Summary
Contents
Subject index
“This welcome addition to the literature on fame goes beyond goes beyond stardom–though Redmond and Holmes cover that topic well–to discuss stardom and celebrity in general.”
A.L. Knight, CHOICE
This book brings together some of the seminal interventions which have structured the development of star/celebrity studies, while crucially combining and situating these within the context of new essays which address the contemporary, cross-media and international landscape of today's fame culture. At the core of the collection is a desire to map out a unique historical trajectory – both in terms of the development of fame, as well as the historical development of star/celebrity studies.
The Analysis of Fame: Understanding Stardom
Introduction
In terms of popular media discourse and everyday ‘common sense’ reasoning, the idea that there is anything much to understand about stardom would be met with widespread disbelief. What is there to understand? Stars are just naturally charismatic; essentially beautiful; the camera adores them; light pours out from the centre of their beings. They live glamorous lives. They sometimes make (bad) mistakes. A number of them are phoney (not truly beautiful). We want to be like them, sometimes to the point of obsession. Stars are the main actors in a film, or the leading performers in a (music) video. They are ‘faces’ and ‘bodies’ in magazines, newspapers, posters and numerous advertisements. ...
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