Fame: The Hijacking of Reality

by Justine Bateman Narrated by Justine Bateman

Overview

Entertainment shows, magazines, websites, and other channels continuously report the latest sightings, heartbreaks, and triumphs of the famous to a seemingly insatiable public. Millions of people go to enormous lengths to achieve Fame. Fame is woven into our lives in ways that may have been unimaginable in years past.

And yet, is Fame even real? Contrary to tangible realities, Fame is one of those “realities” that we, as a society, have made. Why is that and what is it about Fame that drives us to spend so much time, money, and focus to create the framework that maintains its health?

Mining decades of experience, writer, director, producer, and actress Justine Bateman writes a visceral, intimate look at the experience of Fame. Combining the internal reality-shift of the famous, theories on the public's behavior at each stage of a famous person's career, and the experiences of other famous performers, Bateman takes the reader inside and outside the emotions of Fame.

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Lisa Schwarzbaum

…[a] provocatively burbling, expletive-laden throw-down…Bateman's I'm-so-over-it assessment is part furious, part bonkers, and wholly riveting…

Publishers Weekly

07/23/2018
Producer and actress Bateman delivers a blisteringly honest analysis of fame and her years in and out of the spotlight. Perhaps best known for her performance as Mallory in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, Bateman uses that period as a springboard to describe the darker sides of fame—stalkers ( a man once followed her from L.A. to Berkeley where she was performing in a play, calling out her name from a car), duplicitous reporters, and, later, being trolled on the internet. She bemoans the ways reality TV and social media have changed what it means to be famous. “Prior to the 1990s,” she writes, “there was no frenzy to be famous... but around 2006, then everybody could join in and have a semblance of fame.” She also shares her own experiences of fame, both at the height of her popularity and after it faded. “Your obituary... will still list that pinnacle of ‘accomplishment,’ ” she writes, “to the exclusion of almost everything else you have done in your life.” For Bateman, her personal achievements include becoming a writer and producer, getting a pilot’s license, and entering UCLA as a computer science major in 2016. Bateman’s impassioned narrative points out to those who relentlessly seek fame that rather than a blessing, it can be a curse. Agent: Anthony Arnove, Roam Agency. (Oct.)

Entertainment Weekly

"The Family Ties alum has written the rawest, bleakest book on fame you’re ever likely to read. Bateman’s close-up of the celeb experience features vivid encounters with misogyny, painful meditations on aging in Hollywood, and no shortage of theses on social media’s wrath."

Washington Post

"Bateman addresses the reader directly, pouring out her thoughts in a rapid-fire, conversational style. (Hunter S. Thompson is saluted in the acknowledgments.) . . . But her jittery delivery suits the material—the manic sugar high of celebrity and its inevitable crash. Bateman takes the reader through her entire fame cycle, from TV megastar, whose first movie role was alongside Julia Roberts, to her quieter life today as a filmmaker. She is as relentless with herself as she is with others.
"

People Magazine

"In a new book, Fame: The Hijacking of Reality, the two-time Emmy nominee takes a raw look at the culture of celebrity, reflecting on her stardom at its dizzying peak—and the ‘disconcerting’ feeling as it began to fade."

New York Post

"Bateman digs into the out-of-control nature of being famous, its psychological aftermath and why we all can’t get enough of it."

Vanity Fair

"As the title Fame: The Hijacking of Reality more than implies, this is a book about the complicated aspects of all things fame."

From the Publisher

"In Justine Bateman's Fame, a deeply personal book about the Family Ties actor's experience in the limelight, she reminds us that famous people are exactly that: people."
—The Guardian

"You've never read anything quite like this book—don't call it a memoir—by the actress/director/producer best known for her role on the '80s sitcom Family Ties. It's a meditation on fame (if something so raw and full of expletives can be called a meditation), examining what it does to celebrities—and the rest of us."
—Newsday

"Now, nearly 30 years after Family Ties went off the air, Bateman is examining the ins and outs of stardom in her new book, Fame: The Hijacking of Reality. In it, she looks at the internal reality-shift of the famous and explores theories on the public's behavior at each stage of a celebrity's career. She also gets candid about her own ups and downs with stardom."
—HuffPost

"What is fame? In 2018, Justine Bateman wrote a book about it. The title of her book is Fame: The Hijacking of Reality. In it, Bateman...writes about the experience of becoming extremely famous (and gradually becoming much less famous) and what it was like from the inside...Fame is a condition of being widely seen, while also not being seen in particular, human terms. It is a nonreciprocal transaction of interest or attention, on unequal terms of exchange."
—Slate, featured in Tom Scocca's column "The Decade in Fame"

"Her first book, Fame: The Hijacking of Reality is not a memoir—she hates them—it's an in-depth look at what fame is and how it affects people."
—Los Angeles Magazine

"An unflinching look at what it's like to be inside—and outside—that delicate bubble of fame."
—Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen

