A Short History Of Celebrity

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A Short History of Celebrity

Author : Fred Inglis
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400834392
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis A Short History of Celebrity by : Fred Inglis

Download or read book A Short History of Celebrity written by Fred Inglis and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of celebrity from Byron to Beckham Love it or hate it, celebrity is one of the dominant features of modern life—and one of the least understood. Fred Inglis sets out to correct this problem in this entertaining and enlightening social history of modern celebrity, from eighteenth-century London to today's Hollywood. Vividly written and brimming with fascinating stories of figures whose lives mark important moments in the history of celebrity, this book explains how fame has changed over the past two-and-a-half centuries. Starting with the first modern celebrities in mid-eighteenth-century London, including Samuel Johnson and the Prince Regent, the book traces the changing nature of celebrity and celebrities through the age of the Romantic hero, the European fin de siècle, and the Gilded Age in New York and Chicago. In the twentieth century, the book covers the Jazz Age, the rise of political celebrities such as Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin, and the democratization of celebrity in the postwar decades, as actors, rock stars, and sports heroes became the leading celebrities. Arguing that celebrity is a mirror reflecting some of the worst as well as some of the best aspects of modern history itself, Inglis considers how the lives of the rich and famous provide not only entertainment but also social cohesion and, like morality plays, examples of what—and what not—to do. This book will interest anyone who is curious about the history that lies behind one of the great preoccupations of our lives. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Celebrity in Chief

Author : Kenneth T. Walsh
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317262689
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (172 download)

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Book Synopsis Celebrity in Chief by : Kenneth T. Walsh

Download or read book Celebrity in Chief written by Kenneth T. Walsh and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-03 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It didn t take long for Barack Obama to make his mark as the biggest political star to ever occupy the White House. Over the course of his two terms in office, Obama has injected the American presidency deeper into popular culture than any of his predecessors. He and his wife Michelle have become iconic figures, celebrities of the first order.This book, by award-winning White House correspondent and presidential historian Kenneth T. Walsh, discusses how the Obamas reached this point. More important, it takes a detailed and comprehensive look at the history of America s presidents as celebrities in chief since the beginning of the Republic. Walsh makes the point that modern presidents need to be celebrities and build on their fame in order to propel their agendas and rally public support for themselves as national leaders so that they can get things done.Combining incisive historical analysis with a journalist s eye for detail, this book looks back to such presidents as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as the forerunners of contemporary celebrity presidents. It examines modern presidents including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt, each of whom qualified as a celebrity in his own time and place. The book also looks at presidents who fell short in their star appeal, such as George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon Johnson, and explains why their star power was lacking.Among the special features of the book are detailed profiles of the presidents and how they measured up or failed as celebrities; an historical analysis of America s popular culture and how presidents have played a part in it, from sports and television to movies and the news media; the role of first ladies; and a portfolio of fascinating photos illustrating the intersection of the presidency with popular culture."

Celebrity Culture and the American Dream

Author : Karen Sternheimer
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317689682
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Celebrity Culture and the American Dream by : Karen Sternheimer

Download or read book Celebrity Culture and the American Dream written by Karen Sternheimer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-12 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrity Culture and the American Dream, Second Edition considers how major economic and historical factors shaped the nature of celebrity culture as we know it today, retaining the first edition’s examples from the first celebrity fan magazines of 1911 to the present and expanding to include updated examples and additional discussion on the role of the internet and social media in today’s celebrity culture. Equally important, the book explains how and why the story of Hollywood celebrities matters, sociologically speaking, to an understanding of American society, to the changing nature of the American Dream, and to the relation between class and culture. This book is an ideal addition to courses on inequalities, celebrity culture, media, and cultural studies.

