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Celebrity : Reaktion Books - Focus on Contemporary Issues - Chris Rojek

Celebrity

By: Chris Rojek

Paperback | 1 September 2001

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In our society the cult of celebrity is inescapable. Anyone can be turned into a celebrity, and anything can be made into a celebrity event. In the modern world, celebrity has become a part of everyday life, a common reference point -- the most recent sound-bites from politicians, the details of a pop-star's wedding, divorce, or suicide. 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 that make them stand out, or are their images constructed by the media and the moguls of the entertainment industry? And what of the dark side of celebrity -- 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?

In this fascinating book, Chris Rojek brings together celebrated figures from the arts, sports, politics and other spheres of public life, 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 the fashion industry. He shows the difference between ascribed celebrity, which derives from bloodline, and achieved celebrity, which follows from personal achievement. It is the difference between Princess Margaret and, say, Woody Allen. There is no parallel in history to the ubiquitous "living" form of celebrity that we experience today, which is powered by newspapers, PR departments, magazines and electronic mass-media.

Industry Reviews
According to a brief but brilliant new book by the British sociologist Chris Rojek, democracy (or capitalism) simply cannot operate properly without celebrity ... Rojek's most original insight is that people have been wanting this ever since the 18th century. He brilliantly rereads Samuel Smiles's Self-Help as a manual on the virtues of the celebrity. The Independent Rojek ranges widely across celebrity culture ... His feel for the topic means that these necessarily bite-sized snippets of the famously famous reveal a shewdly evaluative aesthetic at work, and his critical sense is infallibly strong. The result is a delightful social history of fame - a mix of cultural studies and social theory - that works very well. The Australian illuminating ... New Statesman

You Can Find This Book In

Non-FictionBiographies & True Stories BiographiesArts & Entertainment BiographiesSociety & CultureCultural StudiesPopular CultureHistory of IdeasHistoryArts & EntertainmentFilm, TV & RadioSpecific Films
MusicMusic Styles & GenresRock & Pop MusicEducationTeaching of Specific Groups with Special Educational NeedsTeaching of Students with English as a Second Language TESOL

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