10 May 2008
The Price of Fame

Diego Luna
There are many benefits to being famous, but there are also many responsibilities.

 I was invited to fill this space, I believe, because of the work my company has carried out in the last few years, and the work I have done personally throughout my career. I’m a Mexican, an actor, and founder, together with two other partners, of a company called Canana, which we established four years ago. Our first objective was to produce films with social content, films that represented our worries, and in the process, find out how to change the formula for movie making in our country. We fervently believe that cinema can be an instrument of change when approached with honesty. It’s a means to invoke change, to awaken people’s conscience and promote dialogue. To that end we founded a documentary film festival called AMBULANTE (Traveling), which visits 15 cities around Mexico. The idea was to bring films that reflect and question our reality to a public that would otherwise have no access to it. Today, in its third year, the festival also visits town squares, jails, and schools. During my career I have tried to use my name to promote the work of organizations with which I share interests, such as La Casa de la Sal, which works with children infected with the HIV/AIDS virus in Mexico. Associating my name with organizations like this one has been vital, not just to them, but also for me and my career to continue to generate interest.

You see, fame and success can be difficult things to manage. The concepts themselves are sometimes difficult to understand, and always complicated to deal with. As it happens, we who seek a career in the arts dedicate our lives to the search for a platform from which to project ourselves and get closer to the audience. To do so we prepare and train ourselves in our specific field. This preparation can take years, and in most cases serves a specific objective: to be discovered. And when that fateful day arrives for those who have combined hard work and luck in just the right amounts, that is when the troubles begin. Because nobody has taught us how to manage the attention. And then, all you have left to keep you afloat is your education, the pesky one you grew up with, the one that defined your character. For those who live with the sole purpose of becoming famous there’s little to save them. But for those with the intention to communicate, to connect with one another, the overwhelming attention can present a serious problem. These are the people I care about and with whom I would like to communicate, because these are the people that can and must do something. Today we live in a world where inequity prevails, a world where over 70 percent of the population lives on the fringes, a world where few of us live where we want. To be a member of the select few should come with a responsibility: To never allow indifference to drive us. Indifference and ignorance are, in my opinion the worst diseases in our society. They turn us into living ghosts, prevent us from realizing we are part of something bigger, and take us away from the most basic human pleasures, like loving and being loved.

Today we live day by day, witnessing vast amounts of injustice, and it is up to us to wake up, to let these things affect us, and to react. Those who navigate through life without curiosity about what happens to others are as guilty as those who commit the injustices. We can all do something, whether we are famous or not. The microphone is no doubt a powerful tool, which properly used can awaken consciences, open dialogue and question the status quo. It is important that we use it to make the changes we want made in our lifetime. We, as civilian members of society, are responsible for the reality we create for ourselves. Voting and participating in a democratic process is important, but doing so every four or six years is not enough. Bettering our world is a shared job and a daily obligation. Philanthropy, however, should not arise from guilt, but from the need to stay connected and to respect others. In today’s world, in our homes, at our jobs, in our relationships, we would be much more successful if we were better connected. We must be fair and unselfish. Let’s use other people’s stories to grow. Let’s share more of what we have and help the coming generations. Today, we can learn the most from those that are just getting here. We must rid ourselves of our structural vices. Let us rejoice in our differences and respect our neighbors. The best way to help is by forgetting the limitations we have imposed on ourselves and learn to live and share. Only then will we really enjoy what we have accomplished.

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