"In the book, Bateman analyzes Fame, discusses how realities of the Famous shift, presents theories on public behavior at different stages in a famous person's career, and tells the experiences of other famous performers. Bateman will bring readers through the ins and outs of the emotions of Fame."
—Young Hollywood

"Walking through the familiar trappings of stardom—false friendships, abusive management, trust issues—Bateman underlines with grit the misconceptions of being a luminary which oft lead many to its pursuit."
—Women's Review of Books

"Actor and writer Bateman...reflects on the toxicity of fame in this brutally honest, seemingly cathartic work...At just over 200 pages, Fame still manages to pack a punch."
—Library Journal XPress Reviews

"Director and actress Bateman, known for her roles in Family Ties and Desperate Housewives, ponders the notion of fame, what drives the desire to achieve it, and what it means in American society."
—Publishers Weekly, Fall 2018 Announcements

"Instead of crashing and burning, Bateman has found a life outside the maelstrom, ably described in this sharp, take-no-prisoners book."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Bateman delivers a blisteringly honest analysis of fame and her years in and out of the spotlight...Bateman's impassioned narrative points out to those who relentlessly seek fame that rather than a blessing, it can be a curse."
—Publishers Weekly

"Razor-sharp...Rarely has anyone written so honestly about the experience of being famous. In the interest of better understanding the figures we claim to know and love, Bateman's book is a must-read."
—Booklist

Selected as a Top Pick of the 2018 Louisiana Book Festival by Deep South Magazine

Included in Time Out Miami's Can't-Miss Events at the Miami Book Fair

"A passionate, raw and critical analysis of the life cycle of fame."
—BookTrib

Included in Spine Magazine's "Book Covers We Love"

"Another book I enjoyed recently was Fame: The Hijacking of Reality, by the actress Justine Batemen. Her style of writing is very personal, emotional, and kind of hypnotic, with lots of repetition of metaphors and images."
—Fifteen Questions

"Do you know Justine Bateman? She grew up in the public eye...I mention Bateman because she just wrote a fabulous book called Fame: The Hijacking of Reality. I strongly suggest you pick up a copy. The woman is an excellent writer who speaks from experience. And no, she's not my client."
—Backstage

"This is the most realistic look you can get into being famous and all that goes along with it, both positive and negative."
—HypeBot, one of the Top Business Books of the Decade

"Justine Bateman came to my defense on social media and she sought to reach me personally. And so we started to communicate directly via text and she has been extremely supportive, and she even sent me a copy of her book that is being published as we speak, a book called Fame, which is wonderful. I've actually already read it."
—Geoffrey Owens, in the New York Times

"If you've ever dreamed of being famous someday, you need to read this book. If you've ever called a celebrity, a 'has-been' or a 'flash in the pan' on social media, then you really need to read this book. Justine Bateman has crafted the most compelling and comprehensive treatise on the nature of fame that you're ever likely to read. Through a fearless act of self-examination, which she conducts with the scientific detachment of an anthropologist, Bateman illuminates both the short- and long-term effects of attempting to navigate the labyrinth of celebrity."
—Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One

"Justine Bateman, in a voice both empathetic and take-no-prisoners, has produced a fascinating look at the psychology of present-day fame. She traces its roots down to humble beginnings in the injured psyche of every human, hoping to find a cure for what ails us all. In these early, heady days of the ascension of social media, in which everyone seems able to fulfill the Warholian dictum of fifteen minutes, Bateman casts a sober, never overly serious eye on today's media landscape and emerges without cynicism on the hard-won side of love and acceptance."
—David Duchovny, actor, author of Miss Subways

"I thought my ideas about fame were intractable until Justine Bateman took them apart with her relentlessly truthful and engrossing investigation. She mines the subject with bracing honesty, and by including herself in the whole experiment she makes it hard for the reader to avoid examining their own ego, their own social agenda. Justine's voice is fresh: she throws down with a free-associating slam that you won't expect but can identify with, and the searching and sometimes profane rant that accompanies each idea is one you can't help but trust. She distills it all into the questions: Why do we value this person over that one? And why do we ultimately resent the ones we overvalue? An honest and eminently quotable rumination by a qualified and intellectually formidable source."
—Mary-Louise Parker, actress, author of Dear Mr. You

"A smart, unflinching, touching, riveting, one-of-a-kind hybrid of memoir and cultural analysis. Fame in its contemporary form is strange and powerful and deeply American; so is Fame."
—Kurt Andersen, author of Fantasyland

"A raw look into stardom and how notoriety got to now with a style that would make Bukowski proud. Justine gives us a vivid, sharp and forceful read."
—Jerry O'Connell, actor

"Justine Bateman's new book Fame grabs you by the lapels. A raw, raging blast of honesty aimed squarely at what 'being famous' is, does, and means; the absurd gravity of it, and the myriad public, personal, and private distortions it precipitates. This is a bracing read."
—Jon Cryer, actor and author of So That Happened

