by James Hills

Created on: January 27, 2010

I write saying no it's not for celebrity egotism, but in truth it is different in each case.

I say that because awards are necessary and provide incentives to improve, some say that the money is enough, but for top actors who already earn big bucks acting in films, with huge budgets, or musicians who have established the fan base, and could make money whatever they released, there needs to be another incentive, otherwise their performance will stagnate.

The possibility of gaining peer recognition, arguably the highest accolade you can receive, despite being entirely intangible, in the form of an Academy award or the like represents that incentive, these awards represent the next stage of success, something that every member of the industry wishes to aspire to. Awards are perhaps one of the biggest drivers in innovation, with Oscar winners generally going to uniquely styled films, and music awards often given to musicians who have really diversified away from just a catchy jingle, those songs with catchy jingles being the songs that usually make the most money.

The current celebrity orientated culture is such that it is very difficult for the 'stars' to not appear to be egotistical, which often paints them in a very unflattering light, this trait is oft seen on chat shows, with various stars who try to be funny on them viewed in different lights, for instance, a comedian and a popstar could make the same joke, and for the comedian people would laugh, but for the popstar, people would question them, thinking, 'why do they find themselves so funny?'

So, while the awards themselves are strived towards in the same way as excellence is, for ambition, not ego, conversely, there are those who do treat the awards ceremonies as ego boosting exercises, turning up purely for hours on the red carpet, rather than turning up because they really want to win. That need to spend hours on the red carpet relates back to my last paragraph however, with people often judging celebrities on their vanity, when really, as much as many of them might enjoy the attention and the chance to publicise themselves, they will have been given clothes to wear by sponsors, and they will be contractually obliged to stand and pout for the cameras, this is a fact often overlooked by the general public, who only really look for the faults of a celebrity.

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