Part 1:
What were 2 points from this week’s reading that stood out to you as particularly important and/or interesting? Why so?
What were 2 points from this week’s reading that stood out to you as particularly important and/or interesting? Why so?
This week, Robert van Krieken (2018) brought up some fascinating issues regarding celebrities in the book Celebrity Society: The Battle for Visibility. First, it's said that social media is a location where people may alter their connections with celebrities, giving viewers the opportunity to engage and experience superstars in real life. Matt Hills believes that a suitable phrase for media-mediated communication without over-imagining the audience may be ‘multi-social interaction’," as opposed to "parasocial interaction". This shows that the media may facilitate fan-celebrity interactions by giving them more opportunities to create experiences through "multi-social" platforms without requiring in-person meetings.
According to van Krieken (2018), the second is the pyramid effect, which explains how a person's popularity can rise through social networks. The growing variety of social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and TV series increases the worth of celebrities, particularly those in the blogging, Youtuber, and other related sectors. The most likely outcome is a rise in celebrity field alliances, which will raise the profile of micro-celebrities and improve the value of mega-celebrities. The more micro-celebrities there are, the more attention capital that mega-celebrities may claim, therefore the more, the better. Since the eighteenth century, this has been a fundamental component of celebrity culture and the flow of attention currency. In my opinion, the use of celebrities and micro-celebrities in this impact acts as an attention-grabber and raises its market worth.
References
Robert van Krieken. (2018). Celebrity society: The struggle for attention: Vol. “Celebrity in cyberspace: Micro-celebrity and globalization” (2nd ed., pp. 179–198). Routledge.
Part 2: What impact do celebrities have on how you understand society and yourself?
Both viewers and me are impacted by celebrities in the same way. The words and deeds of well-known individuals can serve as a wake-up call to our own opinions in a society where a plethora of viewpoints are presented on a daily basis. Celebrities exaggerate their distinctive appearances, and because of the media, we are partially influenced by them. They also carry within them their lifestyles, beliefs, and methods of living. Through the support and correspondence of a public representative, I have gained an understanding of society and myself. Through the prism of celebrity, they had hidden tales that, once I knew about them, helped me find a place of empathy and purpose but also helped me comprehend how these civilizations function.
Choose a celebrity text (eg a magazine cover) and briefly describe it i.e.a denotation.
Wired, a celebrity magazine, published an article in March 2018 featuring Mark Zuckerberg's face, and the headline "Facebook'' was created by Jack Rowland. The cover features WIRED in pink and white letters on a light pink backdrop, with the manufacturing year, date, and "Move Fast" phrase in the upper right corner. The image shows Zuckerberg with facial bruises, a bandage over his left eye, and disheveled hair. Despite the appearance of a fight, Zuckerberg appears to have simply walked out. The article highlights Wired's unique and original approach to celebrity magazines.
Briefly analyze this text taking:
An ideological approach
Mark Zuckerberg is made to appear extremely haggard in terms of philosophy and messaging, indicating that he is defending Facebook against the well-known scandal allegations of 2018 and adjusting his approach accordingly. The magazine aims to discuss the never-ending pursuit of achievement, the need to always grow, and the importance of never letting up.
A political economy approach
The significance of social networks like Facebook at the time is demonstrated by a magazine called Facebook, which significantly impacted the political and economic information it shared with the public. This publication does not target any particular political or economic group, but it does highlight Mark's battle with Facebook as it worked with the US government on those scandals in 2018.
References
Editors, W. (2018, March). What Happened to Mark Zuckerberg? Here’s How the March 2018 Cover Was Created. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-about-the-cover/
