Holmes and Redmond

Chapter 1
Understanding Celebrity Culture

The I and Me of fame

Adulation, identification and emulation are key motifs in the study of celebrity culture. Being famous appears to offer an enormous material,economical, social and physic rewards. That creates a desire of stardom, and a need to be wanted in society. Contemporary fame circulates in like a spider web. It is at the beginning, and at the end of many important social relations.
The discursive strand of the 'me, me, me' fame also relates to the the incomplete nature of (post)modern identity. On the one hand it is argued that the modern self is overly vain and narcisistic. On the other hand, the modern self is said to be marked by a great deal of anxiety, doubt, and confusion on who-to- be in the world. To be famous is to be famous, and that is all that matters.
The fan/ star/ celebrity relationship might be on of the most intimate and far- reaching forms of sociability. Fandom is often a creative enterprise,involving production of artwork. It also opens up new networks of communication and interaction between fans.Something else fandom deals with is to 'search' for the 'authentic' person behind the mask of fame. The body of the celebrity is either used to reproduce racial, and heterosexual gaze, or to emerge queer feelings and fantasies.
Fame is explored in terms of the destructive damage it does to the famous, and to the fans of the famous.

Talk about Fame

The famous are constructed, circulated and consumed through the busy channels of media production. For example Reality TV contestants can be described as 'an epitome of the fabricated celebrity'.
There are two points in relation to discourses of cultural value. Firstly, it is impossible to discuss contemporary celebrities without addressing judgements. secondly, issues of cultural value necessarily structure the varying perspective our contributors offer on celebrities.