‘Although the idea of a celebrity has been
around for a long time, its mutation into an important cultural force is a
relatively recent development,’ (Furedi, 2010)
One reason celebrity culture is changing is because the lines between private and public lives are becoming blurred.
Celebrity magazines that contain gossip and
a range of photos shot by the paparazzi have been popular because they reveal
the private lives of celebrities.
However, celebrities are taking back some
of the power these publications yield. Marshall states ‘through new media
forms, greater portions of the populace are now constructing online personas,’
(2010, p. 498).
I completely agree with this, and
celebrities are taking advantage of these new media technologies to construct a
view of their private lives they want the public to see.
The Kardashians are a family who seem to
thrive on turning their most intimate moments into a public event.
Not only are they in their seventh season
of reality TV show Keeping up with the Kardashians (along with other reality shows - 1, 2, 3), they also use a range of
social media to construct a public image of their private lives.
As Marshall explains, ‘we are inhabiting
spaces where we are not only on display but we think about our mediated
construction of ourselves,’ (2010).
And this is exactly how the Kardashians
have become famous, by allowing the public to view a version of their private
lives, making people believe they are getting to know the ‘real’ Kardashians,
when they are only viewing their self-produced personas.
 |
| Source: Daily Mail |
This self produced celebrity culture is
contributing to what Marshall describes as the specular economy – an idea that society is becoming more aware of their appearance and the way
others perceive them (Marshall, 2010).
References
Marshall, P D 2010, ‘The promotion and
presentation of the self: celebrity as a marker of presentational media’, Celebrity Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 35-48.
Marshall, P D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’,
Symposium: Celebrity Around the World, Springer Science & Business
Media, pp. 498-502
This was a fantastic entry. I actually completely agree that a family for example the kardashians have every aspect of there life on show, you can know exactly what they are thinking and doing every second of the day if you wanted. You used great examples and references. I loved it!
ReplyDeleteHey Kate, I really like the way you have written this post. You have a great way of connecting theory to excellent examples, I especially like the hyperlinks that you have put throughout the piece. I completely agree with you when you talk about celebrities taking advantage of the new communication technologies to release information about themselves. I think using the Kardashian’s is a great example of how celebrities use technology. I admit I watch the Kardashian’s and read their tweets… but I am not sure why lol!
ReplyDeleteGood evening Kate, very well written piece. The use of hyperlinks and abundant use of images not only engages me as the reader but I would go on further to state that the paragraphs relate extremely well to those aforementioned images. As someone with a friend who has constantly been trying to get me into watching the Kardashians, I can now see why her obsession not only exists but the basis behind as to why the show is so popular.
ReplyDeleteHello! First thing, what a great use of hyperlinking! I have never found a blog to make such as use of the hyperlink tool. It gave your blog some extra oomph. Your arguments are very strong and you have referred to two great scholarly sources to support your views. You use of images throughout the post were fantastic. The blog not only looks great but is awesome to read. A very contemporary topic with a very contemporary example. You have done a great job writing this, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Well done :)
ReplyDelete