The Invention of Celebrity

Author : Antoine Lilti
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1509508759
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (95 download)

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Book Synopsis The Invention of Celebrity by : Antoine Lilti

Download or read book The Invention of Celebrity written by Antoine Lilti and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Frequently perceived as a characteristic of modern culture, the phenomenon of celebrity has much older roots. In this book Antoine Lilti shows that the mechanisms of celebrity were developed in Europe during the Enlightenment, well before films, yellow journalism, and television, and then flourished during the Romantic period on both sides of the Atlantic. Figures from across the arts like Voltaire, Garrick, and Liszt were all veritable celebrities in their time, arousing curiosity and passionate loyalty from their “fans.” The rise of the press, new advertising techniques, and the marketing of leisure brought a profound transformation in the visibility of celebrities: private lives were now very much on public show. Nor was politics spared this cultural upheaval: Marie-Antoinette, George Washington, and Napoleon all experienced a political world transformed by the new demands of celebrity. And when the people suddenly appeared on the revolutionary scene, it was no longer enough to be legitimate; it was crucial to be popular too. Lilti retraces the profound social upheaval precipitated by the rise of celebrity and explores the ambivalence felt toward this new phenomenon. Both sought after and denounced, celebrity evolved as the modern form of personal prestige, assuming the role that glory played in the aristocratic world in a new age of democracy and evolving forms of media. While uncovering the birth of celebrity in the eighteenth century, Lilti's perceptive history at the same time shines light on the continuing importance of this phenomenon in today’s world.

Celebrity Mad

Author : Brett Kahr
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429798482
Total Pages : 132 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (297 download)

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Book Synopsis Celebrity Mad by : Brett Kahr

Download or read book Celebrity Mad written by Brett Kahr and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-08-28 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This short book by Professor Brett Kahr provides a psychoanalytic understanding of fame and celebrity in the early twenty-first century, building upon the bedrock foundations of the Freudian corpus. The book is divided into six chapters. Chapter One explores the psychology of the celebrity, questioning narcissistic and exhibitionist psychopathology, while Chapter Two examines the psychological state of those of who revel in the fame of others and in celebrity culture more broadly, and offers a discussion of the "Celebrity Worship Syndrome". Chapter Three provides a very brief history of the concept of celebrity itself, arguing that, contrary to popular opinion, the culture of celebrification cannot be blamed on twenty-first-century media moguls, but, rather, that such a preoccupation with famous personalities can be traced back to ancient times and demonstrates the need to broaden our analysis to include the role of deep, unconscious psychological forces. In Chapter Four, Kahr reviews some important theoretical concepts advanced by Freud and Winnicott, which provide an important foundation for the psychoanalytic study of fame, while Chapter Five provides a more comprehensive theory of the unconscious psychological roots of the need to worship fame and to seek it, drawing upon a multitude of sources, ranging from psychoanalytic theory and developmental psychological research, to film, archaeology, and, perhaps surprisingly, the history of infanticide. The book concludes, in Chapter Six, by studying the psychodynamics of celebrity and fame, arguing that being recognised by one’s family and friends in the intimate context of home life may well be the very best way to become a celebrity. Celebrity Mad outlines a psychoanalytic theory of the roots of our obsession with fame. It will be of great interest to psychoanalytic practitioners and researchers, as well as to readers interested in the psychology of fame.

Notes on Fame

Author : Tom Payne
Publisher : Picador
ISBN 13 : 1429991720
Total Pages : 48 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Notes on Fame by : Tom Payne

Download or read book Notes on Fame written by Tom Payne and published by Picador. This book was released on 2011-01-18 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A free preview collection of essays from Tom Payne, author of FAME We may regard celebrities as deities, but that does not mean we worship them with deference. From prehistory to the present, humanity has possessed a primal urge first to exalt the famous but then to cut them down (Michael Jackson, anyone?). Why do we treat the ones we love like burnt offerings in a ritual of human sacrifice? Perhaps because that is exactly what they are. In this collection of essays, Tom Payne -- of the website Popcropolis and the "trenchant, unsettling, and darkly hilarious" Fame (New York Times Book Review) -- draws the narratives of the past and the immediate present into one intriguing story. INCLUDES AN EXCERPT FROM FAME!

Internet Celebrity

Author : Crystal Abidin
Publisher : Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1787560767
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (875 download)

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Book Synopsis Internet Celebrity by : Crystal Abidin

Download or read book Internet Celebrity written by Crystal Abidin and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2018-07-16 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a framework for thinking about different forms of internet celebrity that have emerged in the last decade. Through cross-cultural case studies, the book offers a brief history of internet celebrity; analysis on recent developments in the industry; and commentary on emergent trends.

