Celebrity Politics

Celebrity Politics PDF Author: Mark Wheeler
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745671705
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
In this new book, Mark Wheeler offers the first in-depth analysis of the history, nature and global reach of celebrity politics today. Celebrity politicians and politicized celebrities have had a profound impact upon the practice of politics and the way in which it is now communicated. New forms of political participation have emerged as a result and the political classes have increasingly absorbed the values of celebrity into their own PR strategies. Celebrity activists, endorsers, humanitarians and diplomats also play a part in reconfiguring politics for a more fragmented and image-conscious public arena. In academic circles, celebrity may be viewed as a ‘manufactured product’; one fabricated by media exposure so that celebrity activists are no more than ‘bards of the powerful.’ Mark Wheeler, however, provides a more nuanced critique contending that both celebrity politicians and politicized stars should be defined by their ‘affective capacity’ to operate within the public sphere. This timely book will be a valuable resource for students of media and communication studies and political science as well as general readers keen to understand the nature and reach of contemporary celebrity culture.

Celebrity Politics

Celebrity Politics PDF Author: Mark Wheeler
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745671705
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 285

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this new book, Mark Wheeler offers the first in-depth analysis of the history, nature and global reach of celebrity politics today. Celebrity politicians and politicized celebrities have had a profound impact upon the practice of politics and the way in which it is now communicated. New forms of political participation have emerged as a result and the political classes have increasingly absorbed the values of celebrity into their own PR strategies. Celebrity activists, endorsers, humanitarians and diplomats also play a part in reconfiguring politics for a more fragmented and image-conscious public arena. In academic circles, celebrity may be viewed as a ‘manufactured product’; one fabricated by media exposure so that celebrity activists are no more than ‘bards of the powerful.’ Mark Wheeler, however, provides a more nuanced critique contending that both celebrity politicians and politicized stars should be defined by their ‘affective capacity’ to operate within the public sphere. This timely book will be a valuable resource for students of media and communication studies and political science as well as general readers keen to understand the nature and reach of contemporary celebrity culture.

Democratic Elitism

Democratic Elitism PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047441745
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
Joseph Schumpeter's “competitive theory of democracy” – often labeled democratic elitism - has struck many as an apt and insightful description of how representative democracy works, even though convinced democrats detect an elitist thrust they find disturbing. But neither Schumpeter nor subsequent defenders of democratic elitism have paid enough attention to actual behaviors of leaders and elites. Attention has been riveted on how adequately democratic elitism captures the relationship between governors and governed in its insistence that competitive elections prevent the relationship from being one-way, that is, leaders and elites largely unaccountable to passive and submissive voters. Why and how leaders and elites create and sustain competitive elections, what happens if their competitions become excessively stage-managed or belligerent – how, in short, leaders and elites really act - are some of the issues this book addresses. Contributors are Heinrich Best, Jens Borchert, Michael Edinger, Fredrik Engelstad, Trygve Gulbrandsen, John Higley, Gabriella Ilonszki, András Körösényi, Mindaugas Kuklys, Gyorgy Lengyel, Anton Steen, and Jacek Wasilewski.

Star Power

Star Power PDF Author: Lauren Wright
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429888821
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
Are celebrity politics the spice of American public life or a pox on policy progress? This book identifies and measures the attributes of celebrities that make them well-equipped to win campaigns and yet poorly prepared to govern effectively. The framers of the U.S. Constitution worried about the propensity of an undereducated public to elect unqualified entertainers rather than fit characters to government positions. Celebrities have come to play an increasingly central role in the American political process as fundraisers, surrogates, and as candidates themselves, yet remain a sorely understudied topic in political science. Through a multimethod approach that includes qualitative analysis, novel public opinion surveys, and survey experiments, this book assesses whether Americans are more likely to vote for celebrities than well-known traditional politicians and the implications of these preferences for democracy in the U.S. Perfect for students, scholars, and interested citizens, Star Power looks at the contemporary American political landscape through new lenses of research as well as popular appeal.

Celebrity Politics

Celebrity Politics PDF Author: Darrell M. West
Publisher: Pearson
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
[This book] looks at the history and contemporary role of celebrities in American politics, and the long-term implications of this trend. It examines the intersection of prominent families such as the Kennedys, Bushes, and Clinton with entertainment figures like Charlton Heston (now head of the National Rifle Association) ... Since this book examines celebrity politics in historical context as well as in the contemporary situation, it can be used as a ... supplementary reading in introduction to American Politics courses as well as classes on mass media, campaigns and elections, Congress, the presidency, parties, interest groups, and popular culture.-Pref.

