Hollywood is a wide and very successful industry developed from arts like poetry, choirs, early literature and theatre, but has the platform given to these famous actors become too powerful and turned against the original arts?
In a recent controversial interview, Timothée Chalamet was questioned about his latest movie, “Marty Supreme,” being in theaters. When discussing the fall of movie theaters, Chalamet mentioned ballet and opera being “dying arts.” South teacher, Kendra Caralis, speaks out on the heat surrounding this interview.
“I would imagine little kids that are in ballet that maybe look up to him, if they hear that they might question what they are doing,” Caralis said.
Many dancers and singers within these arts took high offense to this comment, especially due to the fact that Chalamet’s family is deeply rooted in ballet. Though the majority of feedback has been negative, Caralis challenges the intentions behind his comment.
“I think a lot of times interviews can be taken out of context,” Caralis said. “But also, as a celebrity, you’ve got to know that everything you say is fixated on.”
Choir student, Chris Coyle ’28, mentions how different ages can be affected by a prominent celebrity’s opinion, especially if they had already looked up to these celebrities and how every artist experiences highs and lows.
“I don’t think they [ballet and opera] are dying; people still see them, but less than how it used to be,” Coyle said.
The message or influence that is left on people who support Timothee Chalamet could negatively affect the growth of both ballet and opera. Often, when you idolize a celebrity, bias takes over your own independent opinions. Coyle brings up a famous Formula One driver, Charles Leclerc, whom he himself favors.
“I don’t really know a lot about driving a car super fast, so I just agree with anything he says,” Coyle said.
Ballet and opera are examples of arts that are typically cross-trained for either a basic singer or other sports. Lila Curtis ’29, a dancer at Mack Avenue Dance Center, mentions football players using dance to increase their footwork.
“Ballet is the base of all dance, and dance isn’t dead, so how could ballet be dead?” Curtis said.
If someone called math a dying subject, but proceeded to avoid taking math classes, do they really have a say? Curtis believes that Timothée Chalamet, given that he does not pursue opera or ballet, went out of line by declaring them as dying art forms.
“All arts are different in their own ways and have different ways of expressing themselves so none of them are really ‘dead,’” Curtis said.
