Fame Attack: The Inflation of Celebrity and its Consequences

The follow up to Chris Rojek's hugely successful Celebrity , this book assesses celebrity culture today. It explores how the fads, fashions and preoccupations of celebrities enter the popular lifeblood, explains what is distinctive about contemporary celebrity, and reveals the psychological, social and economic consequences of fame both upon the public and celebrities themselves. The book develops the framework for looking at celebrity culture which Rojek set out back in 2001, by showing how ascribed celebrity, achieved celebrity and celetoids overlap. The book gives a new emphasis to the role

Cover; Contents; Preface: The New Aristocracy of Fame; 1 Celebrity Supernova; Fame attack: Defined; 'He who sings or dances the best...'; Domestic and factory systems of fame; The appeal of notoriety; The factory system and cultural intermediaries; Edward Bernays and the public relations mill; The public relations-Media hub; 2 The Fame Formula; Jade Goody; Madonna; 3 Celebrity and Sickness; Celebrity mortality and the mirror effect; Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD); Child stardom and its consequences; Fame, bipolarity and borderline personality disorder; Celebrity worship syndrome

StalkingSuicide and attempted suicide; The Absorption-Addiction Model; 4 Charisma Gulch; The meaning of charisma; Celebrity and charisma today; Advocacy and diplomacy; Celanthropy; Celanthropy before Live Aid; The Balance Sheet of Celanthropy; 5 Exposure Management; Image aggregation and image accumulation; Celebrity cognitive dissonance; 6 Supply Side Factors in Celebrity Inflation; Branding; The cultural literacy of the public; 7 Demand Side Factors; Articulation and the culture of display; Hero worship and narcissistic idealization; Achievement famine and its discontents

Narcissism and societyReligion, and its decline in the West; 8 Para-social Relationships; Celebrity icons; Lady Gaga: Gay icon; Totemic celebrity; Syndicated fraternization; Ordinary conversations: The value of access, utility and labour; Para-social conversations; 9 The Icarus Complex; Celanthropy and its discontents; Tom Cruise: Scientology, postnatal depression and Oprah; Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross: Sachsgate; The personal element in para-social persuasion; 10 Reality TV: The Return of the Fool; The fool and reality TV; The structure of the fool; The fool in the court of reality TV

11 The Sphinx of Celebrity and the Idolatry FunfairThe public celebrity; Celebrity and the need for transcendence; The fear of idolatry; Conclusion: 'When You Wish Upon A Star...'; Notes; Bibliography; Author Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; W; Y; Subject Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Z