The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was published in 1925. On the surface, the story is a love story between e mysterious millionaire Gatsby and his passion nearing obsession for his former lover Daisy Buchanan, but in reality is a haunting tale regarding decadence, classism, and excess. But one of the major themes was a warning towards obsession and deification of others, in Gatsby’s case Daisy Buchanan. He deified her to the point where he could not see her own faults. Idolization is a severe problem in our society, and I know of no one better who suffered from idolization the Charles Lindbergh, famous aviator Pilot and the world’s first mass-media celebrity. This leads me to my essential question-

Through his meteoric rise to fame, idolization in the public eye, and drastic downfall, Charles Lindbergh’s life echoes that of the celebrity today.

But first, what makes a celebrity a celebrity? According to Murray Milner, a celebrity is a someone who is well-known for his well-knowness, often without any real accomplishments. Celebrities are mainly entertainers who have become famous. It seems that nowadays a celebrity is a new form of social status and hierarchy in our new world, becoming almost deified by the major public and media before quickly moving onto a new up and coming star. By tracing Lindbergh’s own history with the press and the events in his life we can see the pattern of Celebrity life: quick, almost meteoric rise to fame, obsession and dedication, slow downfall and eventual disgrace or falling out with society and the media. Another key note is the continuing persistence of the media in the celebrity’s life with no regard for privacy or boundary.

But before we get into Charles Lindbergh, first some backstory on the 1920s and how this impacts Lindbergh’s life.

The 1920s were a record-breaking year. Along with new highs in the economy and innovation, media received a much needed spruce as well. The Jazz age brought new forms of media for the masses, such as radio and theatre newsreels. With this new boom, new information was needed to fill this information hole.

Media became frantic in this era: Reporters sought sensational, exciting stories, advertising was everywhere, and newspapers were cutthroat in finding a new exciting story. And that ultimately was the nail in Lindbergh’s coffin.

Oooh who is Charles Lindbergh?? Why is he famous??? Ooooh

Some information on Charles Lindbergh. The relatively unknown aviator from a small town in Minnesota was propelled into fame after his legendary flight across the world in 1927. He flew a small lane solo from New York to Paris, with the media and newspapers following his every move. When he landed, he was swarmed with fans and became an overnight media sensation.

Just like celebrities nowadays, Lindbergh became America’s golden boy. ‘Lindy’ Fever swept the entire nation. According to Ellen Rice inher article, “Fame and Shame of Aviation Explorer Charles A. Lindbergh Jr.”, “Lindy Fever swept the nation. People danced the Lindy, various articles, mostly inaccurate, were published in magazines all over, and even songs and poems were dedicated to him. He met with dignitaries, talked in front of crowds, and went on tours. But people wanted more and more of Lindbergh, and the media complied. The media quickly invaded his privacy, even going so far as to interrupt his honeymoon. He exchanged his privacy for fame.

One of the worst and most heartbreaking examples of media invasion was the media’s portrayal of his twenty month-old son’s kidnapping. For four years, the headlines were dominated by ransom notes, interviews, and police proceedings. The media even destroyed the main piece of evidence in the case when they invaded the Lindebergh house for an interview.Kindbergh largely blamed the media’s obsession over him for the kidnapping of his son.

Every celebrity has a downfall, and Lindbergh was the first. After receiving awards by Hitler and being impressed by Germany, his public image of a hero was tainted, and he became hissed at as a Nazi-sympathizer. He then, in 1939, proclaimed his belief in his racist ideas and white supremacy. His reputation went further into the gutter as he exchanged his image of a public hero for a white supremacist.

The final nail in his public image was when, during a public broadcast, he declared that Jews were influencing the media and forcing America into a war. Almost instantaneously, He was shamed and universally hated by the media and the public. He underestimated the power of the media, and paid the price.

You can see the pattern right? Quick and fast rise to fame, idolization and obsession, downfall and disgrace.

Just like Lindbergh, There are many instances of celebrities saying things they should not have said. There are too many to list, but I’ll cite a few.

In 2006, Mel Gibson, a popular actor and director of Passion of the Christ, made a drunken anti-Semitic tirade in the back of the police car. Gibson had also been recorded many various racist and sexist comments to his former partner in 2010. Since the information had been released, Hollywood turned its back on him, and since his career has never fully recovered.

More recently, Popular actress Roseanne Barr, after tweeting a comment considered racist on Twitter, was quickly denounced by her network and by countless others. The Show Roseanne, where she was a lead, was canceled immediately.

How does this all connect to the Great Gatsby?

Gatsby, like Lindbergh, became an overnight celebrity, because of his wild parties, extravagance, and mysterious background. Partygoers often debated how Gatsby earned his fortune, from murder to bootlegging to relations to a German king! Gatsby’s social climb to fame and fortune mirrors the celebrities of today, coming from modest backgrounds and being plunged headfirst into the spotlight. The media’s treatment of his death is reminiscent of the reporters dogging Lindbergh, false and sensational just to get another reader.

Lindbergh was the first to feel modern media’s two-edged sword: fame and shame.” (Rice 1). But he was certainly not the last. Media is constantly shouting about the latest scandal in Hollywood or other personal details about famous celebrities for anyone to read. Celebrity culture is rampant today, with sponsored footwear and drinks, the latest tabloids ‘exposing’ yet another movie star, dedicated television shows and internet websites, etc. Because of our cellphones and television sets, and other forms of media advancement, we are increasingly more aware of celebrities in our normal lives.

By analyzing Lindbergh’s rise and fall to fame we can see a continuing pattern that has persisted some one hundred years. The reason why we can look back at a man whose rise to fame was in the 1920s is partly because of us consumers. The public’s wishes and desires have not changed at all since the 1920s. We are still as obsessed with celebrities as people were with Lindbergh, perhaps even more so.

Mel Gibson, Roseanne,