Celebrity Paradox: Difference between revisions

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|'''Chuck Klosterman'''}}

A Celebrity Paradox describes the complications that arise from creating a fictional universe in which that fictional universe does not exist, and the actors playing roles within it do not exist either.

A '''Celebrity Paradox''' describes the complications that arise from creating a fictional universe in which that fictional universe does not exist, and the actors playing roles within it do not exist either.

So, in ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] doesn't exist and is not the governor of California. There's no Gubernator. Or, in the world of ''[[The Dark Knight Saga|Batman Begins]]'', the [[Batman]] comics never existed, and neither did [[Christian Bale]].

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Many a show or movie trying to be hyper-realistic does its best to distill this concept to an extent by refusing to cast a [[Celebrity Star]] because he or she is not obscure enough and would be too recognizable, as it strains [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]]. Of course, if the star ''becomes'' famous because of said work, the same issues could still pop up.

Note that, in [[Animated Series]] and [[Anime]], the ~~'''~~Celebrity Paradox~~'''~~ wouldn't be as big of an issue. After all, in this type of medium, the characters wouldn't necessarily resemble the actors who do the voices of them. Additionally, the paradox may be avoided if the work is a [[Period Piece]] set before the actors were famous. So, for example, no one in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' can wonder why Indy looks exactly like [[Harrison Ford]] because the film is set before Harrison Ford was even born. Perhaps, the paradox may also be avoided in works that take place in [[The Future|the far future]]—when the actors are likely to be forgotten. And it's avoided completely in [[Constructed World]] fiction, of course.

Note that, in [[Animated Series]] and [[Anime]], the Celebrity Paradox wouldn't be as big of an issue. After all, in this type of medium, the characters wouldn't necessarily resemble the actors who do the voices of them. Additionally, the paradox may be avoided if the work is a [[Period Piece]] set before the actors were famous. So, for example, no one in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' can wonder why Indy looks exactly like [[Harrison Ford]] because the film is set before Harrison Ford was even born. Perhaps, the paradox may also be avoided in works that take place in [[The Future|the far future]]—when the actors are likely to be forgotten. And it's avoided completely in [[Constructed World]] fiction, of course.

Certain [[Setting Update]]s can face a similar problem: they have to be set in a world where no one will recognize the name of [[Sherlock Holmes]], [[Superman]], or [[Macbeth]], but are otherwise culturally identical, or the tropes that they've since made popular, but is otherwise just like the real world. Again, it's best to just not think about it.