A Celebrity Survival Guide

Author : Travis Weimer
Publisher : Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1598586629
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (985 download)

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Book Synopsis A Celebrity Survival Guide by : Travis Weimer

Download or read book A Celebrity Survival Guide written by Travis Weimer and published by Dog Ear Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tips for Respectfully Interacting with Celebrities in Their Natural Habitat. "A celebrity is a person who works all his life to become well known, then wears dark sunglasses to avoid being recognized." Fred Allen Come take a three hour tour that explores America's favorite past time - STAR GAZING! This book explores the wonderful world of celebrity status and highlights some of the difficulties that many fans sometimes forget about. We have studied, witnessed, analyzed and categorized today's hottest celebrities into their various "animal" categories. What's more, we draw clear guidelines on how to respectfully approach your favorite celebrity animal without scaring them away. We outline a step-by-step process on how to get what you want from your star, without looking like an idiot. This book is taking a light approach to what can and has been a serious issue. Although fans are the ones that make celebrities, they are quite often the ones to break them as well. If you are looking for info on America's royalty - "The Celebrity"- then this book will help you experience the star-struck phenomenon first hand. "Two things have really changed my life. Going to jail and reading The Celebrity Survival Guide! To all of you fans out there - get this book and read it! It's HOT!" P.H. "I know that the world is in need of elite units to help eradicate the vast networks of fundamentalist groupies. The Celebrity Survival Guide provides a solid stratigery for successfully overcoming fan terrorism worldwide. Travis & Shalisse - 'Mission Accomplished!" G.W.B "Fans are thoughtless little pigs! I don't give a d**m that you're a fan! The crap you pull on us Celebrities that you would never dream of doing to your mother, and you do it to us constantly over and over again! Well, you've made us feel like s**t for the last time! The Celebrity Survival Guidewill straighten you're a** out!" (Voicemail message left by) A.B. "With The Celebrity Survival Guide, Travis & Shalisse have finally given celebrities a chance to say 'Hasta la Vista' to rude fans everywhere.I encourage all fans to read this book and terminate their bad behaviors! A.S. "The Celebrity Survival Guideis better than my daily CIA briefings!" C.R.

Illusions of Immortality

Author : David Giles
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1137096500
Total Pages : 195 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (37 download)

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Book Synopsis Illusions of Immortality by : David Giles

Download or read book Illusions of Immortality written by David Giles and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What drives people to crave fame and celebrity? How does fame affect people psychologically? These issues are frequently discussed by the media but up till now psychologists have shied away from an academic away from an academic investigation of the phenomenon of fame. In this lively, eclectic book David Giles examines fame and celebrity from a variety of perspectives. He argues that fame should be seen as a process rather than a state of being, and that 'celebrity' has largely emerged through the technological developments of the last 150 years. Part of our problem in dealing with celebrities, and the problem celebrities have dealing with the public, is that the social conditions produced by the explosion in mass communications have irrevocably altered the way we live. However we know little about many of the phenomena these conditions have produced - such as the 'parasocial interaction' between television viewers and media characters, and the quasi-religious activity of 'fans'. Perhaps the biggest single dilemma for celebrities is the fact that the vehicle that creates fame for them - the media - is also their tormentor. To address these questions, David Giles draws on research from psychology, sociology, media and communications studies, history and anthropology - as well as his own experiences as a music journalist in the 1980s. He argues that the history of fame is inextricably linked to the emergence of the individual self as a central theme of Western culture, and considers how the desire for authenticity, as well as individual privacy, have created anxieties for celebrities which are best understood in their historical and cultural context.

