As Marshall says, the Internet has provided a new medium to send "messages and images outwards that circumvent the gatekeeping and control mechanisms" (2010, p. 498) that are associated with old media such as print. Celebrities are no longer as powerless in he creation of the public persona as they were when Magazines and Paparazzi were some of the few sources of Celebrity stories/photos/gossip.
Just this week Fergie (of Black Eyed Peas fame) posted a photo of her Newborn son to Social Media with the hashtag #paparazziyoucanleaveourhousenow (read about that here), circumventing the traditional first photo that the paparazzi tend to vie for these days. Now celebrities, and us mere mortals too, have the power to an extent, to control what is projected into the media, particular social media. At this point in time celebrities are posting their personal photos to Instagram, or their ideas to their own websites and blogs - showing their fans what they otherwise may not see, or would be provided through second hand sources such as Magazines.
While I can see the benefits for a celebrity to share of their own accord, is this driving public demand for juicy details? Now that we get to see what the famous are really like does this intensify the Celebrity culture as Marshall suggests (20120, p. 499)? I think it does. For example, Shane Warne and Liz Hurley apparently share a lot of information about their relationship on Twitter, they don't Tweet each other for a week or so, and everyone wants to know more about their business. The mirror effect is having a broader implication on Celebrities, the more they manage their persona by sharing their own information first hand, the more details we want.
References
Marshal, P.D 2010, The Specular Economy, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502
Hi Katelyn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that you decided to touch on the idea of celebrities having more power over their images and what the public see of them with the example of Fergie tweeting a photo of her baby. I know a lot of other celebrities have done this in an attempt to dim the circus that surrounds them. I think it is a great way to share with fans without wanting to profit off everything they do constantly, or by asking fans to pay for magazines in order to see the images.
I enjoyed the double-edged sword example you have used in regards to Liz Hurley and Shane Warne. It is true when they slow their Tweets, they have rumours circulating that they're in a relationship crisis. The only suggestion I could give would be to watch your formatting, to break up paragraphs a little more, otherwise good job!
Hi Katelyn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that you decided to touch on the idea of celebrities having more power over their images and what the public see of them with the example of Fergie tweeting a photo of her baby. I know a lot of other celebrities have done this in an attempt to dim the circus that surrounds them. I think it is a great way to share with fans without wanting to profit off everything they do constantly, or by asking fans to pay for magazines in order to see the images.
I enjoyed the double-edged sword example you have used in regards to Liz Hurley and Shane Warne. It is true when they slow their Tweets, they have rumours circulating that they're in a relationship crisis. The only suggestion I could give would be to watch your formatting, to break up paragraphs a little more, otherwise good job!
You are right in saying that the more they (celebrities) manage their persona the more details we (the public) want, and on top of the example of Fergie avoiding the paparazzi, there are some celebrities who simply cannot handle the attention of the press. It is a double edged sword and too often we hear of complaints regarding media treatment of celebrities, mostly from those who do, as you say, feed us with snippets of their private lives. You write that celebrities are not powerless to control their image, but nor are they so powerful to prevent other points of view. A well written piece, Katelyn
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said in that ‘celebrities are no longer as powerless’. With the rise of social media celebrities have taken to the internet to present themselves to the public, they’re no longer reliable on the distribution of paparazzi snapped photos. They’re able to pull out they’re phone and upload a photo or upload a video in a matter of seconds! The mention of singer Fergie actually reminds me of when the star of Supernatural (tv series) Jensen Ackles and his wife Danneel Harris Ackles took to Twitter to urge fans not to post any paparazzi-taken photos of their new born baby JJ photo and promised that they would in time provide a photo that they themselves took, which they did. Anyway, I think you’ve used a great source of resources by actually incorporating online news media sites as well as the original journal article. A very enjoyable article.
ReplyDelete