Celebrity Culture Reader

From television programmers like Big Brother, to magazines like Heat and Closer feeding the public's obsession with celebrity, The Celebrity Culture Reader is a great publication for this ever growing field of study. Through a combination of classic pieces and contemporary writings, experienced scholar P. David Marshall and the contributors examine the proliferation of the study of celebrity over the last twenty years, and the significance and importance of celebrity in contemporary culture. Taking a broad definition of the concept of celebrity, The Celebrity Culture Reader discusses: * cult celebrity status from Alexander the Great to the Transformation of the actor to a public person in the eighteenth century * the industrial apparatus leading to the star system in early narrative film * music celebrity as personified by New Kids on the Block * the celebrity status of literary authors * the emergence of CEOs as corporate business celebrities * the role of celebrity in politics * reality television. Divided into easy-to-follow sections, the broad chronological and international range of articles even feature discussion of recognized celebrities such as Madonna and Princess Diana, and the idea that through enough self-promotion, anyone can now achieve celebrity status. This is an excellent reader that will enhance any media and cultural studies student's degree course.Marshall, P. David is the author of 'Celebrity Culture Reader ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780415337915 and ISBN 0415337917.