“The Academy Museum Gala is great for fundraising and is vital for keeping the film and arts industry afloat.” Paige Bartlett, a junior at Hingham High school, claimed after being asked what she thought of the prestigious event, the Academy Museum Gala, that was recently held In Los Angeles, California. The event is hosted by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to raise money for the museum’s exhibitions and in hopes of supporting public film programs. The black-tie event happens yearly, and its guest list gets progressively more and more exclusive every year as the event is gaining popularity and attention. This year many famous, well-known celebrities attended the Academy Museum Gala, for example Pamela Anderson, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Demi Moore, and countless other A-List celebrities.
The event is known for providing a rich, unique experience for its highly exclusive guests, including a red carpet, a fine dining dinner experience, live action performances, and an award ceremony. It’s an interesting concept, the more anybody looks into the outline of events like these, and leads many average Americans to question the reality of hosting something so grand, so extreme, that only a sliver of their country ever gets the chance to attend.
Yes, anyone can recognize that the money raised by the Academy Museum Gala is beneficial for the industry of performance and film, but what seems to be glossed over by most is the classism rooted inside of the event. The premise of the Gala is gathering up widely adored wealthy individuals in hopes of gaining money directly from them or through average citizens discovering the event by stumbling across their favorite celebrity wearing some new expensive article of clothing.
Everyone has their absolute favorite celebrity that they like to keep track of – whether it’s a talented actor or actress, a singer with a phenomenal voice, or a wealthy individual who made a name for themselves with their money. Not all celebrities are corrupted by money, many are able to retain their true morals while still making more money than a person ever needs. It’s difficult to truly understand what the lives of the people attending events like the Academy Museum Gala are like, and we also tend to romanticize and envy their lives. We focus on what they wear, who they’re dating, what they set about the latest controversy– and so on. These people that as a society we’ve put on a podium are watched constantly by the rest of the world, and people aren’t always watching supportively.
Corporations like the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures recognize the attraction events filled A-list celebrities get, and they utilize this publicity annually in their gala. Images and videos circulate all over social media of well-dressed celebrities, causing more people to gradually learn of the event and new upcoming productions of the company. For instance, Charlotte Gregory, a junior at Hingham High school, stated that she, “I absolutely loved what Taylor Swift wore at the gala, and I am absolutely a huge fan of her music and have been for years, but I found it interesting how huge news centers were highlighting the beautiful dress she wore, personally I felt that her outfit did not seem exactly urgent news.” Charlotte does support Taylor Swift as a celebrity, but also understands that it’s odd for these people to constantly be pushed in our face by large corporations. It’s a marketing scheme, and a phenomenal one at that.
The Academy Museum Gala is a great money raising opportunity for the arts industry, but it also highlights how economically divided we are here in America. It’s a strange thing how many events occur a year that emphasize this impossible invite list, drawing the average viewer in. It’s extremely interesting how people even come to such a level of fame and money, and to many it does seem impossible. But as a society we must recognize that we put these celebrities on the pedestal, as if they are not just people as well.
