Understanding Celebrity

by Graeme Turner

"An outstanding achievement... Graeme Turner writes with power and persuasion, and brilliantly explores what it is about celebrity today that should concern us all"
- Sean Redmond, Deakin University

"A key touchstone for celebrity studies. Turner thoughtfully illuminates the variety of production and consumption practices through which celebrity circulates today, whilst remaining sensitive to the complexity of power relations in play. An essential read for students and scholars in the field"
- Sue Holmes, University of East Anglia

"Cements Turner’s status as the most important figure in celebrity studies... Turner’s gaze fixes on developments in digital, social and global mediascapes, drawing media and celebrity studies into complex critical, political and cultural debates in his indomitable style"
- James Bennett, Royal Holloway, University of London

"An extraordinary synthesis of research and theory... Understanding Celebrity remains the go-to text of celebrity studies"
- Joshua Gamsom, University of San Francisco
Where does the production of celebrity end and its consumption begin?

Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and reality TV allow us a previously unimagined engagement with the manufactured ′persona′ of celebrity. Understanding Celebrity has become the go-to text for understanding the connection between the production and consumption of this ′persona′. The long-awaited second edition assesses the changing nature of this pivotal relationship in celebrity studies. The Enriched with new examples drawn from popular culture, this is a contemporary and incisive look at celebrity studies. Understanding Celebrity is not only an essential text, but a stimulating read for students studying celebrity and popular culture across media studies, cultural studies and sociology.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cultural Studies

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Graeme Turner is an Australian professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland, Federation Fellow, Past President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Director of the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, and Convenor of the ARC Cultural Research Network.

He is one of the key figures in the development of cultural and media studies in Australia. His work is used in many disciplines: cultural and media studies, communications, history, literary studies, and film and television studies. Turner's research interests include Australian film and media, issues in Australian Nationalism, popular culture, celebrity, and talkback radio. His current project investigates the role of television in a post-broadcast era increasingly dominated by new media formats such as the Internet.

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

We live in strange times when celebrities (often as those who are famous for being famous) become heroes, and for those of us for whom middle age is no longer coming the cult of celebrity seems both odd and a sign that we have forgotten that celebrity is old hat. This book sets out to explore and unravel the cult of celebrity, and does so extremely well. Turner is well read and subtle in his deployment of contemporary social and cultural theory, and in recognising the need for good teacherly material careful and self-critical in his presentation. It is rare to find a book that so convincingly acts as both an introduction to a field and a reinterpretation of that area of study. Not only did I enjoy this, it is one of the essentials for reading in an upper level class I am developing in cultural activity in consumer society. Fabulous.

[Wendelle]

Celebrity, or personal fame disproportionate to professional accomplishments, is such an interesting and pervasive phenomenon to unpack. This book is a worthy introduction that not only discusses celebrity production and manipulation, but also observes its effects on society in general: how breakdowns of regular sources of community, like the extended family and the neighborhood, have happened to be replaced by imagined intimacies with far-off celebrities, and how women in particular have devalued romance as a goal and replaced it with a desire for fame. It is written by a director of cultural studies in Australia so prepare yourself for some Aussie references.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not judging the quality of the book which is a very sound piece of research, only its usefulness to my own research which only intermittently met Turner's.

[Jan_zens · Rating 2 out of 5]

stupid book for stupid people

[Garrett Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being published in 2011. The theories espoused herein are still entirely applicable in 2021

[Maxwell Foxman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Turner's analysis. His use of Discourse Analysis really gets some fine points about the potentials of celebrity. However, I have a lot more that I would choose to add to his analysis if I had a choice.

[EvaLovesYA · Rating 4 out of 5]

En rigtig god kilde med dybdegående stof og en grundig gennemgang.
- Brugt på universitetet (engelsk kandidat) til en opgave om self-representation, selfies og celebrity culture.
Og ja, jeg lavede noget, men jeg læste også om twitter-beefs og researchede på Youtube i 2 dage. Det var alletiders!