Celebrity in the GTA IV Era: Difference between revisions

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'''The Wave of Celebrity in the Grand Theft Auto IV Era '''is the term used to describe the sudden influx of celebrity and gossip media in the fictional [[Grand Theft Auto World]]
The [[Grand Theft Auto]] series has always strongly relied on satire of popular culture, but a strong influx of parodies of '''celebrity'''/gossip culture can be noticed from [[Grand Theft Auto IV]] onwards.
 


==Pop and Tabloid Culture==
==Pop and Tabloid Culture==
GTA IV's media is sprinkled with references to its own fictional pop culture universe, which parodies the 2000s-era wave of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television#2000s reality television] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famous_for_being_famous "famous for being famous"] celebrities. Many of the celebrities have turbulent friendships or loose associations with each other, much like their real life counterparts; For example, Brody Jenner and Kim Kardashian are half-siblings, and many other celebrities are socially linked together via New York's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convent_of_the_Sacred_Heart_%28New_York%29 Covenant of the Sacred Heart] Catholic school.
GTA IV's media is sprinkled with references to its own fictional pop culture universe, which parodies the 2000s-era wave of [[wp:Reality television#2000s|reality television]] and [[wp:Famous for being famous|"famous for being famous"]] celebrities. Many of the celebrities have turbulent friendships or loose associations with each other, much like their real life counterparts; For example, Brody Jenner and Kim Kardashian are half-siblings, and many other celebrities are socially linked together via New York's [[wp:Covenant of the Sacred Heart (New York)|Covenant of the Sacred Heart]] Catholic school.




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|Banking heiress
|Banking heiress
|Nicole Richie, Mary-Kate Olsen
|Nicole Richie, Mary-Kate Olsen
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''Unnamed British Prince'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Royalty
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Prince Harry
|-
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[January Natasha Vasquez]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[January Natasha Vasquez]]'''
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| style="vertical-align: top;"|Kevin Federline
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Kevin Federline
|-
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Kayla Paulo]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Lyle Cleethorpes|Lyle Cleethorpes V]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Casino heiress
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Historic family heir
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Josh Astor, David Mayer de Rothschild
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
 
'''[[Lyle Cleethorpes|Lyle Cleethorpes V]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
Historic family heir
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
Josh Astor, David Mayer de Rothschild
|}
|}


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| style="vertical-align: top;"|Baseball player
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Baseball player
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Jose Canseco
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Jose Canseco
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Richard Bastion]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Radio host
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck
|-
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Poppy Mitchell]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Poppy Mitchell]]'''
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| style="vertical-align: top;"|Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio
|-
|-
|'''[[Diva Starr]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Al Di Napoli]]'''
|Singer
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Actor
|Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Beyonce Knowles
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Blue Brothers]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Singers
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Jonas Brothers
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Wayne Tearson]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Actor
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Heath Ledger
|}
|}


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| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Love Fist]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Love Fist]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Rock band
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Rock band
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Motley Crue, Guns 'n' Roses, Iron Maiden
|-
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Madd Dogg]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Madd Dogg]]'''
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| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[OG Loc]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[OG Loc]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Rapper
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Rapper
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
| style="vertical-align: top;"|MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice
|-
|-
|'''[[Lazlow]]'''
|'''[[Lazlow]]'''
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'''Real-life celebrities: '''Considerably more famous people in real life agreed to portray themselves in GTA IV than any previous GTA game. Almost every in-game DJ is a prominent musician or personality in real life, Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams play themselves as comedians, and Busta Rhymes also appeared on the radio as himself to promote his new album (in-game and real life).


