It’s no secret that building up a celebrity, adoring them, then kicking them off of their pedestal and watching them fall has been a classic American cultural pastime. The list is endless. From it girls like Lindsay Lohan and Pamela Anderson to Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence, the process is nearly identical in every instance.
A star exhibits a captivating persona, enjoys a limited time in the public’s warm embrace, goes through a few missteps, then tumbles to shame—sometimes quite literally, as Lawrence’s demise came after a second fall at the 2014 Oscars, which led the public to find her quirkiness calculated and insincere. Nearly a decade later, the actress is only beginning to revamp her image, not unlike Anne Hathaway, who’s had a resurgence after her popularity previously plummeted, also for being ‘cringe’.
The obvious link here is that all of these stars are women. Unless involved in a major scandal, and even sometimes then, à la Hugh Grant, male movie stars generally remain untouched and protected, with long, lustrous careers. It begs the question, will the tides ever turn?
He’s “Daddy,” he’s your hot teacher, he’s the sexy guy in front of you in line at the market… And no one has been spared. Pedro Pascal has taken hold of the collective psyche in a way seemingly reserved for him. His easygoing persona plays off of the intense roles he’s played in HBO’s The Last of Us, Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian over on Disney+.
Pascal’s effortless charm and sex appeal, paired with his innate sense of humour, have gifted the internet with some of the most viral and beloved interview moments. The 48-year-old appeal spans genders and generations alike. But could this be the perfect set-up for Pascal to be unceremoniously dropped from the public’s good graces? Or can the mania be sustained?
@offtrend.hq Pedro Pascals and his style has us in a chokehold🔥 #pedropascal #pedropascalstyle #pedropascalstyleevolution #styleevolution #iconicoutfits #thelastofus #mensstyle
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An experience unique to male stars only, Pascal’s glorification began at the age of 47. Most women who have inevitably ended up suffering cultural collapse had been in their 20s (or even younger) when their first rose to a similar level of infatuation. It’s very unlikely for a female star to reach this level of obsession in her late 40s.
After all, while ageism antagonises, youth makes for an easy target. Nothing draws the public’s pitchforks like a narrative of success coming easily, without time or hard work. This, in turn, makes men like Pascal stand out as someone with the experience of working in the industry for a respectable two decades, with notes of an underdog narrative.
Clips of past roles like his vampire character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer have gone viral along with inviting and heartwarming moments like his reaction to Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar remembering Pascal from the small role. So wholesome!
Pascal’s charisma seems to stem from a deep sense of confidence and ease in his own skin, a quality which usually comes with age. When he’s not taking an interview or red carpet too seriously, it reads as genuine. The actor can afford to make jokes and be silly because we all believe that he has an honest, solid foundation, as opposed to the aforementioned Lawrence or the zany Zooey Deschanel.
Could this validity provide him with complete imunity from dissection of his persona? Is it, dare I say, sincere?
Pascal has landed some of the most envious roles in current Hollywood. They’ve been big-budget franchise shows like The Mandalorian, endearing him to the Star Wars fanbase. In The Last of Us, he plays the father of fellow Game of Thrones alum Bella Ramsey, tugging on the audience’s heartstrings.
Even his pre-fame roles in shows like Law and Order only add to his tender appeal. Pascal has undeniable star quality, talent and savvy for choosing roles. Yet, building adoration based on characters has inherent risk. One flop could cause a stumble that leads to a slump, and, ultimately, a hard descent.
The mystery around Pascal’s sexuality has provided a provocative focus as he’s neither confirmed nor denied his identity. Regardless, he’s professed strong support as an LGBTQ+ ally, particularly for his trans sister Lux, endearing him to the queer community too. An unfortunate reality is the still-precarious nature of coming out in Hollywood and the potential isolation of the conservative audience.
In an era filled with divisive masculinity, the actor’s appearance on the scene has been refreshing, particularly to progressive individuals in the Latinx community. His protest of the traditional machismo identity and values breaks open new possibilities for male-identifying people and beyond. Being Chilean-American, it’s a pretty big deal.
Pascal toys with modern masculinity in his style and ideologies, wearing a pussy bow blouse for his monologue on Saturday Night Live and supporting women protesting inequality in Mexico City. While American feminism has reached an all-time low in relevance and, ultimately, trendiness, Pascal is fearlessly helping to shape what it means to be a modern man.
As we welcome back once-shunned celebrities into our good graces, it’s not without the understanding of our viciousness. Does seeing where we went wrong with stars like Britney Spears open us to being a more accepting culture, fighting the once rabid urge to tear a star down? Only time will tell.
For now, Pascal is immune to ageism and armed with a stable, lovable public persona. It feels safe to say the captivation will continue. No one can be marked completely off-limit, but for the foreseeable future, he will remain our “cool slutty daddy.”
