Celebrity Culture and the American Dream

Celebrity Culture and the American Dream
Author: Karen Sternheimer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2014-12-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317689682

Celebrity Culture and the American Dream, Second Edition considers how major economic and historical factors shaped the nature of celebrity culture as we know it today, retaining the first edition’s examples from the first celebrity fan magazines of 1911 to the present and expanding to include updated examples and additional discussion on the role of the internet and social media in today’s celebrity culture. Equally important, the book explains how and why the story of Hollywood celebrities matters, sociologically speaking, to an understanding of American society, to the changing nature of the American Dream, and to the relation between class and culture. This book is an ideal addition to courses on inequalities, celebrity culture, media, and cultural studies.

Natural Born Celebrities

Natural Born Celebrities
Author: David Schmid
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2008-09-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0226738701

Jeffrey Dahmer. Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Over the past thirty years, serial killers have become iconic figures in America, the subject of made-for-TV movies and mass-market paperbacks alike. But why do we find such luridly transgressive and horrific individuals so fascinating? What compels us to look more closely at these figures when we really want to look away? Natural Born Celebrities considers how serial killers have become lionized in American culture and explores the consequences of their fame. David Schmid provides a historical account of how serial killers became famous and how that fame has been used in popular media and the corridors of the FBI alike. Ranging from H. H. Holmes, whose killing spree during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair inspired The Devil in the White City, right up to Aileen Wuornos, the lesbian prostitute whose vicious murder of seven men would serve as the basis for the hit film Monster, Schmid unveils a new understanding of serial killers by emphasizing both the social dimensions of their crimes and their susceptibility to multiple interpretations and uses. He also explores why serial killers have become endemic in popular culture, from their depiction in The Silence of the Lambs and The X-Files to their becoming the stuff of trading cards and even Web sites where you can buy their hair and nail clippings. Bringing his fascinating history right up to the present, Schmid ultimately argues that America needs the perversely familiar figure of the serial killer now more than ever to manage the fear posed by Osama bin Laden since September 11. "This is a persuasively argued, meticulously researched, and compelling examination of the media phenomenon of the 'celebrity criminal' in American culture. It is highly readable as well."—Joyce Carol Oates

Stars for Freedom

Stars for Freedom
Author: Emilie Raymond
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2015-05-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0295806079

From Oprah Winfrey to Angelina Jolie, George Clooney to Leonardo DiCaprio, Americans have come to expect that Hollywood celebrities will be outspoken advocates for social and political causes. However, that wasn’t always the case. As Emilie Raymond shows, during the civil rights movement the Stars for Freedom - a handful of celebrities both black and white - risked their careers by crusading for racial equality, and forged the role of celebrity in American political culture. Focusing on the “Leading Six” trailblazers - Harry Belafonte, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dick Gregory, and Sidney Poitier - Raymond reveals how they not only advanced the civil rights movement in front of the cameras, but also worked tirelessly behind the scenes, raising money for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legal defense, leading membership drives for the NAACP, and personally engaging with workaday activists to boost morale. Through meticulous research, engaging writing, and new interviews with key players, Raymond traces the careers of the Leading Six against the backdrop of the movement. Perhaps most revealing is the new light she sheds on Sammy Davis, Jr., exploring how his controversial public image allowed him to raise more money for the movement than any other celebrity. The result is an entertaining and informative book that will appeal to film buffs and civil rights historians alike, as well as to anyone interested in the rise of celebrity power in American society. A Capell Family Book A V Ethel Willis White Book

Star Power

Star Power
Author: Lauren Wright
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2019-07-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0429888821

Are celebrity politics the spice of American public life or a pox on policy progress? This book identifies and measures the attributes of celebrities that make them well-equipped to win campaigns and yet poorly prepared to govern effectively. The framers of the U.S. Constitution worried about the propensity of an undereducated public to elect unqualified entertainers rather than fit characters to government positions. Celebrities have come to play an increasingly central role in the American political process as fundraisers, surrogates, and as candidates themselves, yet remain a sorely understudied topic in political science. Through a multimethod approach that includes qualitative analysis, novel public opinion surveys, and survey experiments, this book assesses whether Americans are more likely to vote for celebrities than well-known traditional politicians and the implications of these preferences for democracy in the U.S. Perfect for students, scholars, and interested citizens, Star Power looks at the contemporary American political landscape through new lenses of research as well as popular appeal.

