Critically reflect on the issues from readings , to consider media events that occur during the course, and to think about your own media
consumption/”fannish” interests.
Please see attachment for further details about this assignment, as well as some example reflective journals from previous years.
Celebrity Worship
In weeks 5 and 6 of the module we shift from the production of celebrity to the consumer side of celebrity culture: who are the audiences,
and what drives them? This week we examine the complex and sometimes dangerous relationships that individuals experience with celebrities.
How might we understand the cult of celebrity and the idea of “intimacy at a distance”?
Key Reading
Turner, G. (2004) ‘Consuming Celebrity’ Chapter 6 of Understanding Celebrity, London: Sage, pp. 109-127. Howells, R (2011) “Heroes, saints
and celebrities: the photograph as holy relic” Celebrity Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2,112-130.
Horton, Donald and R. Richard Wohl (1956): ‘Mass Communication and Para-social Interaction: Observations on
Intimacy at a Distance’ Psychiatry 19: 215-229. Extract available online at:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/TF33120/horton_and_wohl_1956.html
Further Reading
Coman, Mihai (2011) “Michael Jackson’s 1992 concert in Bucharest: transforming a star into a saint” Celebrity Studies Vol. 2, No. 3, 277-
291.
Giles, D. (2000) Illusions of Immortality, MacMillan, Chapter 8, pp. 128-145.
Giles, D (2002) “Parasocial Interaction: A Review of the
Literature and a Model for Future Research” Media
Psychology Vol. 4, Issue 3, 279-305.
Hermes, J. (1999) ‘Media Figures in Identity Construction’, in P. Alasuutari (ed.) Rethinking the
Media Audience:
The New Agenda, London: Sage, pp. 69-85.
Jenson, J. (1992) ‘Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterisation’ in Lewis, L. (ed.)
The Adoring
Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, London: Routledge, pp. 9-29.
DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Paek, Hye-Jin (2005) “Understanding Celebrity Endorsers in Cross-cultural Contexts: A Content Analysis of South
Korean and US Newspaper Advertising” Asian Journal of Communication, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp 133-153.
Culture
Maltby, J. (2004) “Celebrity and Religious Worship: A Refinement” The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary
and Applied. Vol. 138, Issue 3, 286-288.
McCutcheon, Lange &Houran (2002) “Conceptualization and measurement of celebrity worship.”
British Journal
of Psychology, 93(1) :67-87.
McCutcheon LE, Ashe DD, Houran J, Maltby J. (2003). “A cognitive profile of individuals who tend to worship
celebrities.” Journal of Psychology, 137(4):309-322.
Nunn, H. and Biressi, A. (2010) “’A trust betrayed’: celebrity and the work of
emotion”, Celebrity Studies, 1 (1),
49-64.
Rojek, C. (2001). ‘Celebrity and Religion’ Chapter 2 of Celebrity, London: Reaktion, pp. 51-100.
Sheridan, L., A. North, J. Maltby& R. Gillett (2007) “Celebrity worship, addiction and criminality,” Psychology, Crime & Law, Vol. 13,
Issue 6, 559-571.
Stacey, J. (1994) ‘With Stars in Their Eyes: Female Spectators and the Paradoxes of Consumption’ in Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and
Female Spectatorship, London: Routledge, pp. 179-223.
Turner, G. (2004) ‘The Cultural Function of Celebrity (Chapter 5)’ in Understanding Celebrity, London: Sage, pp. 109-127.
Example：
Celebrity, the new religion
One of the key debates proposed by Rojak is the convergence between celebrity culture and religion, foregrounding the concept of
‘functional equivalence’. This is the idea that there has been a gradual decline in religion in western society and that celebrity culture
serves to function as a replacement for the gaps left in its wake. This idea made me draw upon a recent experience attending a wrestling
event. I used to be a fan of this entertainment, for example, having a large collection of monthly magazines, purchasing customised
wrestling belt replicas (emulating the superstars), promotional attire (maintaining a high level of identification) and figurines, but as
i grew older i distanced myself. This may have been a consequence of my favourite wrestler leaving the business (The Rock) with me now
following his activities on twitter and his latest movies, suggesting a possible infatuation with the celebrity rather than the actual
television show, as some sort of god, or idol. This distancing made for a strange experience when entering the arena, as it no longer
seemed like people walking into a stadium in preparation for an event, but mass amounts of pilgrims walking into a church service, with
religious discourse about to be delivered by a saint. It seemed as though there was a transition from being a fan to a worshipper
unfolding in front of my eyes, with religious cathedrals now being replaced by entertainment venues allowing for an organizational space
for worship. Also, where we once had ‘icons and religious artefacts’ (Rojak, 2001:53), we now have fan merchandise, with the majority of
the crowd maintaining some sort of item identifying them with the superstars, ranging from iconic headbands to dog tags.
Rojek, C. (2001). Celebrity. London: Reaktion Books.