Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? How the Famous Sell Us Elixirs of Health, Beauty & Happiness
Timothy Caulfield, 2015
Beacon Press
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780807039700
Summary
Winner, 2016 Canadian Science Writers’ Association Award
An exploration of the effect our celebrity-dominated culture has on our ideas of living the good life
What would happen if an average Joe tried out for American Idol, underwent a professional makeover, endured Gwyneth Paltrow’s "Clean Cleanse," and followed the outrageous rituals of the rich and famous?
Health law policy researcher Timothy Caulfield finds out in this thoroughly unique, engaging, and provocative book about celebrity culture and its iron grip on today’s society.
Over the past decade, our perceptions of beauty, health, success, and happiness have become increasingly framed by a popular culture steeped in celebrity influence and ever more disconnected from reality. This isn't just a hyperbolic assertion.
Research tells us the following:
- Our health decisions and goals are influenced by both celebrity culture and celebrity endorsements.
- Our children's ambitions are now overwhelmingly governed by the fantasy of fame.
- The ideals of beauty and success are mediated through a celebrity-dominated worldview.
But while much has been written about the cause of our obsession with the rich and famous, Caulfield argues that not enough has been done to debunk celebrity messages and promises about health, diet, beauty, or the secret to happiness.
From the obvious dangers, to body image of super-thin models and actors, or Gwyneth Paltrow’s enthusiastic endorsement of a gluten free-diet for almost everyone, or Jenny McCarthy’s ill-informed claims of the risks associated with vaccines, celebrity opinions have the power to dominate our conversations and outlooks on our lives and ourselves.
As marketing and social media bring celebrities and their admirers ever closer, celebrity status and lifestyle has become a seemingly more realistic and obtainable goal. Being famous has become the main ambition of an increasing number of average citizens, above being kind, successful, or loved. The celebrity brand is at once the most desired state of being (modern day royalty!. and one of the most socially problematic.
Caulfield provides an entertaining look into the celebrity world, including vivid accounts of his own experiences trying out for American Idol, having his skin resurfaced, and doing the cleanse; interviews with actual celebrities; thought-provoking facts, and a practical and evidence-based reality check on our own celebrity ambitions. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1963
• Raised—(from Junior High on) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• Education—B.S., L.L.B., University of Alberta; L.L.M., Dalhousie University
• Awards—Canadian Science Writers’ Association Award
• Currently—lives in Edmonton
Timothy Caulfield is a Chair in Health Law and Policy and a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. He has won numerous academic awards, has appeared in publications such as Time, Newsweek, Wired, National Geographic, and Scientific American, and been involved with a number of national and international policy and research ethics committees.
He is the author of The Cure for Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (2012) and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? How the Famous Sell Us Elixirs of Health, Beauty & Happiness (2015). (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Health and science expert [Timothy Caulfield] debunks the most powerful and persuasive messages being spread by celebrities when it comes to our health and well-being: what works, what doesn't, what is worth our time and money, and what isn't. A fun and informative read.
CBC Books
An exhaustively researched, hilarious take on how celebrity culture influences everyday life, from ill-fated attempts to make it big on reality TV to celebrity-endorsed diets and beauty regimens.
Emma Teitel - Maclean’s
Caulfield dispels the myths of celebrity-endorsed products and the cult of fame that they sell. More than ever, we view celebrities as paragons of success and emulate celebrity lifestyles.... An intelligent mix of research and pop culture, Caulfield's analysis of celebrity trends gets to the heart of America's obsession with the fame monster.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
These questions were developed by Jennifer Johnson, Reference Librarian for the Springdale (Arkansas) Public Library. Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing them with LitLovers!
General
1. What did you think of the book?
2. What did you like / dislike about it?
3. Erin Collum (Springdale Library staff member) made this comment regarding the book and its author:
Well, I think he’s too good looking to have an average perspective on beauty trends, but he SAID he is flabby and has the worst skin in the world and I think he is just lying to us so that we will trust him and feel like he has a reason to want beauty fixes to work too. He’s the worst.
Do you agree / disagree with her?
4. Caulfield states that in writing the book...
I have tried to show the degree in which celebrities…are wrong about almost everything, whether in relation to health, beauty, [and] the goals to which we should aspire.
Does his book achieve and complete his thesis statement?
Timothy Caulfield, the Author
1. Does the author present a well-rounded discussion?
2. Does he admire or criticize celebrity culture?
3. How can his experiments, assessments, and conclusions be applied to the particular culture of the area of the country in which you live?
4. How accurate is he in his "scientific" research methodology and assessments?
5. What kind of language does he use? Is it objective and dispassionate or biased and opinionated?
6. What short and long term implications do the book have for the future?
7. Was there a specific passage or part of the book that struck you as significant?
8. What have we learned from reading the book?
9. What professional motives does Timothy Caulfield have for publishing this book?
Timothy Caulfield, the Person
1. Do you think, given his physical appearance, that he has the appropriate knowledge and experience to critic beauty standards? What do you think of his "poor-pore predicament" and "blotchy, clogged Celtic hide"?
2. Timothy Caulfield presents a male’s perspective on celebrity culture, particularly focusing on the female section of that specific culture. Do you think he adequately discusses celebrity culture considering his unspoken target is female celebrities?
3. As a native Canadian, do you think he has the expertise to judge US celebrity culture?
4. What underlining personal motives, biases, and objectives do you think Timothy Caulfield has about celebrity culture?
5. In 2014, Timothy Caulfield was named one of 50 most influential persons in Alberta, Canada. Considering his stardom in Alberta, Canada, how can we trust his research and critical thinking process when this juicy tidbit of information was omitted from the book?
Celebrity Authority
1. What is beauty?
2. How does our view of beauty differ from Caulfield’s idea of beauty?
3. In terms of consumer products, does the author evaluate the products equally?
4. Does the author have preconceived opinions of celebrities? Are these opinions specific to a particular demographic in celebrity culture?
5. What did you think of the "Celebrity Escargot Course" and the "resurfacing" options?
6. What are the relationships between employment and beauty, specifically to the celebrity world?
7. Timothy Caulfield could be considered a "celebrity" in popular authorship. Considering his author celebrity status, do you think he is the appropriate person to judge the male and female celebrity cultures?
8. How do our views of beauty and cosmetic surgery change as we age? Does Caulfield take these changing opinions into consideration? Does he attempt to survey the average person?
Stardom Dreams
1. According to Caulfield, parents
...seeking celebrity [have]…become a central family activity, one that consumes a significant amount of their financial resources and their time.
Is success and fortune the same thing as celebrity success, according to Caulfield?
2. Are cognitive biases of unrealistic optimism exclusively tied to celebrity culture?
3. According to a UN Report, Caulfield has stated
The idea of social mobility, of becoming rich, is core to the American mythology…but, ironically, American performance in this area is consistently one of the worst of the developed nations.
If someone says they want to get rich, according to Caulfield’s arguments, does that automatically mean celebrity status?
4. Do you believe that celebrity culture is a "reflection of our collective values and a manifestation of complex interplay between social expectations and socioeconomic realities"?
5. What are your thoughts on the "Narcissism Epidemic"?
(Questions submitted by Jennifer Johnson. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution both to Jen and LitLovers. Thanks.)