Holmes and Redmond discuss the dominant themes of star and celebrity analysis, with reference to the work of Gamson, Rojek and Turner who argue that 'the desire for fame, stardom or celebrification stems from a need to be wanted in society where being famous appears to offer enormous material, social and psychic rewards.'
The notion of 'me me me' fame, argues Holmes et al, relates to egotisitical or fractured nature of post modern identity - by which the modern self is based on possessive qualities that measure self worth by their own consumption choices (fashion, beauty etc).
'Leif Memphis - a persona of the epitome of the successful, narcissistic star, made to be in love with his own idolized image. The possessive 'I' of the persona wants to be famous and wealthy but also shows unhappiness with his world, reaching out for what he thinks will bring him wholeness.'
Holmes and Redmond introduce the idea of fandom in the analysis of celebrity; claiming that in the modern world where face-to-face communication had decreased, 'fandom involves an illusion of intimacy that aims to compensate for such lonliness.' They argue that the celebrity is not only a desired object but also a link to connect people.
Talk about fame
Building on the ideas of Braudy (1986), Holmes and Redmond suggest that social interaction and media discourse constitute the very concept of celebrity. 'The famous are constructed, circulated and consumed through the busy channels of media production, as well as the social networks with which they intersect.'
Academic work then, is suggested to explore why celebrity culture is the symbol of cultural decline and how it matters. It is argued that academic 'objectivity' when analysing celebrities is often difficult, when there's often a connection between researcher and famous figure to begin with.
Several points are made in relation to discourses of cultural value:
1. It's impossible to discuss modern celeb without addressing judgements made about the person in question.
2. Issues of cultural value structure different opinions on celebrity - some people defend them, others criticise
3. Compiling an academic collection on celebs has connections with the processes of fame which structure celeb mags
Monday 10 May 2010
Joshua Gamson: The Name and the Product - Late Twentieth-Century Celebrity
Gamson discusses the making of celebrity in the late 20th century, focusing on how the industry has changed, how the production of celebrity has changed and how media texts' coverage of celebs has changed readers/viewers positions on the industry.
Key points:
- Celebrity has become increasingly industrialized
- Hype, purchase, manipulation, self-promotion and association have become central elements in celebrity discourse
- Most critical to these developments was a shakeup of the movie studio industry - independent studios began to grow, rise of 'agents' meant greater powers to cultivate 'talent'
- Film stars became 'proprietors of their own image' which they could sell to film makers
Gamson identifies key changes in the PR industry post-World War II in which several components affected celebrity:
1. Specialised strategies to target perceived needs and desires of audience. Advertising adopted marketing that focused on consumer lifestyle and attitudes.
2. Practices and interests of journalists and PR operatives have got closer - news has become more dependent on PR sources
3. Technologies to provide visual image that 'imitates the representation of an event/person' have become highly developed. Press releases provide ready-packaged stories.
4. Early 70's saw a boom in magazine and newspaper coverage of 'people and personality'.
Gamson talks about how being famous = commercial product. The links between celebrity and selling in the early 50's meant that celebs began to be represented not only as useful to sell and endorse products but as a business itself by selling - celebrity became 'merchandise', 'property' a 'commodity'.
Celeb-production: where once an agent's job was to discover talent, it’s now about finding a market and manufacturing a celeb to suit it
The argument that celebs portray a certain image and finding the 'real' behind the image still applies today. Behind-the-scenes looks into the world of celeb and documentaries have attempted to show the 'real' but again, that is questionable. Gamson talks about how readers/viewers are often given a set of 'tools' or 'instructions' by media texts in order to not only find the 'real' behind the image but also view the fabrication process of how celebs are constructed to amuse.
Irony is one of the clearest developments in the late 20th Century - particularly in magazines aimed at young, educated people. 'Inside gossip' and mockery has become commonplace in many magazines, where the audience is invited to 'take its power further with a new, cynical distance from the production of celeb and celeb images.'
Celebrity texts now reposition readers to 'see the joke’ of the performed self of celebrity. Cynicism, irony and invitations behind the scenes keep readers/viewers tuned in.