Celebrities in American Elections

Celebrities in American Elections
Author: Richard T. Longoria
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2022-09-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1666923168

Using a case study approach, Celebrities in American Elections contends that celebrities have the talent, fame, and resources to succeed in electoral politics. These factors account for the electoral victories of Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, Fred Grandy, Sonny Bono, Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Franken, and Donald Trump. However, the author argues that these items are insufficient without a favorable political environment; as many celebrities have lost elections as have won them. They lose because their persona does not match the politics of their time, or they represent the minority party in a one party dominated district or state, or they advocate for unpopular policies. Among those that won, nearly half were elected by a plurality – not a majority – of voters. This does not suggest overwhelming public support for celebrity candidates despite their many advantages. With a few exceptions, celebrities that won tended to also win the fundraising battle, while celebrities that lost tended to raise less than their opponent – the normal laws of politics still apply. The celebrity factor, while helpful, does not fully explain why celebrities win or lose elections.

Jewhooing the Sixties

Jewhooing the Sixties
Author: David Kaufman
Publisher: UPNE
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2012
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1611683157

A lively look at four major Jewish celebrities of early 1960s America, who together made their mark on both American culture and Jewish identity

Hollywood Stories

Hollywood Stories
Author: Stephen Schochet
Publisher: Hollywood Stories
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2010
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0963897276

Just when you thought you've heard everything about Hollywood comes a totally original new book - a special blend of biography, history and lore. Hollywood Stories is packed with wild, wonderful short tales about famous stars, movies, directors and many others who have been part of the world's most fascinating, unpredictable industry! Full of funny moments and twist endings, Hollywood Stories features an amazing, icons and will keep you totally entertained!

Celebrity and the American Political Process

Celebrity and the American Political Process
Author: Jennifer Brubaker
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2020-11-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1498579736

Integrated Marketing Communication: Celebrity and the American Political Process uses an integrated marketing communication perspective to examine the brand of the celebrity as it is brought into the American political system, primarily in the form of celebrity endorsements and branding, as candidates, causes, and movements use celebrities as a strategy to reach voters. Jennifer Brubaker posits that while the relationship between celebrities and political issues is hardly new, it has evolved into a significant connection—in the past, it was a novelty to see a politically active celebrity; today, it’s becoming an expectation related to fame. Using integrated marketing communication and persuasion theory, Brubaker argues that establishing candidates’ brand identity is a critical factor in determining whether they win or lose an election, and celebrity-politics relationships are a central tool in building a candidates’ brand identity. Scholars of political science, communication, marketing, and history will find this book particularly useful.

Star Authors

Star Authors
Author: Joe Moran
Publisher: Pluto Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2000-02-20
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780745315195

In America, authors are as likely to be seen on television talk shows or magazine covers as in the more traditional settings of literary festivals or book signings. Is this literary celebrity just another result of ‘dumbing down’? Yet another example of the mass media turning everything into entertainment? Or is it a much more unstable, complex phenomenon? And what does the American experience tell us about the future of British literary celebrity?In Star Authors, Joe Moran shows how publishers, the media and authors themselves create and disseminate literary celebrity. He looks at such famous contemporary authors as Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger, Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, John Updike, Philip Roth, Kathy Acker, Nicholson Baker, Paul Auster and Jay McInerney. Through an examination of their own work, biographical information, media representations and promotional material, Moran illustrates the nature of modern literary celebrity. He argues that authors actively negotiate their own celebrity rather than simply having it imposed upon them – from reclusive authors such as Salinger and Pynchon, famed for their very lack of public engagement, to media-friendly authors such as Updike and McInerney. Star Authors analyses literary celebrity in the context of the historical links between literature, advertising and publicity in America; the economics of literary production; and the cultural capital involved in the marketing and consumption of books and authors.

Richard Potter

Richard Potter
Author: John A. Hodgson
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2018-02-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0813941059

Apart from a handful of exotic--and almost completely unreliable--tales surrounding his life, Richard Potter is almost unknown today. Two hundred years ago, however, he was the most popular entertainer in America--the first showman, in fact, to win truly nationwide fame. Working as a magician and ventriloquist, he personified for an entire generation what a popular performer was and made an invaluable contribution to establishing popular entertainment as a major part of American life. His story is all the more remarkable in that Richard Potter was also a black man. This was an era when few African Americans became highly successful, much less famous. As the son of a slave, Potter was fortunate to have opportunities at all. At home in Boston, he was widely recognized as black, but elsewhere in America audiences entertained themselves with romantic speculations about his "Hindu" ancestry (a perception encouraged by his act and costumes). Richard Potter’s performances were enjoyed by an enormous public, but his life off stage has always remained hidden and unknown. Now, for the first time, John A. Hodgson tells the remarkable, compelling--and ultimately heartbreaking--story of Potter’s life, a tale of professional success and celebrity counterbalanced by racial vulnerability in an increasingly hostile world. It is a story of race relations, too, and of remarkable, highly influential black gentlemanliness and respectability: as the unsung precursor of Frederick Douglass, Richard Potter demonstrated to an entire generation of Americans that a black man, no less than a white man, could exemplify the best qualities of humanity. The apparently trivial "popular entertainment" status of his work has long blinded historians to his significance and even to his presence. Now at last we can recognize him as a seminal figure in American history.