Media and the Restyling of Politics

Media and the Restyling of Politics PDF Author: John Corner
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761949213
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Bringing together the work of leading academics in media and cultural studies, this book questions the ways in which emerging forms of political style relate not only to new conventions of celebrity and publicity but to ideas about representation, citizenship and the democratic process.

Critical Elitism

Critical Elitism PDF Author: Alfred Moore
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107194520
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
This book re-imagines expert authority for an age of critical citizens, and shows how expertise can contribute in a deliberative system.

Celebrity and Power

Celebrity and Power PDF Author: P. David Marshall
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 1452944024
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Simultaneously celebrated and denigrated, celebrities represent not only the embodiment of success, but also the ultimate construction of false value. Celebrity and Power questions the impulse to become embroiled with the construction and collapse of the famous, exploring the concept of the new public intimacy: a product of social media in which celebrities from Lady Gaga to Barack Obama are expected to continuously campaign for audiences in new ways. In a new Introduction for this edition, P. David Marshall investigates the viewing public’s desire to associate with celebrity and addresses the explosion of instant access to celebrity culture, bringing famous people and their admirers closer than ever before.

Letters from the Desk of Ronald Reagan

Letters from the Desk of Ronald Reagan PDF Author: Ralph E. Weber
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307487431
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Ronald Reagan, one of America’s most beloved presidents, is now gone. But his voice lives on in this stirring and very personal collection of letters written during his presidency to his fellow Americans, showing us a new and surprisingly intimate side of our fortieth president. During even the busiest times in his presidency, Ronald Reagan took time out to respond to dozens of letters each week from the many friends and private citizens who wrote to him about their concerns. These letters, collected in the president’s “Handwriting File,” have never been examined by historians. Now Ralph E. Weber and his son, Ralph A. Weber, have culled the best of this collection, arranged chronologically to track the course of political events during the eight years of his presidency. A fascinating glimpse at the issues facing the United States during the 1980s, Letters from the Desk of Ronald Reagan traces history in the making.

Celebrity in Chief

Celebrity in Chief PDF Author: Kenneth T. Walsh
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317262689
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
It didn t take long for Barack Obama to make his mark as the biggest political star to ever occupy the White House. Over the course of his two terms in office, Obama has injected the American presidency deeper into popular culture than any of his predecessors. He and his wife Michelle have become iconic figures, celebrities of the first order.This book, by award-winning White House correspondent and presidential historian Kenneth T. Walsh, discusses how the Obamas reached this point. More important, it takes a detailed and comprehensive look at the history of America s presidents as celebrities in chief since the beginning of the Republic. Walsh makes the point that modern presidents need to be celebrities and build on their fame in order to propel their agendas and rally public support for themselves as national leaders so that they can get things done.Combining incisive historical analysis with a journalist s eye for detail, this book looks back to such presidents as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as the forerunners of contemporary celebrity presidents. It examines modern presidents including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt, each of whom qualified as a celebrity in his own time and place. The book also looks at presidents who fell short in their star appeal, such as George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon Johnson, and explains why their star power was lacking.Among the special features of the book are detailed profiles of the presidents and how they measured up or failed as celebrities; an historical analysis of America s popular culture and how presidents have played a part in it, from sports and television to movies and the news media; the role of first ladies; and a portfolio of fascinating photos illustrating the intersection of the presidency with popular culture."

Celebrity

Celebrity PDF Author: Milly Williamson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509511431
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
It is a truism to suggest that celebrity pervades all areas of life today. The growth and expansion of celebrity culture in recent years has been accompanied by an explosion of studies of the social function of celebrity and investigations into the fascination of specific celebrities. And yet fundamental questions about what the system of celebrity means for our society have yet to be resolved: Is celebrity a democratization of fame or a powerful hierarchy built on exclusion? Is celebrity created through public demand or is it manufactured? Is the growth of celebrity a harmful dumbing down of culture or an expansion of the public sphere? Why has celebrity come to have such prominence in today’s expanding media? Milly Williamson unpacks these questions for students and researchers alike, re-examining some of the accepted explanations for celebrity culture. The book questions assumptions about the inevitability of the growth of celebrity culture, instead explaining how environments were created in which celebrity output flourished. It provides a compelling new history of the development of celebrity (both long-term and recent) which highlights the relationship between the economic function of celebrity in various media and entertainment industries and its changing social meanings and patterns of consumption.