Within minutes of hearing the news of David Bowie’s passing, the internet was on fire with social media chatter. Favorite songs were shared, pictures posted, best-of lists compiled, everyone from diehards to the most casual of fans spoke of how they’d miss him. Even at 69 years old, it still seemed that Bowie would be the one rock star who would somehow manage to live forever, creating music for generations to come. To say he was one of the big ones like Elvis and The Beatles, would be a criminal understatement and injustice to his legacy that spanned decades and continues to influence artists indie and mainstream. Understanding the importance of Bowie’s contribution to pop-culture, you would first have to take a look at why people see rock stars and celebrities, as role models, and how they effect our lives.
It’s a prominent human trait to find someone to look up to whether it be your peers, political figures, or a mythical character. Within the last 100 years, rock stars, athletes, and media icons have become the idols of choice for better or worse. Whether you’d like to admit it or not, all of us have tried to emulate the style, swagger, or air of our favorite celebrities. It could be donning a certain fashion for the world to see, or as private as the confines of your bathroom mirror. The appeal of these larger than life personas could be credited to the fact that these individuals have obtained the love and respect that may not be achievable by the general public.
At a certain age, most kids get over the Halo Effect of their favorite stars when they realize that this kind of success is reserved for only a select few and no matter how much hard work they may sink into emulating these celebrities, they’ll never be as talented, respected, and loved the world over as these individuals are. What begins as admiration can slowly descend into insecurity.
What set Bowie apart from the usual celebrity template, was in the way he embraced what society deemed as weird, and brought it out into the light as if it wasn’t something to fear. In the late 1960s, the world was just warming up to the idea of women having jobs in the business world other than a nurse or secretary, and here comes Bowie in full make-up, wearing clothes meant for either a woman or something from another galaxy, but still having the legitimate talent to back it up. It was hard for the general public to disregard such an artists based on appearance when his music was so accessible. This gave him an edge that most unconventional artists didn’t have at the time.
Outlandish clothes and defying gender troupes wasn’t just limited to Bowie’s fashion. The more his music became popular, the more the general public began to accept the things they didn’t understand. Before that became a tired cliché, Bowie would up and change his public persona to reflect other social taboos. Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, The Thin White Duke, just to name a few, all stemmed from his own way expressing something all of us have felt at some point in our lives. No matter what form of alienation people felt, Bowie found a way to combat the feeling by facing it head on, celebrating it, and taking it a step further.
By now, everyone has seen the viral excerpt from the 1983 interview with MTV where Bowie basically calls them out for not playing music videos from black artists. He’s poised, confident, and to the point without being condescending or obnoxious. It proves that even in public appearances when not portraying a character, Bowie was legitimately willing to standup to a new media platform that could easily make or break his latest chapter as a mainstream recording artist, all in the name of the underdog. That kind of bravery is unmatched even by today’s standards.
Looking at Bowie’s influence on self-expression throughout the 70s, willingness to flirt with trends in the 80s, and the way he was challenging himself throughout the 90s and up until his death, it’s a fair assessment to say Bowie was a rock star who understood what it was like to be one of the people who’ll never be one themselves. He lived the fantasies we’re not brave enough to live on our own. He wasn’t afraid of challenging the conventional opinion of the masses and in turn, challenged them to think outside the box. Through his constant reinvention as an artist, he showed us that self-discovery is just another adventure that life has to offer. He may have portrayed many roles throughout his career but those characters helped us come to terms with ourselves, and at the same time offering us an amazing soundtrack for our own personal adventure.