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Topic: Pop Culture Burnout
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| Author | Message |
| Miniver Cheever | Posted – 7/15/2005 9:44:43 PM | show profile I have a job where I'm up to my neck in pop culture, celeb stuff all day, and recently I just hit a wall where I absolutely could not stand it anymore, couldn't stand what my mind is focusing on all day at work. Do you think that is fairly common? For people to realize that what they're doing with their life is meaningless to them? Does anyone else out there feel like this? It seems like it's going to take a lot of courage for me to head in a direction that's meaningful to me. |
| marianna | Posted – 7/15/2005 10:58:51 PM | show profile I'm sure most people have felt that way at one point in their lives. That is why God invented the job board. Trust me, it really doesn't require nerves of steel to peruse it. Now I personally consider ''being up to my neck in pop culture'' a great way to spend the day, but then I'm actually creating pop culture and not monitoring Lindsey Lohan's boobs. If you really loathe the idea of creating pop culture, you clearly need to bail, but if you're just stuck in a burnout celebrity tabloid job while what you really want to do is direct, then you need to check out the current careers of your tabloid predecessors. I know tons of people who used their tabloid jobs as a launching pad into much more satisfying tv and movie production or writing jobs. Good luck! |
| TVchick | Posted – 7/16/2005 2:16:22 AM | show profile DO you work at Sharp Entertainment by some chance They'll burn you out on that stuff...I totally know what you mean. I worked for this producer in LA once and it was all pop all the time and I was going nuts. After bombings, tsunami etc, I was so into Jen and Brad's divorce I didn't know what to do with myself. Totally know what you mean. Keep looking my friend! |
| queeniedugan | Posted – 7/16/2005 4:42:58 AM | show profile I hear you too.... I was once the girl who devoured US Weekly and all the other rags. I would freak out upon celebrity sightings. Now I can't really be bothered with celeb news, but it's kind of my job to stay up on it, so I do to the necessary extent. As for the starstruck thing, I'm over that too, although I do get a kick out of the cheesier D-list type sightings. But it does start to feel empty after a while and you wonder why we are all so invested in celebrities' lives. This brings up another point too.... I was having a conversation with someone and we were wondering -- how many people who work in entertainment get into it because of the fact that it is perceived as a ''cool'' job and the way it can affect their reputation with friends, family, etc? In a room with a bunch of people who work throughout the industry, pretty much everyone admitted that that factor had at least a little to a lot to do with why they stay in the industry despite its not-so-fulfilling aspects. |
| redheadedone | Posted – 7/16/2005 9:43:49 AM | show profile | email poster Having covered music/entertainment for awhile, I can honestly say that the idea of being able to meet stars didn't even enter my head. Nor did the idea of being a family ''celebrity.'' In my family, I've always been the odd one out, so acquiring approbation from relatives has never been a highlight for me. I'd rather make myself happy than satisfy someone else's ideal of what I should do or be in life. This way I sleep at night. Professionally, I started out as a radio DJ, then left that really secure world for the even more secure one of journalism (I was obviously dropped on my head as a small child). The reason why I decided to be a DJ was because I loved music. I couldn't (and still can't) play an instrument (although I recently got a bass-am not sure why-I occassionaly get bouts of tina weymouthitis-but that's another story). I am a fount of music trivia and from the age of 11, I devoured music publications, lived with the radio on, and fell deeply in lust with early MTV. Radio, for me, was a way for me to be where the music was and still (ha ha) make a living. There's an incredible ''high'' when you're in front of the board and everything just flows. Since rock n' roll knowledge was my forte, it was an easy transition to write about and interview artists and exponentially actors or celebs. There have been times when I've been frustrated by the business- esp. because the field is so flooded with people who are either covering it or want to cover it. Therefore competition is fierce, and as a freelancer (by default), you can get jerked around by publications when it comes to money. So I decided to broaden my expertise and now write about a variety of topics. It keeps things interesting and I don't feel so fed up about the business anymore. I hope that answers the other poster's question- sorry forgot your handle. But to answer QM's orginal query-if it is getting too much and it can, then start looking for gig where you can utilize your skills in a publication that isn't slavishly devoted to this week's flavor. If you can't (and god knows the job market is still bad), you need to mentally find a way to deal with it. You working in a crazy field, ergo you've got great coping skills- use them to put some sort of spin on what you do to get you through the day until a better opportunity occurs. And remember, you've got a steady paycheck, health insurance, and a 401K. There are many of your fellow journalists who'd kill for that, even if they hated what they had to cover, just for the chance for full time employment. |
