Celebrity
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€25.99
A01=Chris Rojek
aesthetics
artists
arts
athletes
Author_Chris Rojek
bill clinton
Category=ATF
Category=AVLM
Category=AVLP
Category=JBCC9
celebrity culture
cult
cultural studies
david bowie
elvis presley
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
fame
famous
hitler
infamous
john lennon
living form
magazines
marilyn monroe
mass medias
media study
newspapers
oj simpson
politicians
politics
pr department
princess diana
psychological impacts
psychology
public perspectives
social perceptions
sociological research
sociologists
sociology
sports
transgressions
Product details
- ISBN 9781861891044
- Dimensions: 210 x 148mm
- Publication Date: 01 Sep 2001
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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In contemporary society, the cult of celebrity is inescapable. Anyone can be turned into a celebrity, and anything can be made into a celebrity event. Celebrity has become a part of everyday life, a common reference point. But how have people like Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Bill Clinton or Princess Diana impressed themselves so powerfully on the public mind? Do they have unique qualities, or have their images been constructed by the media? And what of the dark side of celebrity – why is the hunger to be in the public eye so great that people are prepared to go to any lengths to achieve it, as numerous mass murderers and serial killers have done.
Chris Rojek brings together celebrated figures from the arts, sports, politics and other public spheres, from O.J. Simpson and Marilyn Monroe to Hitler and David Bowie, and touches on many movements and fads, including punk, rock-and-roll and fashion. Rojek analyzes the difference between ascribed celebrity, which derives from bloodline, and achieved celebrity, which follows on from personal achievement – the difference between Princess Margaret and, say, Woody Allen. He also shows how there is no parallel in history to today’s ubiquitous ‘living’ form of celebrity, powered by newspapers, PR departments, magazines and electronic mass media.
Chris Rojek is Professor of Sociology and Culture at City St George's, University of London. He is the author of Celebrity (Reaktion Books, 2001) and Brit-Myth: Who Do the British Think They Are? (Reaktion, 2007).
