The Cult of Contemporary Celebrity Essay

A celebrity is defined by the media and society through characterisations; the introduction of various on-line and print media platforms enhance the presence of celebrity culture, such for advertising, activism, different genres of television (e.g. reality, gastronomical), and even political avenues as well (Driessens). Their fame is developed based on prominence cum establishment in the entertainment industry that transforms their recognition into a popular culture. In Graeme Turner’s Understanding Celebrity, he discusses the effects of contemporary popular culture representing celebrity as an icon of cultural change (Turner Understanding Celebrity). The power of a celebrity uses his status and popularity to create discourse with the public and media; how each present themselves to an audience in performances or marketing, these functions as general tokens of success in their glamourous lives (Driessens). The discursive effect in the celebrity contemporary culture aligns close to religion, with some qualities credited to particular celebrities and religious figures. The way some fans admire their celebrity figures reflects a spiritual experience, as fans view their idol as a person with immortal talents and influential qualities. This phenomenon is linked to how the media glorifies the celebrity and thus, produces a celebrated figure with an astounding influence amongst the public (Turner Understanding Celebrity). As a result, the celebrity’s economic value is

Celebrities became idols in American society as a result of media promotion. Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb were both glorified as outstanding baseball players. Although Ruth was a heavy-drinking womanizer and Cobb an ill-tempered racist, nicknames like ?the Sultan of Swat? and ?the Georgia Peach? made them heroes in public eye. Charles Lindbergh became

Why are people so fascinated with celebrities? What makes people want to be like them? What are celebrities actually like? Facing these tough questions, Ty Burr in his essay “The Faces in the Mirror” forces readers to question their own answers. By explaining the history of celebrities and the worship of them, he gives readers a wealth of knowledge. Wisely, Burr immediately establishes his credibility so that readers know they can trust his educated point of view. His essay is full of strong logic. However, it lacks a substantial amount of hardcore facts. Furthermore, Burr effortlessly snatches the reader’s attention by using dramatic statements and achieving a sense of pathos. Burr’s authority on the topic, along with his convincing logic, and dramatic statements allow his essay to achieve a remarkable persuasiveness to his essay.

There are many people who stretch the idea of our “obsessions” with celebrities. In Deborah King’s article, “The Impact of Celebrities”, she argues that people are obsessed with celebrities in an unhealthy way. However, in Palmer’s short essay response, he assumes that King exaggerates our “obsession” with celebrities. Although King’s argument is strong, I have to agree with Palmer that being obsessed with celebrities isn’t as bad as King suggests.

They only show the crowds what they want to see. Celebrities usually “ will only let the public see the facade that they are putting on that day”(Debate). This show that celebrities are never really themselves to the public. This is a good reason why teens, and kids should never look up to celebrities as role models. The next reason is because they show kids that they should not do good work because they should do good work. Rather they show it because “ the majority of stars doing charity work are doing it because it is a publicity stunt”(TheOdesseyOnline). This shows that celebrities don’t care about the actual deed that they are performing, only the fame that they get for performing the

When analyzing the social make up and the issues associated with celebrities having the power to influences the public, sociological concepts can be applied. Sociology has taught us to be curious and ask the question why. It also takes a scientific approach when answering the types of questions

The impact a celebrity has on us can be positive as well negative. As author Deborah King suggests, “Much like the Roman spectators waited for the gladiator to lose his battle and die, we too are waiting

Grenier delves deeper than one might expect, by interviewing various university professors and media experts about the psychology behind celebrities. Although some of this academic talk is interesting, it starts to feel like a script pumped out of a university textbook, and detours from the storyline based for too long.

A group of people subject to continuous glamour and publicity has taken the spotlight, creating the American world of the “celebrity”. “It does not seem to matter what the man is the very best at; so long as he has won out in competition over all others, he is celebrated” (P. 74). Celebration is the basis of their existence. Propagated by the mass media, they have become part of the national prestige—shadow of money and power. This competition for attention is joined

The media covering our everyday lives all over has opened up numerous different ways to get yourself entertained. This, in conjunction, is bound to create celebrities. And even though some people are in it just for the money and fame, other ones are actually working for a genuinely good cause.

Have you ever wondered what influences us to behave the way we do? Look a certain way? Or even looked for an explanation to what causes us to apply a certain perspective regarding personal and controversial issues? One of the answers to these questions may revolve around the influence we absorb from celebrities. A definitive term for celebrity is an iconic figure to a category or group who has achieved success in one or multiple aspects of their lives. As a result, these individuals have drawn in publicity and fame. Over the years with the advances in media and other forms of communication, celebrities have become topics of discussion worldwide, rather if it’s at school, with colleagues or at the dinner table, it is fair to say that

Celebrities are everywhere in the news, the latest gossip appears in the weekly magazines without fail. Whether they be an actor, athlete, dancer, designer, model, singer or just rich; there is someone out there who is watching that person like a hawk, not letting a single breath go unnoticed. Such is the life of the rich and famous, under the incessant gaze of journalists and the paparazzi. Lives that many people take a great interest in and admire to the point where others would liken this great interest and admiration to a cult-like worship of celebrities. This is a brief description of what I think to be celebrity culture.

A star’s image is a concept carefully molded by the celebrity himself or herself with the aid of many factors such as audience reception and current ideological trends. Star image, by definition, given by O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, is “the qualities, ideals, and values that a star represents, based on their films and other performances, and on media information circulated about them” (430). A change of star image encompasses the sum of everything we, as in the audience, affiliate with that star. That means changing the star’s body of work, promotion, publicity, and audience practices. These factors put together is also known as star text (Professor Josh Jackson, September 8, 2016, University of California, Berkeley). Jennifer Lawrence had a particular star text before she took on the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games and was instead known for her role of Ree Dolly in Winter’s Bone. This new role launched Lawrence into a different star text she was previously known for. Though it seemed like the change is solely based on her landing an already popular role, the change in her star text is still calculated in order for her to maintain a certain image that landed her at the top of the celebrity social ladder. This careful manipulation of a celebrity’s image as she takes on a role that guaranteed a big impact on her acting career demonstrates how a star’s image is important when it comes to maintaining what the celebrity, and everyone who is working with that

In the article “Heroes and Celebrities”, Davidson (2014) wrote that being a hero has been equated with being a celebrity. According to the author, the main causes of the disappearance of heroism from modern-day society includes the influence of mass media, the culture of democracy, and also the gaining popularity of critical view of psychologists. The psychologists view that the great individuals in the past have emerged only due to their difficulties and are not noble enough for their achievements. He also discussed an important difference between heroes and celebrities that heroes have the potential to inspire us with their great achievements and nobility, unlike the celebrities who just want some exposure to increase their status in the society and serves no purpose or fill us with any sense of inspiration. The capability of the heroes to inspire us with their courage, ideals and spirit are very strong and also the quality of being noble in character is an important trait of all heroes in

Throughout history a vast number of people whether real or fictional have been embedded into our culture, and these people have had some sort of impact or significant meaning which made them icons above the rest. Some people were remembered for inspirational reasons, like Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks. Other figures in our popular culture, like Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Michael Jackson, will forever stick out based on their natural charisma and ability to entertain. Some people will be remembered for political reasons and others for their ingenuity, unfortunately some significant characters will be remembered for diseases, addiction and worst of all death.