📘 Part 3: Role models

This episode's vocabulary

Diverse (adj.) - including many different types of people or things.

Moderately (adverb) - in a way that is neither small nor large in size, amount, degree, or strength.

Squeaky (adj.) - making a very high sound.

Image (noun) - the way that something or someone is thought of by other people.

To put sth into sth/doing sth (phrasal verb) - if you put time, work, or effort into something, you spend a lot of time or effort doing it.

To look up to somebody (phrasal verb) - to respect and admire someone.

Magnify (verb) - to make something look larger than it is, especially by looking at it through a lens.

Work ethic (noun) - the belief that work is morally good.

Aptitude (noun) - a natural skill or an ability to do something well.

Quirky (adverb) - unusual in an attractive and interesting way.

Appearance (noun) - the way a person or thing looks to other people.

To deviate (verb) - to do something that is different from the usual or common way of behaving.

Questions and Answers

M: What kinds of people are likely to be the role models for teenagers?

R: I mean, that's probably as diverse as the teenagers themselves, to be honest. Usually, it's someone who has achieved some kind of success, whether it's musical or something else, and they have at least a moderately squeaky, clean media image, at least relative to other role models. So that's not always true.

M: Is it important for children to have a role model?

R: I'm not sure, to be honest. On the one hand, it's helpful to have a representation of what's possible for someone to achieve if they put the work in. But on the other, you could end up setting a ridiculously high set of expectations for people and accidentally use someone who hasn't had a similar life to the people looking up to them to set that example, which is not great.

M: Are there any differences between today's famous people and those of the past?

R: Well, not particularly in terms of their traits, to be honest. They still work ridiculously hard and have a singular focus, at least on the area that took them to the top. So the people themselves have not changed much, but maybe the extent to which their image is magnified around the world has massively increased. Thanks to technology.

M: What qualities do famous people have?

R: Well, we already talked about the work ethic and focus. I suppose they must also have an aptitude for media manipulation of some descriptions, since they have to create and sustain an image of and a story about themselves in order to get ahead.

M: What kinds of people are likely to become famous?

R: Other than the ones with the traits I already mentioned? Well, it's funny, but it seems like people who are either generically good-looking in an almost extreme way, or people with a unique or quirky appearance that deviates from the norm in a way that gets them noticed. So in addition to playing a part. You also have to look at the part too, it seems.

M: Do people tend to choose the best people as their role models?

R: Well, I mean, how do we define the best in this case? Is it someone who is the most successful or the person who is the most moral? Because those two are very rarely the same thing, and people seem to want both in role models. So with that being said, probably not, no.

M: Hey! Thank you for your answers! Rory, Rory, Rory.

R: Hopefully they set a good example. Oh, it's a pun!