The Sociology of Celebrity
Erenne Coleman
Popular Culture
Journal Article Analysis
Instructor Denise Schottenstein
March 1, 2008
The Sociology of Celebrity
The article is found in the publication Sociology compass, which is a peer review publication online for research on all topics and subjects. Intended audiences can be for readers who are reviewing any article submission related to what they may be researching for. This was noticeable from the beginning of the article written by Kerry O. Farris in her abstract. She mentions that the article she is writing is her reflection on the topic and how she envisions this article to expand throughout the world of sociology so that the topic has a place for study. Farris uses sociology terms related to “theory” and “empirical researchers”, in her abstract which gives the reader some indication that she is speaking on issues related within the field of research with an emphasis on the study of sociology.
To begin summarizing the article, one could begin with the abstract mentioned above. The introduction to the article begins with a look from the writer’s mention of ‘recent articles’ by Eric Schulman (1999), and how he breaks down how to “quantify” the measurement of fame by stating Internet hits and Google searches surrounding celebrities such as Monica Lewinsky. Farris also writes that the world of sociology had not been interested in the study of “celebrity”, until within the past 10 to 20 years. She quotes “Until very recently, this perspective on the on the study of celebrity was widely held in ‘serious’ academic circles as well. Fame and celebrity were seen as trivial topics, unimportant to a comprehensive understanding of the social world” (p371). Defending her topic, she offers that she is merely doing a survey on the issue of study.
In the section sociology on celebrity, Farris breaks down the definition of celebrity and in summarization she does mention studies from theorist Max Weber and how his definition of celebrity has expanded in culture today. The main points in this section focus on what defines a celebrity and comparisons done with theorist who had done research on the topic in earlier times. The next section to be explored would be celebrity as pathology. This section gives definition on pathology and states that this point of study based on sociology finding have been “attempting to conceptualize the phenomenon by relying on abstractions rather than empirical data”(p372). In terms, this means scientist are not going on just what they have observed but use data from actual celebrities to base their studies and findings on.
Moving on to the section Celebrity as a commodity, to summarize this at best Farris outlines that celebrities are seen as a commodity in terms of marketing. An issue surrounding capitalism is referenced and focuses on a big part of how celebrities are commodified today. Farris makes mention of several theoretical studies done by P. David Marshall, Cashmore, Rojek, Gamsom and Patricia and Peter Adler. She sums up her reference to these works as basic assumptions and that none of the works neither support the pathology or commodity theories, but a look at the hype surrounding celebrity.
In conclusion of her article Farris mentions the growing field of sociology and fame. She states there are is a lot of diversity surrounding the issue and that sociology researchers will still tend to feel the topic does not deserve the attention that it is obviously getting from other studies being done. By encouraging readers with a passion for broader knowledge in this area to join in the crusade to bring celebrity research to the forefront of the sociology world.
The article is logically organized in my opinion. It shows that the author has thought a lot about the topic and she shares her opinions as well and supports all facts with a lot of research and citations from other sources. The main ideas a clearly present as each section is has a header for what is to be discussed in that particular section. To me the article was easy to read as the author stays in line with supporting her opinions on the topic. The key idea I am taking away from this article is the understanding of how sociology looks at celebrity as a whole. I was surprised in my reading to know sociologist felt that this area of study was trivial. It shows that as the world evolves around us daily, those that research human behavior have the need to broaden their research. There is not a place in the world where you will not hear about some one famous or be curious about the actions of celebrities. Who comes to mind in particular? Britney Spears! How’s that for an example?
Citations
Farris, K. (2007). The Sociology of Celebrity. Sociology Compass. Retrieved February 26, 2008, from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00019.x
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
I think that a lot of your analysis is quoting the article. I think that more of your analysis should be your opinion of the article. I like the layout of your analysis. I agree with you that celebrity and fame have a lot to do with our daily lives.
Reading through this article, I too felt that the sociologists were correct in their ignoring of fame and celebrity. I personally think that this single topic wastes more time and energy in some people's lives that it should. People come to "worship" these famous people, and from that respect the study may make sense, but as a whole the attention paid to it is over the top.
All you have to do is to watch any "news" program and you are inundated with images of photographers stalking celebrities. And this is news these days? Forget about the tense middle eastern situations with Iran, Iraq, and Syria, we need to find out about Britney and what she's drinking today.
I agree that there were too many quotations in your analysis of the article. I kind of felt like I was just reading a re-statement of the article itself.
I completely agree with the concept of celebrities as a commodity. Entertainment media is an entire industry piggybacking on Hollywood. It amazes me that people are so interested in people doing nothing, just living their lives in an extreme manner.
I agree the "celebrity" watching has picked up tremendously in the last 10-20 years. I never rememeber hearing about celebrities on every channel while growing up. Now, just about everywhere you turn or every website you pull up has celebrity news. It is really crazy that people focus their whole lives around celebrity news and feel like they can judge them. I agree that we really need to focus more on important things like the war.
I think you put too many quotations into this analysis. I think an analysis should be more about your opinion of the article or your interpretation of the article, and you quoted a lot of the article. But I do agree that celebrity news is in our everyday lives, it is just as popular as the news we watch every night on TV.
I think your analysis should have more of your opinion included but you were thorough in explaining what the article was about and what the author was relaying. I think a lot of people have entirely too much time on their hand which is why they get so caught up in celebrities lives. I have been around people that talk about different celebrities as if they are best of friends and are on first name basis:) It's funny if you think about it and I think some people just want to live vicariously through other people and forget about their own lives sometimes.
There are meny quotes in you analysis, but they are good. You should try to use your own thoughts. I seems to make more sense when it is in your own words.
In today's society due to the mass media, we know more about celebrities and their personal life than ever before. We find ourselves digging for more information about a particular celebrity. The article had some great points about famous people but your summary of it lacked a little more of your own words. Overall, I think you still did a great job.
Post a Comment