--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The achievement of star status itself…" description: "\"“The achievement of star status itself would seem to be based not on talent or good looks any more, but on the risks taken for the camera by a whole ho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26b/paul-virilio-2130_circuses_the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-wo_547393.jpg" --- # The achievement of star status itself would seem to be… ![“The achievement of star status itself would seem to be based not on talent or good looks any more, but on the risks taken for the camera by a whole host of stuntmen brought in from the fairgrounds and circuses: trick riding, controlled falls, suspended accidents and suicidal exploits, leading…” quote by Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26b/paul-virilio-2130_circuses_the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-wo_547393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26b/paul-virilio-2130_circuses_the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-wo_547393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26b/paul-virilio-2130_circuses_the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-wo_547393.jpg) > ““The achievement of star status itself would seem to be based not on talent or good looks any more, but on the risks taken for the camera by a whole host of stuntmen brought in from the fairgrounds and circuses: trick riding, controlled falls, suspended accidents and suicidal exploits, leading, with the coming of 'live' transmission, to the 'confessional' TV programme, to the so-called reality show, which shades over, at the edges, into the snuff movie.”” [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The rise of celebrity culture is driven more by staged danger and spectacle than by inherent talent or appearance. **In simple terms:** Fame now comes from risky stunts and sensational TV. Key Takeaway Recognize the role of spectacle in media fame. Themes media celebrity risk spectacle culture Mood critical analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - TV production - reality shows - stunt performances - audience perception Key Concepts risk commodification media spectacle celebrity culture Questions to Reflect On - How does spectacle shape our view of talent? - What are ethical limits of reality TV? A Different Perspective Risky stunts can exploit participants and glorify danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circuses/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Host Stuntmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/host-stuntmen-4563914/) [Reality show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-show/) [Snuff Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snuff-movie-2725947/) [Stuntmen Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuntmen-brought-4563913/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Suicidal Exploits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicidal-exploits-4563915/) ## Related quotes > [I just went to Times Square and the underground movies, sometimes three a day. I did get my education. But I really believed then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/i-just-went-to-times-square-and-the-underground-movies-sometimes/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [But if you want to change the world, don't be afraid of the circuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-mcraven/but-if-you-want-to-change-the-world-don-t-be-afraid-of-the-circuses/) [William H. McRaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-mcraven/) > [We must educate the public. The average person has no idea of what's going on in factory farms, in laboratories, circuses, roadside zoos or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/we-must-educate-the-public-the-average-person-has-no-idea-of-what-s/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [To be sure, boxing has always been, at best, a shady and sometimes cutthroat business, buttressed by hype and tomfoolery rivalling, at times, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hill/to-be-sure-boxing-has-always-been-at-best-a-shady-and-sometimes/) [Dan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hill/) > [I became very critical of zoos and circuses and keeping animals in captivity. I wish it was against the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-became-very-critical-of-zoos-and-circuses-and-keeping-animals-in/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [Panem et Circenses" translates into 'Bread and Circuses.' The writer was saying that in return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/panem-et-circenses-translates-into-bread-and-circuses-the-writer-was/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [So many FREAKS and not enough CIRCUSES!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-many-freaks-and-not-enough-circuses/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm just a victim of circuses”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-m-just-a-victim-of-circuses/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Circuses are about entertainment and juggling and animals and all that shit. Sideshows are about freaks, about people and the limits of acceptability. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/circuses-are-about-entertainment-and-juggling-and-animals-and-all/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [In circuses, there is a lot of magic. Things become other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/in-circuses-there-is-a-lot-of-magic-things-become-other-things/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [All the world's a stage. P.T. Barnum: It becomes a circus. But circuses or street pageants or parades have always been useful in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/all-the-world-s-a-stage-p-t-barnum-it-becomes-a-circus-but-circuses/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [In most countries, it is possible to visit zoos and see bored animals pacing back and forth in cages, with nothing to do but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/in-most-countries-it-is-possible-to-visit-zoos-and-see-bored-animals/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Clowns are respectable only in a circus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/clowns-are-respectable-only-in-a-circus/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [We're serious musicians. And we dont want our shows to be circuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/we-re-serious-musicians-and-we-dont-want-our-shows-to-be-circuses/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [Attempts to defend amusement parks and circuses on the grounds that they 'educate' people about animals should not be taken seriously. Such enterprises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/attempts-to-defend-amusement-parks-and-circuses-on-the-grounds-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) ## More by Paul Virilio > [“It is, in fact, impossible clearly to distinguish economic war from information war, since each involves the same hegemonic ambition of making commercial and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/it-is-in-fact-impossible-clearly-to-distinguish-economic-war-from/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There cannot be an animal body without a territorial body: three bodies are grafted over each other: the territorial body - the planet, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-cannot-be-an-animal-body-without-a-territorial-body-three/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [... the blinding Hiroshima flash... literally photographed the shadow cast by beings and things, so that every surface immediately became war's recording surface, its film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-blinding-hiroshima-flash-literally-photographed-the-shadow-cast/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [GPS not only played a large and delocalizing role in the war in Kosovo but is increasingly playing a role in social life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/gps-not-only-played-a-large-and-delocalizing-role-in-the-war-in/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The Gulf War may not have occurred in the actual global space, but it did occur in global time. And this thanks to CNN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-gulf-war-may-not-have-occurred-in-the-actual-global-space-but-it/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The cinema was certainly an art, but television