An image is a representation of the external impression a person or thing presents to the public. For this article, it means how other people see celebrities, or in this case, idols. This effect is super interesting to see and makes you really wonder if these people are exactly how we assume they are. Spoiler alert, they are not.
Nothing is more important for an idol than the public’s perception of them. They usually need to reach into other fields such as acting, modeling, variety, or even a music career to support themselves; as opposed to the big bosses behind the companies that exploit them, but that is another topic. An idol’s image determines their future opportunities and success, and it is substantial that their image is not tarnished.
People often assume things about idols, which is not very fair. That’s why they need to keep a good image. I think we should not care if they are silly, smoke, drink, have sex, and are regular human beings, they are just like the rest of us so let’s try not to be hypocritical. We should all learn to get past these images and get to know these people for who they really are, regardless of what the media wants us to see.
An idol’s image is built over many elements. When one of these elements is even slightly debunked by either scandals or rumors, that image will come crashing down. An idol doesn’t have much control over these because they remain at the mercy of the entertainment company and the expectations from society. However, scandals that are confirmed are ten times worse, will 100% destroy an idol’s image, and could immediately shut down their entire career.
After highlighting what an idol’s image entails and its fragility, I would like to direct this article to the importance of fans and the role they play in protecting these celebrities. How do we protect an idol’s image? All you must do is believe and support your idols when image-ruining situations come out. Most of the time, when it comes to scandals, it is the public (not the fans) who lash out at idols. Sure, they will have done something wrong, but at the end of the day if you are truly a fan, you should still love and support them despite their imperfections or mistakes.
If their scandals are not anything too serious, the protection we give them will help them recover. I understand that, as fans, we should support the idols during the good times and protect them during their tough times as well.
With that being said, idols are human. Although we want to believe nothing but the best from them, it is important that we keep our humanity too. We need to understand that these images they put out there are heavily curated by a group of people to enhance their likability and deceive the public. Ideally, our idols will always be someone we can look up to, but sometimes, that is not the case. In those cases, we must look at the facts. Unfortunately, I know many people who are blinded and protect said idols just because of how they seem to be or how they think they are, or just because they feel like they could never do anything bad. News flash! How you feel about them doesn’t matter because you are completely unaware of their actual personalities and ideologies.
I have witnessed many people defending undeniably horrible things their idols have done, even when there is concrete evidence that supports the allegations. My suggestion: Do not let your fondness make you delusional.