Key points:
- Celebrity has become increasingly industrialized
- Hype, purchase, manipulation, self-promotion and association have become central elements in celebrity discourse
- Most critical to these developments was a shakeup of the movie studio industry - independent studios began to grow, rise of 'agents' meant greater powers to cultivate 'talent'
- Film stars became 'proprietors of their own image' which they could sell to film makers
Gamson identifies key changes in the PR industry post-World War II in which several components affected celebrity:
1. Specialised strategies to target perceived needs and desires of audience. Advertising adopted marketing that focused on consumer lifestyle and attitudes.
2. Practices and interests of journalists and PR operatives have got closer - news has become more dependent on PR sources
3. Technologies to provide visual image that 'imitates the representation of an event/person' have become highly developed. Press releases provide ready-packaged stories.
4. Early 70's saw a boom in magazine and newspaper coverage of 'people and personality'.
Gamson talks about how being famous = commercial product. The links between celebrity and selling in the early 50's meant that celebs began to be represented not only as useful to sell and endorse products but as a business itself by selling - celebrity became 'merchandise', 'property' a 'commodity'.
Celeb-production: where once an agent's job was to discover talent, it’s now about finding a market and manufacturing a celeb to suit it
The argument that celebs portray a certain image and finding the 'real' behind the image still applies today. Behind-the-scenes looks into the world of celeb and documentaries have attempted to show the 'real' but again, that is questionable. Gamson talks about how readers/viewers are often given a set of 'tools' or 'instructions' by media texts in order to not only find the 'real' behind the image but also view the fabrication process of how celebs are constructed to amuse.
Irony is one of the clearest developments in the late 20th Century - particularly in magazines aimed at young, educated people. 'Inside gossip' and mockery has become commonplace in many magazines, where the audience is invited to 'take its power further with a new, cynical distance from the production of celeb and celeb images.'
Celebrity texts now reposition readers to 'see the joke’ of the performed self of celebrity. Cynicism, irony and invitations behind the scenes keep readers/viewers tuned in.
The Media and Consumer Culture
Last week's lecture and workshop focused on the concept of consumer culture; the things we buy, how we are influenced to consume and how we define ourselves by what we buy.
We considered the following in discussing consumer culture:
- The development of modern cities
- Growth of the middle classes
- The emergence of leisure time
- Advertising and PR
Turning our attention to how the media and consumer culture operate alongside each other, I've been looking at how Style magazine exemplifies this culture in operation.
As this is also the focus of my research report, this will potentially form the basis for my textual analysis, when considering the cultural significance of the magazine.
Firstly, a bit of background on Style. It is one of several Sunday supplements which come with The Sunday Times newspaper. The magazine, like most 'consumer' titles, covers fashion and beauty, celebrity, music, lifestyle, food and homes. It also has several key features each week on particular issues e.g. this week's features include ethical fashion, the secret party life of Kabul and the latest craze 'cringe parties'.
To me, Style exemplifies consumer culture much like the majority of similar magazines, but the way in which certain products and brands are presented is not as obvious as examples like glossy weekly Look. Because there is a clearer element of real editorial content e.g. news features (often on quite serious subjects) it is harder to determine where editorial stops and advertising starts. By this I mean that often features will talk about issues within the fashion industry and include specific names, brands and designers as part of the write-up. Although presented as 'newsy', there is advertising and branding apparent in much of the content.
The key features of Style are recurrent weekly:
- The weekly update from Shane Watson together with the 'going up - going down' scale of fashion and lifestyle 'must-haves'
- Fashion news including trend watch, 'one to worship' and 'blog off' (what the web thought of a celebrity outfit/outing etc)
- 'People like them' - an update on the world of celeb parties, launches and designer latest
- Artist/band profile feature (this week it's Plan B)
- Fashion pages which include 'your style' (advice), key looks and weekly fashion shoot spread
- Beauty pages which often profiles a particular artist and their work as well as the latest products and tips
- Inner style pages which focus on health issues, emotions, problem advice and personal stories
- Life style pages which feature someone’s home interior each week, food recipes, a restaurant review and wine reviews
- Advertising for luxury brands such as Gucci, Tiffany’s, Dior, Prada as well as high street favs M&S, TK Maxx and Boots
The kind of experience offered by Style is very different depending on the reader. For me, a full-time student who earns next to nothing and is up-to-the-eyeballs in student debt, the experience is very much one of admiration, awe and jealousy. Not in a bad way - just in the way that I cannot afford most of the products and featured items in the magazine and so end up with a sense of lust and longing.