The Drama of Celebrity

Author : Sharon Marcus
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691210187
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis The Drama of Celebrity by : Sharon Marcus

Download or read book The Drama of Celebrity written by Sharon Marcus and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do so many people care so much about celebrities? Who decides who gets to be a star? What are the privileges and pleasures of fandom? Do celebrities ever deserve the outsized attention they receive? In this fascinating and deeply researched book, Sharon Marcus challenges everything you thought you knew about our obsession with fame. Icons are not merely famous for being famous; the media alone cannot make or break stars; fans are not simply passive dupes. Instead, journalists, the public, and celebrities themselves all compete, passionately and expertly, to shape the stories we tell about celebrities and fans. The result: a high-stakes drama as endless as it is unpredictable. Drawing on scrapbooks, personal diaries, and vintage fan mail, Marcus traces celebrity culture back to its nineteenth-century roots, when people the world over found themselves captivated by celebrity chefs, bad-boy poets, and actors such as the "divine" Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), as famous in her day as the Beatles in theirs. Known in her youth for sleeping in a coffin, hailed in maturity as a woman of genius, Bernhardt became a global superstar thanks to savvy engagement with her era's most innovative media and technologies: the popular press, commercial photography, and speedy new forms of travel. Whether you love celebrity culture or hate it, The Drama of Celebrity will change how you think about one of the most important phenomena of modern times.

Star Power

Author : Lauren Wright
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429888821
Total Pages : 245 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (298 download)

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Book Synopsis Star Power by : Lauren Wright

Download or read book Star Power written by Lauren Wright and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-04 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are celebrity politics the spice of American public life or a pox on policy progress? This book identifies and measures the attributes of celebrities that make them well-equipped to win campaigns and yet poorly prepared to govern effectively. The framers of the U.S. Constitution worried about the propensity of an undereducated public to elect unqualified entertainers rather than fit characters to government positions. Celebrities have come to play an increasingly central role in the American political process as fundraisers, surrogates, and as candidates themselves, yet remain a sorely understudied topic in political science. Through a multimethod approach that includes qualitative analysis, novel public opinion surveys, and survey experiments, this book assesses whether Americans are more likely to vote for celebrities than well-known traditional politicians and the implications of these preferences for democracy in the U.S. Perfect for students, scholars, and interested citizens, Star Power looks at the contemporary American political landscape through new lenses of research as well as popular appeal.

All Made Up

Author : Audrey D. Brashich
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 0802777449
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (27 download)

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Book Synopsis All Made Up by : Audrey D. Brashich

Download or read book All Made Up written by Audrey D. Brashich and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2006-04-18 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of why the definitions of beauty and success set by celebrities are so powerful, and how a teenage girl can reclaim star power for herself.

Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins

Author : Kathy Griffin
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1250115655
Total Pages : 370 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins by : Kathy Griffin

Download or read book Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins written by Kathy Griffin and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2016-11-22 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An A–Z compendium of the comedian’s celebrity encounters, and the jaw-dropping, charming, and sometimes bizarre anecdotes only she can tell about them. Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins is Kathy’s funny, juicy index of all of the celebrities she has met during her many years in show business, bursting with never-before-told stories. Starting with Woody Allen and ending with Warren Zevon, Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins is a who’s who of pop culture: Leonardo DiCaprio, Nick Jonas, Kendall Jenner, Anna Kendrick, Lily Tomlin, Suge Knight, Barbra Streisand, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Maria Shriver, Jared Leto, Selena Gomez, Meghan Trainor, Macklemore, Bruno Mars, Aaron Paul, Pink, Pitbull, Sia, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Christina Aguilera, and many more. Who would imagine that Kathy was an extra in a Michael Jackson commercial (guess which one)? That she and Salman Rushdie trade celebrity stories? That Donald Trump once drove Kathy and Liza Minelli around on a golf cart? That Sidney Poitier has a wicked sense of humor? That Demi Lovato has none? That David Letterman is still scared of Cher? That Channing Tatum is as polite as they come, and Tom Hanks might have the best perspective on fame of anyone? Kathy, that’s who. Kathy has met everyone, and after reading this book, you will feel as if you have, too. Kathy Griffin has seen it all. Shocking and sidesplitting, Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins is an indispensable guide to the stars from one of our most beloved comedians. Can you handle it?

