diss to the people working in them. This may be true, but does not get to the core of the issue: these actors and influencers capitalize on our attention. In short, our attention pays.
I think that many people are tired of seeing people they’re fans of get a platform and then get on their little soapbox, reminding their base that regardless of their feelings, the pay is what keeps them. In an industry such as entertainment, that rewards with money and fame in excess, it is easy to understand that passion often dies when it comes into contact with these material gains.
This is not anything new; many celebrities have fallen off because we shift our attention away from them. For example, Sydney Sweeney’s biopic “Christy” had been one of many poor performances of her films since her American Eagle ad.
This rushing to distort his speech unwarranted is what frustrates me most, why attach meaning so removed from what was actually stated? I think oftentimes we are better off take things at face value, than blowing things out of proportion. That way we can better form our own opinions and platform those we align with rather than giving said influencer more clout instead of accomplishing what we set out to do.
That is not to say there should be no accountability, or to stop thinking criticially about these situations but the best way to take control is to decenter people and put our attention toward things we want to see. If not, we continue to pick sides and parrot speech that most aligns with our own biases.
So the answer to my opening question is: not a lot.
I mean, sure, the role of celebrities and influencers in our society is huge, however, we have to understand that we are the ones giving them a platform. No matter how much an industry pushes someone, it is up to where we put our focus that ultimately keeps them relevant. Irrelevance is the celebrity’s nightmare.
All the discussion about this controversy has widened Chalamet’s platform, while doing nothing for the ballet and opera communities. The irony of it all is that we are exactly proving his point about its growing irrelevance in popular culture. It is time we regain our agency and take control over where we focus our attention and energy. I think then, we will all be much, much happier.
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