==Politicians==
==Politicians==
The political atmosphere of the game has a very strong sense of post-9/11 hysteria. Surprisingly, there are no references or parodies whatsoever to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, which was arguably the largest media frenzy of 2008.
The political atmosphere of the game has a very strong sense of post-9/11 hysteria. Surprisingly, there are no references or parodies whatsoever to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, which was arguably the largest media frenzy of 2008, likely because the majority of GTA IV was completed before 2008, and well before Obama was considered a viable candidate for President.
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 600px;"
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 600px;"
|'''Name'''
|'''Name'''
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| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Charles Martin]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Charles Martin]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Alderney Senator
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Alderney Senator
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Duke Cunningham, James Traficant, Webster Hubbell
|-
|-
|'''[[Michael Graves]]'''
|'''[[Michael Graves]]'''
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| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[John Hunter]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[John Hunter]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Liberty Gubernational candidate
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Liberty Gubernational candidate
| style="vertical-align: top;"|
| style="vertical-align: top;"|Al Franken, Fred Thompson, Jesse Ventura
|-
|-
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Thomas Stubbs III]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top;"|'''[[Thomas Stubbs III]]'''

Latest revision as of 20:40, 5 July 2014

The Grand Theft Auto series has always strongly relied on satire of popular culture, but a strong influx of parodies of celebrity/gossip culture can be noticed from Grand Theft Auto IV onwards.

Pop and Tabloid Culture

GTA IV's media is sprinkled with references to its own fictional pop culture universe, which parodies the 2000s-era wave of reality television and "famous for being famous" celebrities. Many of the celebrities have turbulent friendships or loose associations with each other, much like their real life counterparts; For example, Brody Jenner and Kim Kardashian are half-siblings, and many other celebrities are socially linked together via New York's Covenant of the Sacred Heart Catholic school.


Heirs and Heiresses:

Name Occupation Main Parody
Cloe Parker Import/export heiress Paris Hilton, Britney Spears
Jill Von Crastenburg Banking heiress Nicole Richie, Mary-Kate Olsen
Unnamed British Prince Royalty Prince Harry
January Natasha Vasquez Drug heiress Kim Kardashian
Alfonso Vasquez Jr. Drug heir Rob Kardashian
Tyler Dixon Cloe Parker's fiance Kevin Federline
Lyle Cleethorpes V Historic family heir Josh Astor, David Mayer de Rothschild


Self-Made:

Name Occupation Main Parody
Kerry McIntosh Supermodel Kate Moss, Britney Spears
Samantha Muldoon Singer Angelina Jolie, Madonna
Tony McTony Social network founder Mark Zuckerberg, Sean "Diddy" Combs
Ernesto Asaltacunas Baseball player Jose Canseco
Richard Bastion Radio host Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck
Poppy Mitchell Actress Lindsay Lohan
Clay "Pain Giver" Jackson Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Cam'Ron
Bruce Spade Actor Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio
Al Di Napoli Actor Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino
Blue Brothers Singers Jonas Brothers
Wayne Tearson Actor Heath Ledger


Carried over from GTA III Era:

Name Occupation Main Parody
Jack Howitzer Actor Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone
Love Fist Rock band Motley Crue, Guns 'n' Roses, Iron Maiden
Madd Dogg Rapper Ice-T, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube
OG Loc Rapper MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice
Lazlow Radio host NA (as himself)



Real-life celebrities: Considerably more famous people in real life agreed to portray themselves in GTA IV than any previous GTA game. Almost every in-game DJ is a prominent musician or personality in real life, Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams play themselves as comedians, and Busta Rhymes also appeared on the radio as himself to promote his new album (in-game and real life).

Politicians

The political atmosphere of the game has a very strong sense of post-9/11 hysteria. Surprisingly, there are no references or parodies whatsoever to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, which was arguably the largest media frenzy of 2008, likely because the majority of GTA IV was completed before 2008, and well before Obama was considered a viable candidate for President.

Name Occupation Main Parody
Joe Lawton US President George W. Bush
Charles Martin Alderney Senator Duke Cunningham, James Traficant, Webster Hubbell
Michael Graves Liberty Gubernational candidate Mark Foley
John Hunter Liberty Gubernational candidate Al Franken, Fred Thompson, Jesse Ventura
Thomas Stubbs III Liberty House Representative Kennedy family
Julio Ochoa Liberty Mayor Fernando "Freddy" Ferrer
Bryce Dawkins Liberty Deputy Mayor Larry Craig, Richard Curtis, Bob Allen