Again, personally I feel this is a good thing. Although not necessarily the prime target in terms of the consumer - many of the features such as fashion and lifestyle are things that I would like to aim for in the future - the finer side of life and all that. Whether or not that becomes a reality is another ball game but the desire is there for me as a poor student!
On the other hand, the target reader of Style is likely to be not only a little older and more financially stable than me, but also in a position whereby they could genuinely go out and consume whatever takes their eye in this week's edition. For them, the experience is something that is more familiar to them - something which they're accustomed to - and so they can relate to the consumer aspect of the magazine more closely than I can. This is reflected in the advertising which appears in the magazine - high-end brands that only someone with a very comfortable lifestyle could afford or those who buy into the lifestyle amidst crippling debts!
We considered the following in discussing consumer culture:
- The development of modern cities
- Growth of the middle classes
- The emergence of leisure time
- Advertising and PR
Turning our attention to how the media and consumer culture operate alongside each other, I've been looking at how Style magazine exemplifies this culture in operation.
As this is also the focus of my research report, this will potentially form the basis for my textual analysis, when considering the cultural significance of the magazine.
Firstly, a bit of background on Style. It is one of several Sunday supplements which come with The Sunday Times newspaper. The magazine, like most 'consumer' titles, covers fashion and beauty, celebrity, music, lifestyle, food and homes. It also has several key features each week on particular issues e.g. this week's features include ethical fashion, the secret party life of Kabul and the latest craze 'cringe parties'.
To me, Style exemplifies consumer culture much like the majority of similar magazines, but the way in which certain products and brands are presented is not as obvious as examples like glossy weekly Look. Because there is a clearer element of real editorial content e.g. news features (often on quite serious subjects) it is harder to determine where editorial stops and advertising starts. By this I mean that often features will talk about issues within the fashion industry and include specific names, brands and designers as part of the write-up. Although presented as 'newsy', there is advertising and branding apparent in much of the content.
The key features of Style are recurrent weekly:
- The weekly update from Shane Watson together with the 'going up - going down' scale of fashion and lifestyle 'must-haves'
- Fashion news including trend watch, 'one to worship' and 'blog off' (what the web thought of a celebrity outfit/outing etc)
- 'People like them' - an update on the world of celeb parties, launches and designer latest
- Artist/band profile feature (this week it's Plan B)
- Fashion pages which include 'your style' (advice), key looks and weekly fashion shoot spread
- Beauty pages which often profiles a particular artist and their work as well as the latest products and tips
- Inner style pages which focus on health issues, emotions, problem advice and personal stories
- Life style pages which feature someone’s home interior each week, food recipes, a restaurant review and wine reviews
- Advertising for luxury brands such as Gucci, Tiffany’s, Dior, Prada as well as high street favs M&S, TK Maxx and Boots
The kind of experience offered by Style is very different depending on the reader. For me, a full-time student who earns next to nothing and is up-to-the-eyeballs in student debt, the experience is very much one of admiration, awe and jealousy. Not in a bad way - just in the way that I cannot afford most of the products and featured items in the magazine and so end up with a sense of lust and longing.
Again, personally I feel this is a good thing. Although not necessarily the prime target in terms of the consumer - many of the features such as fashion and lifestyle are things that I would like to aim for in the future - the finer side of life and all that. Whether or not that becomes a reality is another ball game but the desire is there for me as a poor student!
On the other hand, the target reader of Style is likely to be not only a little older and more financially stable than me, but also in a position whereby they could genuinely go out and consume whatever takes their eye in this week's edition. For them, the experience is something that is more familiar to them - something which they're accustomed to - and so they can relate to the consumer aspect of the magazine more closely than I can. This is reflected in the advertising which appears in the magazine - high-end brands that only someone with a very comfortable lifestyle could afford or those who buy into the lifestyle amidst crippling debts!
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