Celebrity Culture
Why are we so fascinated by people who make no material impact on our lives and are, in many respects, just like ourselves - ordinary? Why do we care about people who have no conspicuous talent? Has there ever been a time in history when so much time, energy, and money has been devoted to following the exploits of people we have never met, are never likely to, and who don't know we exist? What are the likely effects of this collective obsession with celebrities on politics, race, and the...
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In this fascinating and topical beginners guide, Ellis Cashmore explores the intriguing issue of celebrity culture: its origins, its meaning and its global influence. Covering such varied perspectives as fame addiction, the ‘celebrification’ of politics and celebrity fatigue, Cashmore analyzes the relationship celebrity has with commodification and the consumer society, and investigates the new media and the quest for self-perfection. Cashmore takes readers on a quest that visits the Hollywood film industry of the early twentieth century, the film set of Cleopatra in the 1970s, the dressing room of Madonna in the 1980s, the burial of Diana in the 1990s, and the Big Brother house of the early 2000s. Author of Beckham and Tyson, Cashmore collects research, theory, and case studies en route as he explores the intriguing issue of celebrity culture: its origins, its meaning, and its global influence. Including reviews of existing literature, and an outline of key contemporary topics, this absorbing book skilfully explains why we have become so captivated by the lives and loves of the celebrity and, in so doing, presents the clearest, most comprehensive, wide-ranging, and accessible account of celebrity culture to date.
Cultivating/Tastes: What parts did the media and consumer society play in turning us into celebrity-doters? 1Making/New Rules: When did the paparazzi appear and how did they make yet contribute to the destruction of Diana? 17Giving/It All: How did Madonna and MTV combine to smudge the distinction between entertainment and advertising? 36Fabricating/Fame: When and why did Hollywood build an image-building machine that conquered all? 56Worshipping/From Afar: What do fans think, feel and do...and with what effects on the objects of their adoration? 78Consuming/Beauty: How are cosmetic surgery and the preoccupation with physical perfection linked to celebrity culture? 98Commodifying/Race: Why have black celebrities been used as living proof of the end of racism? 116Thriving/On Scandal: How have disgrace, shame, humiliation, and sexual indignity helped some celebrities climb onto the A-list? 140Buying/Sales: Why do advertisers assume we will buy products endorsed by people we suspect never use those products? 165Televising/Reality: When did ordinary people become so fascinating that we will watch entire programs about them doing nothing in particular? 188Blurring/The Line: Why are more and more celebrities turning to politics and why is politics turning to celebrities? 208Creating/Legends: What happened to the heroes of sport when theystarted being acclaimed as much for their images as for their achievements? 227Answering/The Big Question: How have scholars tried to explain the seemingly irresistible rise of the celebrity? 247Timeline 270Bibliography 280Films 291Index 295