“Listen, everyone has their own truth of how they think something happened,” a platinum blonde Kim Kardashian begins the first trailer for Hulu’s third season of The Kardashians, “so let’s talk about it.”
For a family that has made a vast livelihood capturing their lives, and giving the world their own version of the truth, the past months have been quiet, to say the least—aside from decidedly bad press, that is. Kylie Jenner found herself on the wrong side of a social media bullying scandal between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber, losing her nearly a million Instagram followers. Rumours flew that Anna Wintour wouldn’t be including any of the family on the 2023 Met Gala guest list.
Meanwhile, the public began to see right through Kim’s obvious efforts to insert herself in major headlines and viral trends. She purchased Princess Diana’s diamond cross necklace at an opportune moment as Prince Harry’s memoir became a bestseller, invited Mariah Carey to her home to make a TikTok, and then did it again with burgeoning rapper and gen Z darling Ice Spice. Not to mention, she’s been accused of jinxing Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Arsenal while on a European “soccer tour” with her son Saint.
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In the midst of it all, articles debating the Kardashians’ cultural demise flooded the internet. Although it would be naive to expect their influence to die from one day to the next, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the family has been laying low. So what will momager Kris Jenner come up with to bring her daughters back into the spotlight?
We’re living in a moment where reality TV is giving majorly produced scripted shows a run for their money. The infamous Scandoval on Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules involving a cast member’s cheating scandal has captivated a worldwide audience. In fact, most of the recently aired Bravo reality franchises have been well-received and making headlines for one reason or another. Shouldn’t this fare well for the Kardashian-Jenners, as reality TV has been their bread and butter since Keeping Up With the Kardashians debuted on E! In 2007? Well, it certainly hasn’t.
Season 1 of the revamped Hulu series premiered to relatively pleased audiences. A new documentary-style approach seemed to promise more of an inside look, with the family in full control. That authority, however, was a major issue in the show’s second season. Though it began with the promising storyline of Khloe Kardashian’s second child being born amid another Tristan Thompson infidelity, The Kardashians left out huge headlines, failing to even mention the Astroworld tragedy and rarely addressing Kim’s high-profile divorce from Kanye ‘Ye’ West.
Instead, the primary storyline seemed to be Kim acquiring Marilyn Monroe’s dress for the 2022 Met Gala, which was already old news by the time it aired, and we barely got a glimpse into her now-defunct relationship with Pete Davidson. This was, by reality TV law, unforgivable.
In comparison, the aforementioned Bravo shows delve into the truths cast members would likely rather keep hidden. Can you have a successful reality show without a few lives being ruined? By refusing to be vulnerable and showing only their selective truth, the Kardashian-Jenners left audiences uninterested and feeling shut out, even lacking the humour that defined the original series.
As season 3 is set to premiere in May 2023, with Scott Disick teasing that he’s “never seen so much drama” in his life, do we believe we’ll be let in to see it? Or is their current quietness a ruse to blindside us with a top-tier season?
In a culture where anyone can experience temporary fame through social media and the influencer industry the infamous clan practically invented, it all comes down to how long you hold onto it. This is far from the first slump the family has found themselves in and they’re armed with a multitude of ways to get out of it.
While the glamour of Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s fairytale love story has faded, a new relationship for Khloe or Kim could be a ticket to create some buzz. It’s never foolproof however, as Kendall Jenner’s recent romance with Bad Bunny hasn’t garnered much compassion, with many questioning its legitimacy or bringing up the notorious ‘Kardashian curse’.
Babies have been a tried-and-tested way for the Kardashians to generate some media interest, withholding names and photos for months to build drama. In a sense, this is the first time we’ve been able to watch famous people grow up before our eyes. The children have slowly become a major part of the brand, particularly nine-year-old North, rumoured to have an incoming skincare line, and whose TikTok is the family’s primary ticket to success on the app.
New campaigns, new products, new surgeries, new Photoshop fails… the quick headlines seem endless. But do the Kardashians have the technological edge to maintain the dominance they’ve held for over a decade? Or will they weather the storm until the younger generation’s succession?
The only thing we can certainly say for now is that nothing is certain, and certainly, nothing is permanent. This creates endless opportunities for the family to revive storylines, trends, and ultimately themselves.
Kim’s post-divorce image shifted majorly, not just in parting ways with her husband and stylist, but also physically. She became thinner than we’ve ever seen and many suspected she’d had her Brazilian Butt Lift removed, marking for some, the end of the BBL era that she’d essentially created.
But MJ Corey, writer and researcher behind the highly popular Kardashian Kolloquium, knew better. Sure enough, on 29 March, new unedited pictures of Kim taken for what appeared to be an upcoming Skims campaign showed that the BBL had returned. As Corey puts it, “the BBLs went away so that the BBLs could come back.”
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The Kardashians will continue to change the rules creating the content that supplies the fantasy, the aspiration, and sometimes the genuine entertainment. The question is, will we continue to care enough to create the demand?