Fame Attack: The Inflation of Celebrity and Its Consequences

Description

This follow-up to Chris Rojek's hugely successful 2001 book Celebrity assesses what celebrity culture means now, especially in the age of reality TV. Rojek argues that the framework for looking at celebrity culture is still valid, but the genres of ascribed celebrity, achieved celebrity, and celetoids overlap. He explorers the principles of celebrity engineering, including the technologies of fame creation in the context of reality TV. He also investigates whether performers and contestants are intentionally staged in particular ways to gain notoriety or acclaim. Rojek argues that we need to look at audiences in more detail, asking whether psychological issues of loneliness and personal uncertainty are really at the core of celebrity culture. Written by an acclaimed and established author, this book is set to become the benchmark in the field. Chris Rojek is Professor of Sociology and Culture at Brunel University. His most recent publications include Pop Music, Pop Culture (Polity, 2011), The Labour of Leisure (Sage, 2010), Brit-Myth (Reaktion, 2007), and Frank Sinatra (Polity, 2004). He has also co-authored two books and edited and nine others, including a four volume collection Celebrity (Routledge, 2009).