I vant to be let alone - the construction of glamour
(2012) Celebrity studies Inaugural conference- Abstract
- It is not too far fetched to claim that celebrity is a
phenomenon that is difficult to define. It is hard to
maintain rigid hierarchies between the components
that make up celebrity. One of them can be described
as glamour.
In the paper I examine ways to understand glamour
as an intrinsic part of the symbolic construction of
celebrity. It has been used as a inherent quality in
the person (Gould, 2005) or as an institutionalised
esthetic practice (Willis-Tropea, 2011). Also,
glamour is often connected to the luxurious and
desireable styles of life celebrities lead. The public
display of consumption that glamour relies upon
is... (More) - It is not too far fetched to claim that celebrity is a
phenomenon that is difficult to define. It is hard to
maintain rigid hierarchies between the components
that make up celebrity. One of them can be described
as glamour.
In the paper I examine ways to understand glamour
as an intrinsic part of the symbolic construction of
celebrity. It has been used as a inherent quality in
the person (Gould, 2005) or as an institutionalised
esthetic practice (Willis-Tropea, 2011). Also,
glamour is often connected to the luxurious and
desireable styles of life celebrities lead. The public
display of consumption that glamour relies upon
is an important feature, perhaps even the most
important feature, of modern celebrity. According to
Gundle (2002), glamour’s
possibly most distinctive feature is that it, instead
of creating jealousy, inspires to desire. Glamour is
something that is available and within the reach of
everyone. The glamour in the celebrity industry plays
upon the public’s desire to become a celebrity or to
be able to achieve the same lifestyle. In her doctoral
thesis, Nanna Gillberg called celebrities “parking
lots of human desire”. Glamour is a tincture of sex
appeal, luxury, elegance and romance. Glamour
plays upon desire by appealing to notions of
distinction and availability.The refined and distanced
persona of the glamourous person could easily be
distinguished as a premier feature of the glamorous
persona.
The paper analyses and discusses two main swedish
contemporary celebrities by employing a analysis
inspired of Simmel with focus on consumption,
fashion, blasé attitude and distance. The paper
investigates aspects of glamour as they show
themselves in practice in the portrayal of the two
celebrities. In the analysis I investigate the building
of glamour and show how maintainance of distance
and blasé attitude are necessary components in the
construction of the celebrity and while glamour
may be something that is created with relative ease
in pictures, it is much more difficult to sustain it in
real life. The paper is a part of Michael Rübsamen’s
doctoral thesis, on the mediated construction of
celebrity in Sweden. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4391149
- author
- Rübsamen, Michael LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2012
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- conference name
- Celebrity studies Inaugural conference
- conference dates
- 2012-12-14
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 5c16d395-fe0d-4a60-a806-d78ceff7bbc5 (old id 4391149)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 13:25:18
- date last changed
- 2019-05-27 16:15:15
@misc{5c16d395-fe0d-4a60-a806-d78ceff7bbc5,
abstract = {{It is not too far fetched to claim that celebrity is a<br/><br>
phenomenon that is difficult to define. It is hard to<br/><br>
maintain rigid hierarchies between the components<br/><br>
that make up celebrity. One of them can be described<br/><br>
as glamour.<br/><br>
In the paper I examine ways to understand glamour<br/><br>
as an intrinsic part of the symbolic construction of<br/><br>
celebrity. It has been used as a inherent quality in<br/><br>
the person (Gould, 2005) or as an institutionalised<br/><br>
esthetic practice (Willis-Tropea, 2011). Also,<br/><br>
glamour is often connected to the luxurious and<br/><br>
desireable styles of life celebrities lead. The public<br/><br>
display of consumption that glamour relies upon<br/><br>
is an important feature, perhaps even the most<br/><br>
important feature, of modern celebrity. According to<br/><br>
Gundle (2002), glamour’s<br/><br>
possibly most distinctive feature is that it, instead<br/><br>
of creating jealousy, inspires to desire. Glamour is<br/><br>
something that is available and within the reach of<br/><br>
everyone. The glamour in the celebrity industry plays<br/><br>
upon the public’s desire to become a celebrity or to<br/><br>
be able to achieve the same lifestyle. In her doctoral<br/><br>
thesis, Nanna Gillberg called celebrities “parking<br/><br>
lots of human desire”. Glamour is a tincture of sex<br/><br>
appeal, luxury, elegance and romance. Glamour<br/><br>
plays upon desire by appealing to notions of<br/><br>
distinction and availability.The refined and distanced<br/><br>
persona of the glamourous person could easily be<br/><br>
distinguished as a premier feature of the glamorous<br/><br>
persona.<br/><br>
The paper analyses and discusses two main swedish<br/><br>
contemporary celebrities by employing a analysis<br/><br>
inspired of Simmel with focus on consumption,<br/><br>
fashion, blasé attitude and distance. The paper<br/><br>
investigates aspects of glamour as they show<br/><br>
themselves in practice in the portrayal of the two<br/><br>
celebrities. In the analysis I investigate the building<br/><br>
of glamour and show how maintainance of distance<br/><br>
and blasé attitude are necessary components in the<br/><br>
construction of the celebrity and while glamour<br/><br>
may be something that is created with relative ease<br/><br>
in pictures, it is much more difficult to sustain it in<br/><br>
real life. The paper is a part of Michael Rübsamen’s<br/><br>
doctoral thesis, on the mediated construction of<br/><br>
celebrity in Sweden.}},
author = {{Rübsamen, Michael}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{I vant to be let alone - the construction of glamour}},
year = {{2012}},
}