Celebrity by Chris Rojek
In contemporary society, the cult of celebrity is inescapable. Anyone can be turned into a celebrity, and anything can be made into a celebrity event. This title brings together celebrated figures from the arts, sports, politics and other public spheres, from O J Simpson and Marilyn Monroe to Hitler and David Bowie.
According to a brief but brilliant new book by the British sociologist Chris Rojek, democracy (or capitalism) simply cannot operate properly without celebrity.. Rojek's most original insight is that people have been wanting this ever since the 18th century. He brilliantly rereads Samuel Smiles's Self-Help as a manual on the virtues of the celebrity. The Independent Rojek ranges widely across celebrity culture ... His feel for the topic means that these necessarily bite-sized snippets of the famously famous reveal a shewdly evaluative aesthetic at work, and his critical sense is infallibly strong. The result is a delightful social history of fame - a mix of cultural studies and social theory - that works very well. The Australian illuminating ... New Statesman
Chris Rojek is Professor of Sociology and Culture at City St George's, University of London. He is the author of Celebrity (Reaktion Books, 2001) and Brit-Myth: Who Do the British Think They Are? (Reaktion, 2007).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781861891044 |
| ISBN 10 | 1861891040 |
| Title | Celebrity |
| Author | Chris Rojek |
| Series | Foci |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Reaktion Books |
| Year published | 2001-09-01 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |