Celebrity : capitalism and the making of fame / Milly Williamson.

Author/creator Williamson, Milly author.
Format Book
PublicationCambridge, UK ; Malden, MA, USA : Polity Press, 2016.
Descriptionvii, 189 pages ; 24 cm
Subjects

Contents What is celebrity? : the changing character of fame -- Celebrity and the theatre : modernity and commercial culture -- Celebrity and the industrialization of cultural production : the case of the mass press and the cinema -- Celebrity and news -- Ordinary celebrity -- Social media and celebrity : the Internet of 'self' -- Conclusion.
Abstract "It is a truism to suggest that celebrity pervades all areas of life today. The growth and expansion of celebrity culture in recent years has been accompanied by an explosion of studies of the social function of celebrity and investigations into the fascination of specific celebrities. And yet fundamental questions about what the system of celebrity means for our society have yet to be resolved: Is celebrity a democratization of fame or a powerful hierarchy built on exclusion? Is celebrity created through public demand or is it manufactured? Is the growth of celebrity a harmful dumbing down of culture or an expansion of the public sphere? Why has celebrity come to have such prominence in today's expanding media? Milly Williamson unpacks these questions for students and researchers alike, re-examining some of the accepted explanations for celebrity culture. The book questions assumptions about the inevitability of the growth of celebrity culture, instead explaining how environments were created in which celebrity output flourished. It provides a compelling new history of the development of celebrity (both long-term and recent) which highlights the relationship between the economic function of celebrity in various media and entertainment industries and its changing social meanings and patterns of consumption"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 164-178) and index.
Issued in other formOnline version: Williamson, Milly, author. Celebrity Malden, MA : Polity, 2016 9781509511426
LCCN 2016017839
ISBN9780745641041 (hardback)
ISBN0745641040 (hardcover)
ISBN9780745641058 (pbk.)
ISBN0745641059 (pbk.)
ISBN(mobi)
ISBN(epub)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks HM621 .W535 2016 ✔ Available Place Hold