Kristen Stewart probably didn't get the main part in Twilight because her mother was a script supervisor for Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas
Is it just me, or does it seem like no one is talking about nepo infants these days? Just joking, my phone is still heated from texting about New York Magazine's recent piece on celebrities who were genetically inclined to fame due to their parents' occupations and connections. I'm sure a lot of ink was poured dissecting each component of the package, with headlines like "How is a Nepo Baby Born? " to "Where Should Your Nepo Baby Attend High School? "—was a hundred times the value of the individual components.
But I didn't log on to slam NYMag's article, which was ultimately a terrific conversation starter. I just have one complaint: while having creative parents is an advantage, not every parental privilege equals nepotism, and not every creative is wealthy—which is the true, brutal conduit to nepotism.
I appreciate NYMag acknowledging that this connection is much, much "lesser"—but frankly, I'm inclined to believe they chose to sow chaos by suggesting Jaeden Martell's father is an L.A.-based chef. Cultural Capital Babies do have access to industry expertise, as they say, but I refuse to believe that this is a kind of nepotism.
Having creative parents, such as set designers or chefs, is a blessing (one that I'm very lucky to have! ), but given the internet's proclivity to read things in bad faith or half-heartedly, comparing people like Phoebe Bridgers, whose father is a television set builder, to Maya Hawke, whose last name and face immediately reveal who her parents are, feels careless. Sure, creative parents may offer their children other ways to be adults that do not follow standard professional paths—but creativity alone will not get you a job. If they've made a lot of money from their innovation, you're 1000 percent more likely to acquire a job (something I plan to speak to my parents about over the holidays...)
People on Twitter have termed this type of access "cool parent privilege," which feels a lot more appropriate than nepotism. Including cultural capital babies under their umbrella of nepotism ignores what I believe would be a much more interesting and nuanced discussion about how parents in creative fields can't always use their power to further their children's lives, but have charted a wider berth for their offspring to navigate life's challenges.
My mother is a printmaker and my father is a sculptor, and while they aren't famous (much to my chagrin), and they haven't gotten me any jobs other than babysitting for their friends' kids (I'm ready to be canceled in the child caregiving industry), I can admit that the way they've chosen to live their lives has opened up a lot of possibilities for me. Kate Berlant, whose mother constructed the miniature StoneHenge set in Spinal Tap, is another individual included in the NYMag story who had a sculptor for a father. A lovely addition to the film, but I'd be surprised if it opened doors for her as a comic. It more than likely demonstrated to her that attending business school or working for the government isn't the only way to earn a steady paycheck.
My parents demonstrated to me that identifying as an artist does not have to be linked to how the IRS classifies you. When we learn someone is a painter or writer, we make a lot of assumptions: that they live in a large loft, don't need a day job, and so on. And, yet again, this is true of some artists (read: wealthy), who tend to be the ones presented in huge cultural institutions. But there are hundreds more creatives who haven't had a Whitney retrospective, so pointing out that Leonardo DiCaprio's father is a comics artist isn't some "gotcha!" moment. " occurrence.
(For what it's worth, George DiCaprio did help his son launch his career as a kid, but it wasn't through his underground comics.) For the majority of my life, my parents taught their craft at the college level, but they've also worked in the government as a contractor and a handyman, to name a few of their many jobs. But they were always artists. Similarly, while continuing to write, I've worked as a babysitter, restaurant host, tour guide, and administrative assistant. Money is, once again, the elephant in the room.
The film and television industries are so vast and diverse that claiming someone's (Kristen Stewart's) mother was a script supervisor (for The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas) is like....k? It's a total lack of grasp of Hollywood's spectrum and power structures. Many movie industry workers make good money (thanks to unions! ), but they don't have the clout NYMag suggests just by working on film sets.
My artist parents have taught me how to plan my after-work and weekend time such that it is packed with the sort of creative activity that motivates me. I've learned how to pay quarterly taxes, but they've never added my name as a producer to any of their projects for the simple reason that they don't have any producers. I've learnt how to create creative networks of people who inspire and push me, but the most they've ever "hooked me up" with was providing my number to a buddy who owns an arts events firm, where I was paid $100 to work coat check for the evening.
My parents' creativity has provided me with an alarming amount of useful life skills, none of which have translated into power or influence.
And, in fact, the best gift my parents have ever given me is the fact that I've never had to go home for the holidays and have them ask when I'm applying to law school. It's still not nepotism! But that is unquestionably a privilege.
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