Understanding Celebrity

Graeme Turner is one of the leading figures in cultural studies today. Whenhis gaze turns to celebrity the result is a readable and compellingaccount of this mo... » 

Graeme Turner is one of the leading figures in cultural studies today. Whenhis gaze turns to celebrity the result is a readable and compellingaccount of this most perplexing and infuriating of modern phenomena. Read on Toby Miller New York UniversityWe cannot escape celebrity culture it is everywhere. So just what is thecultural function of celebrity?This is the first comprehensive overview of the production and consumption ofcelebrity from within cultural and media studies. The pervasive influence ofcontemporary celebrity and the cultures it produces has been widely noticed.Earlier studies though have tended to focus on the consumption of celebrityor on particular locations of celebrity Hollywood or the sports industriesfor instance. This book presents a broad survey across all media as well as anew synthesis of theoretical positions that will be welcomed by all studentsof media and cultural studies. Among its attributes are the followingIt provides an overview and evaluation of the key debates surrounding thedefinition of celebrity its history and its social and cultural function.It examines the celebrity industries the PR and publicity structures thatmanufacture celebrity.It looks at the cultural processes through which celebrity is consumed.It draws examples from the full range of contemporary media filmtelevision newspapers magazines and the web. «