A society that gaslights itself with the lie of being based on meritocracy requires them to engage in these mental gymnastics.
ZeroCool@feddit.ch 11 months ago
Plenty of struggling actors have a good work ethic but don’t have powerful/successful mommies and daddies giving them a foot in the door, Meg.
It’s not dismissive to call him a nepo baby. It’s just a reflection of reality. It doesn’t make him a bad actor, it’s just acknowledging he was privileged by being the son of two very famous actors. Besides, [puts on Jeff Foxworthy mustache] If the biggest hardship you face in your life is being called a “nepo baby” then you just might be a nepo baby
pixel_prophet@lemm.ee 11 months ago
TheMauveAvenger@lemmy.world 11 months ago
This whole thing is fucking dumb on both sides. I’m not sure why she is defending so much. I’ve heard Jack on a few podcasts taking jokes/comments about it in stride, so clearly he’s not offended despite your weak attempt at a derisive Jeff Foxworthy reference.
On the other side, why does it matter now. The leg has been upped for these kids, that’s already done. It’s done in every industry the world over (born into a family farm? You’re a nepo baby). Nothing to do now but judge their actual work product to see if the success is somewhat warranted. Jack has a pretty good track record of his own and he is humble about it. That’s good enough for me compared to many other nepo babies.
ZeroCool@feddit.ch 11 months ago
despite your weak attempt at a derisive Jeff Foxworthy reference.
Oh no some rando didn’t like my Jeff Foxworthy joke!
TheMauveAvenger@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Good rebuttal.
dpkonofa@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Doesn’t “nepobaby” imply that he didn’t earn it since nepotism is literally defined as “without merit”? If there’s another word to better describe his successes while also acknowledging his worth ethic, it is a bit unfair to call him a “nepobaby”.
ThunderingJerboa@kbin.social 11 months ago
I mean nepotism happens everywhere and it happens in a varying amount of ways. The fact you know the right someone is typically called "networking" but its nepotism with a fancy coat of paint on it. Sure people who get hired to due to nepotism probably do a ton of work but its clear the nepotism got their foot in the door to be where you are. Having 2 famous actors as parents probably helped move his career far more than most since yeah most people who work from the ground up with no reference probably work as hard as him but he had the luck of having the right parents.
dpkonofa@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I’m not denying that. But that’s not nepotism. Nepotism is getting being shown favoritism because of your relation to someone rather than your abilities. That doesn’t seem to be the case here.
ThunderingJerboa@kbin.social 11 months ago
You don't think his first set of gigs weren't because he had actor parents to the point? His first role was as an antagonist in the blockbuster Hunger Games (this doesn't imply that film series is good but its big enough to make a huge splash in your career). Most upstart actors start as extras and take far smaller role, its pretty obvious he had preferential treatment because of who is related to. Good for the dude for making use of the opportunities given to him and he does good work today but at least he isn't denying that his bloodline is a decent part of his success.
BeefPiano@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I don’t see “without merit” in the definitions of nepotism I looked up. Calling someone a “nepobaby” is forcing them to confront their privilege, but also calling out a system that gives advantage to the children of privileged people.
Pistcow@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Did he have to wait tables and suck dick until he got his big break?
Deceptichum@kbin.social 11 months ago
That’s not what I meant when I said you have to show some gumption to get into the biz.
dpkonofa@lemmy.world 11 months ago
www.wordnik.com/words/nepotism
The whole point of “nepotism” as a term is that someone is getting favoritism based on their relation rather than their actual merits. Look up the etymology and history of the word. It comes from the same root as “nephew”.
Lauchs@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Nepotism, the unfair practice of granting jobs and other favours to relatives, whether by blood or marriage. Nepotism occurs in all kinds of workplaces and fields, but it is often associated with favouritism in business and politics.
- Britannica.
Where have you found a definition that has “without merit” ?
dpkonofa@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Read the full page that you pulled that definition from.
www.britannica.com/topic/nepotism
“The opposite of nepotism, and of favouritism in general, is meritocracy, in which positions and rewards are granted to people based on their abilities.”
The entire point of nepotism is not that the relation “helped” but that it is the reason given without merit or without regard to the person’s abilities.
Lauchs@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I think you’re slightly misunderstanding.
Yes, the opposite of nepotism is reward based entirely on merit. But nepotism doesn’t mean that someone is entirely without merit. Consider the first example they give, legacy admissions. Nepotism can get you further than a better applicant but you still had to have some degree of merit to get into the school. Or the example of Murdoch’s daughter, who was overpaid for a tv channel but still had to have one etc.
Varyk@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
It is true that he likely received special treatment because of his parents, and it is just as true that it is dismissive to call him a nepo baby.
That’s a specifically derogatory infantilizing name that dismisses the entirety of an actor’s own work and attributes it solely and dismissively to their genetic legacy.
Successful movie stars, especially those with successful parents, do need to be coddled, but infantilizing someone and misattributing all of their success and their very personhood is dismissive and insulting.
lingh0e@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Successful movie stars, especially those with successful parents, do need to be coddled…
They don’t need to be coddled, but it happens. And it’s absolutely tone deaf for people who benefit from their parents fame to deny said fame had anything to do with it.
Varyk@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
“it’s absolutely tone deaf for people who benefit from their parents fame to deny said fame had anything to do with it.”
That’s a very specific condition that most of these actors have not fulfilled, at least that I’ve come across in these articles.
It seems, by and large, these actors say something along the lines of "of course having ______ as my parent benefits me, but that doesn’t invalidate all of my own work.
Then there’s more bullshit, narrow-minded bullying.
It’s popular to bash actors right now and safe to do so, so all the bullies are pitching in.
Nobody is calling out Picasso’s father or ernst Klimt for profiting off their famous relatives, it’s cool to bash jack quaid or Angelina Jolie, so those are the latest targets of largely unsubstantiated, whiny bullying.
They’re people, and it’s shameful and hypocritical to bully them, especially without evidence of the very measure of ingratitude or narcissism you and your ilk are accusing them of.
WarmSoda@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Exactly. If he was a bad actor it would be totally different. But he’s fine. And his parents are two of the top actors of their generation… He’s simply a nepo baby. It is what it is.
NightOwl@lemmy.one 11 months ago
I would be grateful to be in a position to be called a nepo baby. That means my life is pretty good and I wouldn’t want to struggle unnecessarily if I don’t have to.