15 minutes of fame
- "Fifteen Minutes" redirects here. For the film, see 15 Minutes.
15 minutes of fame (or famous for 15 minutes) is an expression coined by the American artist Andy Warhol. It refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity that attaches to an object of media attention, then passes to some new object as soon as the public's attention span is exhausted. It is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry and other areas of popular culture.
Origin
The expression is a paraphrase of Andy Warhol's statement in 1968 that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." In 1979 Warhol reiterated his claim: "...my prediction from the sixties finally came true: In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes."[1]
Becoming bored with continually being asked about this particular statement, Warhol deliberately tried to confuse interviewers by changing the statement variously to "In the future 15 people will be famous" and "In 15 minutes everybody will be famous."[2][3]
Interpretation
Warhol's comment and the insight it expresses grew out of his own interest in fame and celebrity. His view of the media was that they could enable any person to become famous. Warhol's own shifting entourage of otherwise undistinguished hangers-on in the 60s and 70s, whom he dubbed his "Superstars," exemplified his idea of short-term, disposable celebrity.
A more recent adaptation of Warhol's quip, possibly prompted by the rise of online social networking, blogging, and similar online phenomena, is the claim that "In the future, everyone will be famous to fifteen people" (or, in some renditions, "On the Web, everyone will be famous to fifteen people").[4] This quote was said to have originated from the Scottish artist Momus.
The quote has also been paraphrased as "15 seconds of fame."
Specific references
In 1986, Warhol had a short-lived MTV television series, Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes.
The title of the 2001 film 15 Minutes is a reference to this quotation, as is the title of the Touched by an Angel episode The Sixteenth Minute.
The 'Wired All Wrong' song "15 Minutes" describes (sarcastically) the plight of Los Angeles actress hopefuls who become "rentable honeys" (from 2006's 'Break Out The Battle Tapes')..
The Sugar Ray album 14:59 was named to refute claims the band would be a one-hit wonder, saying that their 15 minutes weren't quite up.
The Blue Aeroplanes wrote a song entitled "Warhol's 15," released on their 1985 LP, Tolerance. With some joyful irony, perhaps, it's also the title of their 2002 compilation on the Nectar label.
The Strokes wrote a song entitled "15 Minutes", about the pitfalls of fame. Its working title was "15 Minutes of Pain", a play on words with the expression.
Former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos wrote a song entitled "15 Minutes of Fame", appearing on the album Communication.
In Sweden's Melodifestivalen 2003, the band Brandsta City Släckers participated with a song called "15 Minuter," written about people famous for participation in reality shows.
"15 Minutes of Fame" is the name of a song by Sheep on Drugs
"15 Minutes of Fame" is the name of a song by Damn Yankees
Daze made a song called "15 Minutes of Fame" in 1999. Many people had called Daze a one-hit wonder before.
Gay male escort Benjamin Nicholas based his well-known pop-culture blog off the Warholian phrase, stretching it out to 15 Minutes More...[5]
Queensrÿche's "Revolution Calling" from the album Operation Mindcrime:
"They're all in Penthouse now
Or Playboy magazine, million dollar stories to tell
I guess Warhol wasn't wrong
Fame fifteen minutes long
Everyone's using everybody, making the sale"
Mudvayne´s "Determined" includes the line, "Clocks ticking on my 15 minutes of fame".
Australian band TISM's song "Jung Talent Time," a satirical commentary on the state of celebrity and the predominance of one-hit wonders, includes as the bulk of its chorus the lines:
"Andy Warhol got it right,
Everybody gets the limelight.
Andy Warhol got it wrong,
15 minutes is too long."
Crass' famous song Punk Is Dead includes a reference to the term:
I've got an arse and crap and a name,
I'm just waiting for my fifteen minutes fame.
A popular band out of Jacksonville, FL is named "3 Minutes of Fame".
In Marilyn Manson's song, "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)", there is a line that plays on the expression and says, "We're rehabbed and we're ready for our 15 minutes of shame". The main chorus line of another of his songs, "We're all stars now, in the Dope Show", is believed to be based on the "15 minutes of fame" concept as well.
There is a reference to the expression in a remix to Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar" featuring Young Jeezy, T.I., and Matthew Santos, Lupe adds a new verse where he says, "You on your fifteenth minute of fame and on sixteen beginneth the lame and on seventeen you lose everything".
See also
- Cult of celebrity
- Fad
- Internet meme
- It girl
- One-hit wonder
- 29 Minutes of Fame (a British quiz show, which borrows its title from the expression)
References
- ↑ Warhol photo exhibition, Stockholm, 1968: Kaplan, Justin, ed., Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 16th Ed., 1992 (Little, Brown & Co.), p. 758:17)
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Looking For Fame In All the Wrong Places, by Candace Murphy in the Chicago Tribune, Aug 25, 2006
- ↑ Weinberger, D: Famous to fifteen people. 23. Juli 2005, abgerufen am 21. Dezember 2006.
- ↑ 15mm: Pop-culture and the Male Escort
