Is Megan Fox A Master Of Spin Who’s Fooled Us All Along?
Posted by: Kate Torgovnick
Filed in:
celebs
11:10AM, Thursday November 12th 2009
It’s not that often that The New York Times Magazine slaps a Hollywood starlet on its cover. The last time was in February, when Kate Winslet fronted the Oscars issue and was one of eight nominees featured in the cover story. So I was pretty surprised to see Megan Fox‘s blue eyes staring out at me from this week’s cover—even though she has no film out and is not particularly relevant at the moment—along with a five-page story about her called “The Self-Manufacture of Megan Fox.” I scoffed, but the article is actually pretty interesting, especially for someone who has written countless posts over the past year riffing off of some of the insane things Fox says in interviews. To anyone listening to her words, it was pretty clear that she was going provocative to get a reaction. But, at least according to this article, Fox’s plan to make herself infamous was much, much more deliberate—she’s presented not only as smart, but as an image-maker on par with Karl Rove. “Hollywood is filled with women who have tried to cope. I like to study them. I like to see how they’ve succeeded. And how they’ve failed,” says Fox. “I’ve learned that being a celebrity is like being a sacrificial lamb. I created this character as an offering at the sacrifice.”
Apparently, Fox’s real acting accomplishment is her persona and not at all the characters she plays on film. The article asserts that Fox is actually nothing like the hyper-sexual women she plays in interviews and television—she’s a homebody who wears leggings every day and whose favorite restaurant is Red Lobster. “Girls think I’m a slut, and I’ve been in the same relationship since I was 18,” she says.
So how did Fox settle on this particular public persona? “You have to be put in a box in this industry so they can sell you,” she explains. “They need to get hits on their blogs or sell their magazines. So everyone is something. And if I’m not a party girl, which I’m not, I then have to be the outrageous personality.” Angelina Jolie was really the key to it all. Lynn Hirschberg writes, “If there is an Angelina playbook, Fox followed it. When Jolie became a mom and a good-will ambassador, Fox was ready to step into her shoes. It was an easy fit.” [NY Times]
This interpretation of Megan Fox is certainly interesting. But I do have a few issues with it. First, it gives her a lot of credit. I can’t help but think about how Shia LaBeouf, Megan’s “Transformers” co-star, has followed the same media strategy (remember when he called his mom the sexiest woman he knows?), as has Michael Bay, the “Transformers” director, for that matter. (One of his publicity-generating quotes: “Do you know what directors go through? It’s just hell. Like, why do I work so hard—to think I’m only going to see this movie five times and then never see it again ‘cause I’m so sick of it?”) It seems much more likely to me that, rather than Megan cooking up the idea of building this outrageous personality on her own, that the order came from the “Transformers” publicity plan.
But that’s a moot point. This is what really gets me: Why would someone be so proud of cultivating a fake personality? If you are a person who has no filter and says raunchy things—great. Own it, à la Madonna and Angelina. But if that’s not you, why pretend it is? Why be the puppeteer of your own puppet? Yes, this strategy brings blog posts galore and magazine articles, but it sure ain’t getting her roles. I, for one, think there’s a place in the celebiverse for a girl who loves leggings and Red Lobster.
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Ninjanimator
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 11:27 am: [report]
I love Red Lobster too! Can I be a celebretard and a subject of derision on The Frisky?
Humble Bee
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 11:29 am: [report]
I agree, it’s pretty stupid of her to reveal that she’s not that way. Now everything she says is not really believable, is that Megan of her stupid persona?
betty123
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 11:30 am: [report]
Sounds like Paris Hilton. “I’m not really that dumb, it is just an act to make money.” Crazy like a fox!
lea322
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 11:37 am: [report]
Didn’t Jessica Simpson say something along the same lines? She’s not dumb, she just acted that way on her show. Hey ladies! Why don’t you just act like yourselves? I for one enjoy genuine people. There are plenty of ACTUAL stupid/crazy people out there…let them handle those personas.
bumbler
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 12:33 pm: [report]
Isn’t this the modus operandi of every insecure high school girl who wants attention from boys? Pretend she has more experience or is more into sex than she actually is?
spatula
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 02:54 pm: [report]
@ bethlynn
exactly!! But nope, I’m pretty sure Megan Fox actually is a straight up crazy person.
