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The Resource Claims to fame : celebrity in contemporary America, Joshua Gamson

Claims to fame : celebrity in contemporary America, Joshua Gamson

Creator
Summary
Moving from People magazine to publicists' offices to tours of stars' homes, Joshua Gamson investigates the larger-than-life terrain of American celebrity culture. In the first major academic work since the early 1940s to seriously analyze the meaning of fame in American life, Gamson begins with the often-heard criticisms that today's heroes have been replaced by pseudoheroes, that notoriety has become detached from merit. He draws on literary and sociological theory, as well as interviews with celebrity-industry workers, to untangle the paradoxical nature of an American popular culture that is both obsessively invested in glamour and fantasy yet also aware of celebrity's transparency and commercialism. Gamson examines the contemporary "dream machine" that publicists, tabloid newspapers, journalists, and TV interviewers use to create semi-fictional icons. He finds that celebrity watchers, for whom spotting celebrities becomes a spectator sport akin to watching football or fireworks, glean their own rewards in a game that turns as often on playing with inauthenticity as on identifying with stars. Gamson also looks at the "celebritization" of politics and the complex questions it poses regarding image and reality. He makes clear that to understand American public culture, we must understand that strange, ubiquitous phenomenon, celebrity
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xii, 256 p.
Contents
  • Introduction: Explaining Angelyne
  • 1. The Great and the Gifted: Celebrity in the Early Twentieth Century
  • 2. The Name and the Product: Late Twentieth-Century Celebrity
  • 3. Industrial-Strength Celebrity
  • 4. The Negotiated Celebration
  • 5. Props, Cues, and the Advantages of Not Knowing: Audiences in the World of Celebrity Production
  • 6. Hunting, Sporting, and the Willing Audience: The Celebrity-Watching Tourist Circuit
  • 7. Can't Beat the Real Thing: Production Awareness and the Problem of Authenticity
  • 8. Believing Games
  • Conclusion: Celebrity, Democracy, Power, and Play
  • Appendix: Theoretical and Methodological Notes
Isbn
9780520083530
Instance
Label
Claims to fame : celebrity in contemporary America
Title
Claims to fame
Title remainder
celebrity in contemporary America
Statement of responsibility
Joshua Gamson
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Moving from People magazine to publicists' offices to tours of stars' homes, Joshua Gamson investigates the larger-than-life terrain of American celebrity culture. In the first major academic work since the early 1940s to seriously analyze the meaning of fame in American life, Gamson begins with the often-heard criticisms that today's heroes have been replaced by pseudoheroes, that notoriety has become detached from merit. He draws on literary and sociological theory, as well as interviews with celebrity-industry workers, to untangle the paradoxical nature of an American popular culture that is both obsessively invested in glamour and fantasy yet also aware of celebrity's transparency and commercialism. Gamson examines the contemporary "dream machine" that publicists, tabloid newspapers, journalists, and TV interviewers use to create semi-fictional icons. He finds that celebrity watchers, for whom spotting celebrities becomes a spectator sport akin to watching football or fireworks, glean their own rewards in a game that turns as often on playing with inauthenticity as on identifying with stars. Gamson also looks at the "celebritization" of politics and the complex questions it poses regarding image and reality. He makes clear that to understand American public culture, we must understand that strange, ubiquitous phenomenon, celebrity
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1962-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Gamson, Joshua
Government publication
government publication of a state province territory dependency etc
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
E169
LC item number
.G25 1994
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Celebrities
  • Popular culture
  • Bekende mensen
  • Populaire cultuur
  • Célébrités
  • Culture populaire
  • Ruhm
  • Soziologie
  • Bekende mensen
  • Populaire cultuur
  • Celebrities
  • Manners and customs
  • Popular culture
  • United States
  • États-Unis
  • USA
  • United States
Label
Claims to fame : celebrity in contemporary America, Joshua Gamson
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-248) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction: Explaining Angelyne -- 1. The Great and the Gifted: Celebrity in the Early Twentieth Century -- 2. The Name and the Product: Late Twentieth-Century Celebrity -- 3. Industrial-Strength Celebrity -- 4. The Negotiated Celebration -- 5. Props, Cues, and the Advantages of Not Knowing: Audiences in the World of Celebrity Production -- 6. Hunting, Sporting, and the Willing Audience: The Celebrity-Watching Tourist Circuit -- 7. Can't Beat the Real Thing: Production Awareness and the Problem of Authenticity -- 8. Believing Games -- Conclusion: Celebrity, Democracy, Power, and Play -- Appendix: Theoretical and Methodological Notes
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xii, 256 p.
Isbn
9780520083530
Isbn Type
(pbk. : alk. paper)
Lccn
93028188
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
ill.
System control number
  • (OCoLC)28507101
  • (OCoLC)ocm28507101
Label
Claims to fame : celebrity in contemporary America, Joshua Gamson
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-248) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction: Explaining Angelyne -- 1. The Great and the Gifted: Celebrity in the Early Twentieth Century -- 2. The Name and the Product: Late Twentieth-Century Celebrity -- 3. Industrial-Strength Celebrity -- 4. The Negotiated Celebration -- 5. Props, Cues, and the Advantages of Not Knowing: Audiences in the World of Celebrity Production -- 6. Hunting, Sporting, and the Willing Audience: The Celebrity-Watching Tourist Circuit -- 7. Can't Beat the Real Thing: Production Awareness and the Problem of Authenticity -- 8. Believing Games -- Conclusion: Celebrity, Democracy, Power, and Play -- Appendix: Theoretical and Methodological Notes
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xii, 256 p.
Isbn
9780520083530
Isbn Type
(pbk. : alk. paper)
Lccn
93028188
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
ill.
System control number
  • (OCoLC)28507101
  • (OCoLC)ocm28507101

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