| ideefixe | Posted – 7/16/2005 12:20:50 PM | show profile I think the answer is to spend your non-work hours doping something completely different. I becaseu a Master Gardener, and volunteer to design and plant school gardens. You might try Habitat for Humanity or working with a shelter or with animals. Some place where there's no possibility of a chick with a clipboard or a guy with long lens. Don't tell anyone else that you do this--don't try to turn your new volunteer activity into a scene or into something that Actress A could use for her cause. And if you have no non-working hours, then you need to carve some out. |
| Miniver Cheever | Posted – 7/16/2005 2:57:49 PM | show profile Actually, I've decided to sack it completely. I simply can't stand it anymore. I've been miserable coming to work every day for the past year, and it was coming to a head this month and I realized I simply can't focus my life on meaningless bullshit when life is short, and is meant to be meaningful. I understand the argument of finding meaning outside of work, but I don't think I should settle for just that --I have a lot to offer, I just sold myself short early on and ended up doing something I hate because it pays well. I've made enough money where I can walk away without having another job lined up, and that's exactly what I'm doing. |
| monicamarie4 | Posted – 7/16/2005 6:10:28 PM | show profile Hey, Quiet Man, good for you! I have found that when you shut the door on a situation that is driving you nuts, other doors to better possibilities start to fly open. Good luck. Now, that you've cleared the air -- so, to speak, I bet other good things will come your way. Onward! |
| harryfred | Posted – 7/18/2005 9:05:07 AM | show profile Good for you. I bet things we'll be better and clearer for you the second you leave. About two years ago I was in a decent job that I enjoyed, but had done long enough. It didn't get to the point where I had to quit--I found something else--but one thing I noticed as I left was that even though there was little opportunity for advancement, some people were willing to stick it out for 10 years just for the safety. I had to edit some of those people, and they were very unproductive because they were bored. I did stay in good contact with my former boss, and recently completed a freelance assignment for them. |
| canasta | Posted – 7/18/2005 10:17:26 AM | show profile Congratulations, Quiet Man. If you hate it and can afford to get out, then do it. If you can't afford it, take the previous poster's advice - volunteering for something really worthwhile helps so much. I volunteer at animal shelters on the weekends and it's the best part of my week. |
| janbrady1 | Posted – 7/18/2005 2:06:25 PM | show profile Good for you, Quiet Man QM, I can totally relate. I loved my last job because, for the first time, I was able to use all the pop culture knowledge that I absorbed for fun, anyway--a vast knowledge that I often hid from friends and family lest they worry about how much TV I watched. I loved being paid to go to movies and plays, and write snarky copy, and get invited to screenings and parties, and know everything in advance. Then, I completely burned out. The job was so stressful that it was no longer fun--and I couldn't even go home after a tough day and tell myself that I'd put worthwhile information into the world. So I found myself a better job with a better title with saner hours and more substantive (but still fun) material to work on. I do miss some of the glamour quotient (and the free flicks)--but now I have more free time and more money to spend on seeing those flicks anyway. I'm not saying people who cover pop culture shouldn't, or are superficial, or anything of the kind. (I am STILL a pop culture junkie, and now I can't even justify it through my job.) Just saying it's totally possible to hit a wall and have a wake-up call about your career. |
| janbrady1 | Posted – 7/18/2005 2:06:27 PM | show profile Good for you, Quiet Man QM, I can totally relate. I loved my last job because, for the first time, I was able to use all the pop culture knowledge that I absorbed for fun, anyway--a vast knowledge that I often hid from friends and family lest they worry about how much TV I watched. I loved being paid to go to movies and plays, and write snarky copy, and get invited to screenings and parties, and know everything in advance. Then, I completely burned out. The job was so stressful that it was no longer fun--and I couldn't even go home after a tough day and tell myself that I'd put worthwhile information into the world. So I found myself a better job with a better title with saner hours and more substantive (but still fun) material to work on. I do miss some of the glamour quotient (and the free flicks)--but now I have more free time and more money to spend on seeing those flicks anyway. I'm not saying people who cover pop culture shouldn't, or are superficial, or anything of the kind. (I am STILL a pop culture junkie, and now I can't even justify it through my job.) Just saying it's totally possible to hit a wall and have a wake-up call about your career. |
| BookNewbie | Posted – 7/18/2005 8:28:35 PM | show profile The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs read it- you'll identify with the character- an editor at esquire who decides to read the entire encyclopedia- it's very entertaining- and perhaps it will make you think of a project of your own? |
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