ankle
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 05:42 pm: [report]
Not particularly relevant? I think a large number of men’s websites would disagree, operating under the assumption that boobs=relevancy.
secretstevie
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 06:47 pm: [report]
i’m not personally a megan fox fan but i think Kate completely missed the point of the NYT magazine article.
she’s not proud of cultivating a fake personality, she’s proud of cultivating a fake persona. you say that this is “giving her too much credit” but, uh, its not like cultivating a fake persona is particularly hard. anybody who has ever worked in sales or customer service knows that it is actually quite easy. and i think that that’s what megan fox is being proud of. her ability to really “sell” herself and thus have a career as a result. shes not selling her personality, or her looks, or her abilities as individual qualities - all of which are routinely dissected and criticized in the media - she’s selling her whole package as something relevant and marketable.
we can all sit and tell ourselves that our favorite (or least favorite) stars don’t do this. we can tell ourselves that who they are in public is who they genuinely are, and they would never be so calculated and conniving to be disingenuous with us - their adoring fans. but i think its time to wake up and smell the coffee. megan fox is talking about it, but they’re all doing it. from lindsey lohan to taylor swift to jennifer aniston to george clooney to clint eastwood. they know what they’re doing and we’re all buying what they’re selling.
girl_ninja
wrote on November 13 2009 @ 11:42 am: [report]
Whateves.
A.J.R.
wrote on November 13 2009 @ 11:49 am: [report]
Thing is, she’s no different than any other Hollywood star. EVERY SINGLE FACET of the Hollywood facade is created by publicists and image consultants. They’re the real creative force behind entertainment, not screenwriters or directors.
indianagirl
wrote on November 13 2009 @ 01:10 pm: [report]
I think the reason Fox made this persona, was so that SHE had controll of what people said about her. If she flew off the radar, people would have all kinds of speculations as to who she is and what she does in her spare time. It’s better to make something up and put it out there and have people talk about that, than to have people think they know something and talk about whatever that is that may or may not be true.
That made my eyes cross.
hothaole
wrote on November 13 2009 @ 01:20 pm: [report]
I think this is just another cry for attention, haven’t you gals ever know that girl who does something stupid and off the wall to get attention? Megan Fox’s “bad girl/outspoken girl” died out and now she is using “I’m not really that girl/I’m a good girl” role to try and get back in the game. oh and ppl don’t call ppl a slut for no reason, anyone see then Maxim spread of her? yeah nuff said….
Lavanderism
wrote on November 13 2009 @ 01:23 pm: [report]
Well said, secretstevie, well said.
I actually feel slightly relieved that this crass woman is not the real Megan. However… I am disheartened that so many women (and men) in Hollywood feel the only way to become famous is to follow these stereotypical persona. Why is it that only women with the IQ of a sugar cookie are watched by the media, given massive amounts of airtime anf have their idiotically smiling faces everywhere? Why is it that truly smart and beautiful women are dissected to the point of finding something to invalidate them?
Maybe Heidi’s faking it too. She can’t really be that clueless about life. So so is Miley. Rihanna. Beyonce won’t even step out of her house with her trusty lace-front wig.
What are we?
Jessica Wakeman
wrote on November 14 2009 @ 07:43 pm: [report]
I just read the whole New York Times Magazine article and Megan Fox struck me as self-aware, and most importantly, extremely bright as to playing the system. She has studied how Hollywood works and the various archetypes of actresses — the rom-com girls next door, the sexpots, etc.—and she wants to make her career last as long as possible by marketing herself the “right way.” Megan has analyzed all of this and chosen to cultivate a way to play the system.
Megan’s absolutely right that Hollywood wants the pretty girl to be dumb, a bitch, or a dumb bitch. She’s none of these things. Instead, she chose to emulate Angelina Jolie and be the provocative hot girl. I really believe if it was a male hunk who was taking on a different personality so he didn’t get pigeonholed — Brad Pitt, for example — no one would get their panties in a twist. They’d just respect him for his self-preservation. Why can’t we respect Megan, too?
soulja brookestuh
wrote on November 15 2009 @ 12:52 am: [report]
@jessicawakeman Megan Fox is worthy of no respect. Respect a terrible actress just trying to find a way to “make it” in the industry? Why would I respect anyone who claims to do what she’s been doing? Should I respect the Madoff’s of the world, too? It’s real easy to lie and manipulate to get what you want. Definitely not worthy of respect.