"Bateman mixes personal stories of the hazards of experiencing fame at an early age with a sociologist's eye for what makes Americans so fascinated with celebrity, and delivers it all in a rat-a-tat style that makes you feel like you are right there with her on the red carpet."
—Rachel Dratch, author of Girl Walks into a Bar

"I met Justine Bateman in 1988, when she was one of the most famous women in the world. For over three decades we have walked through this life together. Fame is a socio–pop culture frontline must-read, told by one of the funniest, most powerful and elevated women I have ever met in my life."
—Kelly Cutrone, fashion publicist, author of If You Have to Cry, Go Outside

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170174317
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	10/02/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

TORNADO

Hey, you want to go somewhere with me? I'm talking about emotional time travel. You up for it? I want to show you the inside of something, of Fame, and the only way is for me to pull you in there with me. So, it's me talking. We're going to go in there and I'm going to tell you how it feels. Sometimes I'm talking to you in this book and sometimes I'm talking to someone who took a shit on me in the press or online. I don't want you to take it personally. I'm going to trust you, when I pull you into this emotional tornado. I'm going to trust you to know when I'm talking to you and when I'm talking to not-you. To know the difference. To know if I'm talking to a friendly supporter, a person innocently curious about what Fame is like, or if I'm talking to a malicious hater from my own memory. Just be in there with me. Let it toss you about.

OK. Get in the rowboat and let's go down the river.

MEMOIRS

I fucking hate memoirs. I'm never going to write one.

If you thought this was a memoir, put it back on the shelf, or get a refund, send it back. This isn't a shitty memoir. This book is about Fame. It's everything I can remember about being very famous, not so famous, and almost not-famous. It's about all the theories I've drawn about Fame. It's also about society. Why we do the things we do when we're face to face with Fame. I hate memoirs because I hate that anybody can write a memoir. You don't have to have any talent whatsoever as a writer or to have particularly good insights; just put down your life, the things you remember about your life. Everyone's got one, a life story to tell. You don't even have to have lived an extraordinary life, just something, anything. You had a pulse for 47 years and then you wrote your "memoir." And I'm not talking about books about unique experiences like surviving a plane crash in the Alps or having been kidnapped. Those books can be compelling. I'm talking about the expanded-Wikipedia-entry books. First of all, most people under 98 years old have no business writing a memoir. They just haven't lived enough of a life yet. They ha ven't lived enough of a life yet to really craft a proper dramatic arc of it. And, honestly, if your life is interesting enough to write a memoir at 98 years old, then don't bother. Just die and someone will write a biography about you. You will have been that interesting a person.

No, I hate memoirs. I'm going out on a limb here, telling you this, because I have a few close friends who have written memoirs. Good, talented people. I hope they don't take offense. There are other people who have written memoirs; people whom I don't know but whom I respect. They may take offense and now never want to meet me because I said I hate memoirs. My friend Marcus mentioned some memoirs he's read that were good; real literary gems. I haven't read them. There are a lot of books I haven't read. So, sure, probably hundreds of these gems exist, memoirs that will blow your mind. I'm sure someone will tell the world all about them, when they leave their critical review for this book online later: "Justine Bateman opens her book with an ignorant rant about the memoir genre." Something like that. That's OK.

I talked with a fair amount of book agents before finding the right one to represent me. Almost all of them wanted me to write a memoir, and not the book about Fame. Hey, maybe they thought I had lived a fascinating enough life for that, or maybe they just felt it was an easy sell. The book agent I finally really connected with never mentioned the word "memoir." He just loved my writing, the subject matter of Fame, and said, "Let's go." He's also Noam Chomsky's agent. The American intellect and national treasure, Noam Chomsky. If Noam Chomsky's book agent isn't interested in this being a memoir, then no one else should be.

Even one of the publishers I met with, a big publisher, who I assumed was fascinated by the Fame subject matter because they had been anxious to set up a meeting, eventually hit me with, "Wouldn't you rather write a memoir?"

Me, in their office, having just talked about Fame, the sociological theories, my theories, my experience, the experiences of other famous people I'd interviewed. Me, then announcing, "Just so you know, I'm not interested in writing any kind of memoir." They looked at me, eyebrows raised in that maybe-you-didn't-mean-that-aren't-we-still-having-a-good-meeting kind of way. They half blurted out, "Well, don't look around this room!"

It was only then that I actually did look around the office, and noticed that the shelves were lined with memoirs. You name the person, this company has published their memoir.

"Wouldn't you rather write a memoir?"

Aw, you too?

What I did get out of that meeting, though, was a completely new direction for the book. Still about Fame (and not a goddamn memoir), but instead of the academic version I had already half-completed, rather a cut-to-the-bone, emotional-river-of-Fame book. (One that my current publisher loves, natch.)

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Fame"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Justine Bateman.
Excerpted by permission of Akashic Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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