"Hey, I'm a Star!"

While doing some research on Dog Day Afternoon, I came across Roger Ebert’s 1975 review of the acclaimed movie. In his review, he addresses an important aspect of the movie that we spoke about in class. He says, “There’s a point midway in “Dog Day Afternoon” when a bank’s head teller, held hostage by two very nervous stick-up men, is out in the street with a chance to escape. The cops tell her to run. But, no, she goes back inside the bank with the other tellers, proudly explaining, ‘My place is with my girls.’ What she means is that her place is at the center of live TV coverage inspired by the robbery. She’s enjoying it…Criminals become celebrities because their crimes provide fodder for the media…Through it all there’s that tantalizing attraction of instant celebrityhood, caught for an instant when a pizza deliveryman waves at the cameras and shouts, ‘Hey, I'm a star!’” I think that Ebert evaluated this notion perfectly. While the bank teller had already spent several hours as a hostage in a stuffy and hot bank, she opted to go back inside and remain in a potentially dangerous environment. Why? Because she was getting her 15 minutes of fame. Likewise, Sonny’s role as a criminal seemed to be completely obscured by the fact that he was the center of attention and attracting the interest of the media.

While Dog Day Afternoon was filmed about three decades before America’s fascination and obsession with reality television, this theme of “celebrityhood” still played a pivotal role. Today, with shows like The Bachelor, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, and I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, the aspiration for attention and fame has not diminished one bit. VH1 has even created an entire block of shows dedicated to celebrity reality, known as “Celebreality”. It seems as though America was obsessed and is still obsessed with capturing the attention of millions even if it is fleeting.

This recurring theme that comes out of movies like Dog Day Afternoon and the reality shows that inundate television listings is the idea of people being famous for being famous. People like Tila Tequila and Paris Hilton are people who attained celebrity status for no particular reason; they achieved their celebrity and fame for having no talent or special abilities and in Paris Hilton’s case, simply through being a rich socialite. What we know is that the world and America, in particular, is enticed by celebrities and their lifestyle and as a result, average Joes and Janes are constantly trying to achieve a status of recognition.