124260 KO Critical Media Analysis (2019S)

Richard Dyer once proposed in a foundational text of celebrity studies that “[s]tars represent typical ways of behaving, feeling and thinking in contemporary society, ways that have been socially, culturally, historically constructed. […] Stars are also embodiments of the social categories in which people are placed and through which they have to make sense of their lives” (Heavenly Bodies 18). Furthermore, P. David Marshall argues that “[t]he star is meant to epitomize the potential of everyone in American society” (Celebrity and Power 9).

In this course, we will examine American celebrity cultures and their cultural and social implications by studying a plethora of representations of stars. We will theorize fame and celebrity, trace the beginnings of celebrity culture in the United States, uncover the possible functions of scandals and gossip for the construction of star images and explore the economy and production of celebrities. Furthermore, by studying examples from different contexts such as (former) child stars (Macaulay Culkin), politicians turned celebrities (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), sport stars (Serena Williams), fictional celebrities (Ally and Jack in A Star is Born (2018)), celebrities emerging from social media platforms (Tyler Oakley) and many more, we will discuss dominant myths and cultural politics of the United States. This will be done by critically analyzing cultural texts from a variety of media formats (e.g. print magazines, social media posts, videos, etc.).

At the end of the course students will be able to critically analyze representations of celebrities in American popular culture via methods such as visual and discourse analysis and close reading. Students will also have gained a theoretical understanding of celebrity and fame in its cultural context through secondary readings from the field of celebrity studies, media studies and American studies.