Fame Attack: The Inflation of Celebrity and Its Consequences by Chris Rojek

Author:Chris Rojek [Rojek, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Media Studies, Sociology, General, Popular Culture, Non-Fiction, Celebrity Culture, Pop Culture, Philosophy
ISBN: 9781849660716
Google: 3VhMAQAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1849660719
Goodreads: 12593808
Publisher: A&C Black
Published: 2012-04-09T23:00:00+00:00

7 Demand Side Factors

Demand side explanations fall into three categories: Articulation and the Culture of Display; Hero Worship and Narcissistic Idealization; Religion, and its Decline in the West. All three identify celebrity as the response to the recognition of some sort of emotional defi cit in personal relationships and public life. Thus, briefl y, Articulation and the Culture of Display arise from the demand for social acknowledgement; Hero Worship and Narcissistic Idealization are rooted in a lack of self-esteem; and Religion, and its Decline in the West, refers to the erosion of organized religion and the collapse of conjoining moral integrity that provides a coherent sense of stability and order.1

Supply-based accounts of celebrity inflation highlight the issues of leadership and manipulation. They provide a top-down perspective that portrays the enlargement of celebrity to be the result of the combination of the acquisitive motives of celebrity impresarios, the gigantic expansion of channels of communication, especially print, film, cable and satellite and the avaricious business interests of corporations. The PR-Media hub is analysed as the gatekeeper, employed by cultural impresarios and business executives, to ration exposure and stoke the fi res of public interest. It applies a campaign of manoeuvre and calculated hearsay to make audiences receptive, and to position stars in a favourable light.

Vertical and horizontal sides to this strategy must be differentiated. In terms of vertical manoeuvring, the PR-Media hub is dedicated to making stars cultural skyscrapers in their field of activity. That is winning the best movie roles, writing the most discussed books, recording the best regarded music, triumphing in the most prestigious sports tournaments, championing the best fashion designs, and so on. Horizontal manoeuvring refers to positioning stars as celebrity diplomats, celanthrophists, celebrity environmentalists, celebrity endorsers, etc. When the PR-Media hub raises the celebrity upon the social horizon as the conscience of the public, their public appeal is maximized. They are portrayed as sharing the concerns and voicing the thoughts of the silent majority. Their highly visible acts of celanthropy provides a general substitute for the many, dispersed feelings and aspirations of ordinary people. The celebrity acts as a reed for public opinion and is the representative agent of public concerns. When George goes on a fact-finding mission to Darfur, Angelina visits Somalian refugee camps in Kenya and Haiti as UN Goodwill Ambassador, and Bono dines with Kofi Annan and Barack Obama to discuss debt relief in Africa, they stand in as ‘big citizens’ purportedly representing the will of the public.

With supply side explanations of celebrity inflation the accent is upon moulding public opinion through the strategic manipulation of celebrity associational values and the halo of prestige. This assumes that power is concentrated in the hands of the suppliers. Once again, to invoke the unintentionally disturbing phrase coined by Bernays (1928), it is the vision of ‘the invisible government’ in celebrity culture that drives the show.

In contrast, demand side approaches start with the proposition of want and vulnerability in the body politic. According to this line of argument,

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