can't be, because it is the museum of accidents. In other words, its art is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-cinema-was-certainly-an-art-but-television-can-t-be-because-it-is/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [What happened in Kosovo was the exact reversal of what happened in 'Fortress Europe' in 1943-45. Let me explain. Air Marshall 'Bomber' Harris used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/what-happened-in-kosovo-was-the-exact-reversal-of-what-happened-in/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The technologies of virtual reality are attempting to make us see from beneath, from inside, from behind... as if we were God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-technologies-of-virtual-reality-are-attempting-to-make-us-see/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There are eyes everywhere. No blind spot left. What shall we dream of when everything becomes visible? We'll dream of being blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-are-eyes-everywhere-no-blind-spot-left-what-shall-we-dream-of/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [I am of course thinking here about new planes such as the Sukhois. There is very little discussion about such developments but, for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/i-am-of-course-thinking-here-about-new-planes-such-as-the-sukhois/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [Moreover, I would like to say that the sort of polar inertia we witnessed in the Kosovo War, the polar inertia involving 'automated war'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/moreover-i-would-like-to-say-that-the-sort-of-polar-inertia-we/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [How can we live if there is no more here and everything is now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/how-can-we-live-if-there-is-no-more-here-and-everything-is-now/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The simulator is the stage in-between television and virtual reality, a moment, a phase. The simulator is a moment that leads to cyberspace, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-simulator-is-the-stage-in-between-television-and-virtual-reality/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [These new technologies try to make virtual reality more powerful than actual reality, which is the true accident. The day when virtual reality becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/these-new-technologies-try-to-make-virtual-reality-more-powerful-than/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) [Explore all 181 Paul Virilio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## More Circuses quotes > [Attempts to defend amusement parks and circuses on the grounds that they 'educate' people about animals should not be taken seriously. Such enterprises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/attempts-to-defend-amusement-parks-and-circuses-on-the-grounds-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [We're serious musicians. And we dont want our shows to be circuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/we-re-serious-musicians-and-we-dont-want-our-shows-to-be-circuses/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [“Clowns are respectable only in a circus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/clowns-are-respectable-only-in-a-circus/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [In most countries, it is possible to visit zoos and see bored animals pacing back and forth in cages, with nothing to do but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/in-most-countries-it-is-possible-to-visit-zoos-and-see-bored-animals/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [All the world's a stage. P.T. Barnum: It becomes a circus. But circuses or street pageants or parades have always been useful in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/all-the-world-s-a-stage-p-t-barnum-it-becomes-a-circus-but-circuses/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [In circuses, there is a lot of magic. Things become other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/in-circuses-there-is-a-lot-of-magic-things-become-other-things/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [“Circuses are about entertainment and juggling and animals and all that shit. Sideshows are about freaks, about people and the limits of acceptability. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/circuses-are-about-entertainment-and-juggling-and-animals-and-all/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“I'm just a victim of circuses”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-m-just-a-victim-of-circuses/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [So many FREAKS and not enough CIRCUSES!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-many-freaks-and-not-enough-circuses/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Panem et Circenses" translates into 'Bread and Circuses.' The writer was saying that in return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/panem-et-circenses-translates-into-bread-and-circuses-the-writer-was/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I became very critical of zoos and circuses and keeping animals in captivity. I wish it was against the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-became-very-critical-of-zoos-and-circuses-and-keeping-animals-in/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [To be sure, boxing has always been, at best, a shady and sometimes cutthroat business, buttressed by hype and tomfoolery rivalling, at times, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hill/to-be-sure-boxing-has-always-been-at-best-a-shady-and-sometimes/) [Dan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hill/) > [We must educate the public. The average person has no idea of what's going on in factory farms, in laboratories, circuses, roadside zoos or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/we-must-educate-the-public-the-average-person-has-no-idea-of-what-s/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [But if you want to change the world, don't be afraid of the circuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-mcraven/but-if-you-want-to-change-the-world-don-t-be-afraid-of-the-circuses/) [William H. McRaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-mcraven/) > [Several countries - among them Austria, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, India, Israel and Sweden - ban or severely restrict the use of wild animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/several-countries-among-them-austria-costa-rica-denmark-finland-india/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) [Browse all 41 Circuses quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circuses/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The achievement of star status itself would seem to be based not on talent or good looks any more, but on the risks taken for the camera by a whole host of stuntmen brought in from the fairgrounds and circuses: trick riding, controlled falls, suspended accidents and suicidal exploits, leading, with the coming of 'live' transmission, to the 'confessional' TV programme, to the so-called reality show, which shades over, at the edges, into the snuff movie.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Virilio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-would-seem-to-be-based-not-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circuses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-would-seem-to-be-based-not-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26b/paul-virilio-2130_circuses_the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-wo_547393.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26b/paul-virilio-2130_circuses_the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-wo_547393.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26b/paul-virilio-2130_circuses_the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-wo_547393.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The achievement of star status itself would seem to be based not on talent or good looks any more, but on…” — Paul Virilio", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Virilio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The achievement of star status itself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-would-seem-to-be-based-not-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-achievement-of-star-status-itself-would-seem-to-be-based-not-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```