As Marshall comments, celebrity culture has been intensified in the last century (2010, p. 499). We are bombarded with information about their private lives in gossip magazines, paparazzi shots and interviews (Marshall 2010, p. 499). For example, we all know the Kardashians. Kourtney recently cooked breakfast for her new baby girl Penelope, Khloe was given a new puppy for her birthday and Kim recently divorced Kris Humphries after they were married for just 72 days. How do I know all this? Well, online celebrity gossip told me.
However, thanks to the prevalence of social media, celebrity culture has recently taken a turn. In fact, celebrities can now present themselves online and no longer need Perez Hilton to tell the world about their lives. According to Marshall, self production is at the 'very core of celebrity activity' and is an important way of creating and presenting the 'celebrity persona' (2010, p. 39). Moreover, online self production has become an important benchmark for followers to also present themselves online.
Kourtney Kardashian is a great example of celebrity self production. Not only does Kourtney have a Facebook page and twitter page, she has a celebrity blog, her own personal blog and a mummy blog where she presents herself to the world as a beautiful and devoted young mother who can do it all....just like everyone else.
Reference list:
Marshall, P.D 2010, The Specular Economy, Society, 47.
Marshall, P.D 2010,The Promotion and Presentation of the Self: Celebrity as Marker of Presentational Media, Celebrity Studies, 1.
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI really found your blog interesting and very relevant to this weeks’ topic. Through your examples and knowledge on the Kardashians you showed the reader how easy it is to access the tiny details of celebrities lives. Further, how the media in particular, trashy magazines bombard our lives with celebrity gossip and influence the way in which we dress by depicting them as cool, and you also state that the social media has made this a lot easier. I strongly believe with that Marshall says that celebrities are now self-producing and in some cases doing things to get coverage and attention from fans and greater publicity. Overall you did a great job, and really highlighted to the reader how much many individuals can now about celebrities and there daily life though both the media and now there personal social pages.
The Kardashian culture is a great example of how social media has affected celebrity culture or vice versa. The blog would be even better if it had a more critical view on why celebrities have this need to create and present a ‘celebrity persona’ – why has online self production become such a big thing? Why are we interested in how well some more or less random young mother are doing as a mom? And is this Kardashian culture sustainable?
ReplyDeleteThe information about the Kardashians and what they are doing represented in the top of the blog is a great way of showing how we are suckers for irrelevant information about the celebrities.
You have been able to engage and keep the attention of the reader and have noted that social media is a new avenue for the promotion of celebrity culture, through various means such as facebook, twitter, personal blogs, professional celebrity blogs. Plus, in Kourtney Kardashian's case she belongs to all these social networking sites and blogs, while also having her own blog about being a mother. The picture you used appeared to emphasize this point about technoglogy advancement moving at a rapid pace.
ReplyDeletereally well written piece! the kardashian kulture is remarkable i think. famous for being famous? its changed what a celebrity is if they control they are the number 1 distributer of themselves. hsa really got me thinking on the whole self publicising! i struggle with one blog let alone 3! but she would have an audience for each which is more viewers which is what she is all about. clever blog! :D
ReplyDeleteThe title is fantastic and works very well. Your strength in this post is your ability to engage your audience and hold their attention with the personality you have given this post. Your hyperlinks are great and allow that extra bit of information in the case your readers (like me) live and breathe the Kardashians and want to find out more. I am glad you used Kourtney as your example as this has not been touched on in many blogs I have read prior to this- everyone else's focus seems to be on Kim so that's a nice change! You have referenced the guest lecturer brilliantly. This post makes me want to read all your others! Great job, I really enjoyed reading this :)
ReplyDeleteGood Work on this weeks blog. I enjoy the topic immensely. once again your sources flow smoothly throughout the piece/ as a Kardashian fanatic myself i am probably not in a position to say much. However, I do understand the stance that a lot of people in society seem to take.
ReplyDeleteVery succinct blog post right here. The incorporation of the academic sources is really well done and helps support and project the idea that you are putting forward. With the idea of persona though, does it suggest we will never see the true celeb? or does the title of celebrity automatically create a persona for you? food for thought.
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