Journalism and Celebrity

Author : Bethany Usher
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429535198
Total Pages : 215 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (295 download)

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Book Synopsis Journalism and Celebrity by : Bethany Usher

Download or read book Journalism and Celebrity written by Bethany Usher and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-18 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This insightful book traces the development of journalism and celebrity and their relationship to and influence on political and social spheres from the beginnings of capitalist democracy in the 18th century to the present day. Journalism and Celebrity provides the first account of its kind, revealing the people, places, platforms, and production practices that created celebrity journalism culture, following its origins in the London-based press to its reinvention by the American mass media. Through a transdisciplinary approach to theory and method, this book argues that those who place celebrity in binary to what journalism should be often miss the importance of their mutual dependency in making our societies what they are. Including historical and contemporary case studies from the UK and US, this book is excellent reading for journalism, communication, media studies, and history students, as well as scholars in the fields of journalism, celebrity, cultural studies and political communication.

Fame Us

Author : Brian Howell
Publisher : ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN 13 : 1458778940
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (587 download)

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Book Synopsis Fame Us by : Brian Howell

Download or read book Fame Us written by Brian Howell and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-08 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this stunning book, photographer Brian Howell takes us into the world of celebrity impersonators--the faux famous people who make a living at pretending to be someone else. Taken at various impersonator conventions and stage shows throughout North America, the photographs are both startling and poignant--for all of the frivolity and double takes (''Isn't that Paris Hilton?'') there is also a sense of the real person beneath the makeup and the artifice. Accompanying the portraits are first-person narratives by many of the subjects, many of whom feel personally close to those they are impersonating, even if they have never met them. In addition, in two essays, cultural critic Norbert Ruebsaat looks at the history of celebrity culture, and Geist magazine editor Stephen Osborne delves into the nature of photographing impersonators. As such, the book investigates the nature of fame in this era of celebrity blogs, stalkerazzi, and reality television-and how our obsession with famous people says as much about us as it does about them.

Famous People

Author : Justin Kuritzkes
Publisher : Henry Holt and Company
ISBN 13 : 1250309034
Total Pages : 154 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Famous People by : Justin Kuritzkes

Download or read book Famous People written by Justin Kuritzkes and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2019-07-09 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fresh, smart novel in the guise of a celebrity memoir probes the inner life of a mega-famous pop star Honestly, what amazes me the most with a lot of the people I meet is that they think they’re so big. They think, ultimately, that the universe revolves around them. And I’m beginning to think that it’s only when you live a life like mine—it’s only when you’re in a position where you don’t even really own yourself, when you can’t even really say that you’re a citizen of any particular country—that you realize that we’re all just tiny pieces of cosmic dust floating through the void until we disappear forever and we’re never heard from again. So begins the life story of our uber famous twenty-two year old narrator. A teen idol since he was twelve, when a video of him singing went viral, his star has only risen since. Now, haunted by the suicide of his manager-father, unsettled by the very different paths he and his teenage love (and girl pop-star counterpart) “Mandy” have taken, and increasingly aware that he has signed on to something he has little control over, he begins to parse the divide that separates him from the “normal people” of the world. Sneakily philosophical, earnest and funny, Justin Kuritzkes's Famous People is a rollicking, unforgettable look at the clash between fame and the human condition.

Celebrity Politics

Author : Mark Wheeler
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0745671705
Total Pages : 285 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (456 download)

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Book Synopsis Celebrity Politics by : Mark Wheeler

Download or read book Celebrity Politics written by Mark Wheeler and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-08-22 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new book, Mark Wheeler offers the first in-depth analysis of the history, nature and global reach of celebrity politics today. Celebrity politicians and politicized celebrities have had a profound impact upon the practice of politics and the way in which it is now communicated. New forms of political participation have emerged as a result and the political classes have increasingly absorbed the values of celebrity into their own PR strategies. Celebrity activists, endorsers, humanitarians and diplomats also play a part in reconfiguring politics for a more fragmented and image-conscious public arena. In academic circles, celebrity may be viewed as a ‘manufactured product’; one fabricated by media exposure so that celebrity activists are no more than ‘bards of the powerful.’ Mark Wheeler, however, provides a more nuanced critique contending that both celebrity politicians and politicized stars should be defined by their ‘affective capacity’ to operate within the public sphere. This timely book will be a valuable resource for students of media and communication studies and political science as well as general readers keen to understand the nature and reach of contemporary celebrity culture.