IMS_MicroCelebrity

IMS_MicroCelebrity

• 1.
  Social Media, DigitalSelf- Publication, Micro-Celebrity MARC BOUSQUET // INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA STUDIES MEDIA STUDIES 204, EMORY UNIVERSITY
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  o Why isMurray insisting on “the digital” as a singular medium, rather than the plural, media? o How does the concept of “interaction design” position creativity in “the digital medium”?
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  o Is allsocial interaction “participatory”? Is “communication” intrinsically participatory or even dialogic? o How are some of the social, political and economic consequences of computer-mediated communication visible in Julie and Julia?
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  o “You’re goingto get sick from blogging.” What are some of the “mental models” of various media at play in the film?
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  Julie and Julia “Basedon two true stories”: What are some of the parallels and differences between Julie and Julia?
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  Julie and Julia “Forthe servantless American cook.” Their stories are at once divergent, parallel and intersecting: • Two divergent stories: 2 worlds, 2 generations, 2 classes, 2 media: Books vs blogs. How would you characterize the films approach to • Two similar stories: Idealistic, naïve, overwhelmed by politics and the real world, both on a journey of self-discovery through learning to cook (“mmm, butter!”), spousal partners support the journey while others scoff, both in government work originally, food/sex jokes • Intersecting: Designed for interaction and participation. What are some of the ways that the blog intersects with other lives and other media? • Possibility of further intersection foreshadowed: “Does Julia know about you?”
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  How do celebrities& microcelebrities use social media differently? How do different platforms affect microcelebrity choices & actions? “Social media enables micro-celebrity, a self-presentation technique in which people view themselves as a public persona to be consumed by others, use strategic intimacy to appeal to followers, and regard their audience as fans Notably, micro-celebrity practice differs depending on the social context in which the practitioner is located and the technological affordances of the application.” (eg Instagram vs YouTube). --Marwick p3
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  Are we allcelebrities now, if only just a little? What are some of the implications of seeing celebrity as a practice? “a new definition of celebrity as a set of practices and self-presentation techniques that spread across social networks as they are learned from other individuals. In these contexts, celebrity becomes something a person does, rather than something a person is, and exists as a continuum rather than a binary quality. “Celebrity” in the social media age is a range of techniques and strategies that can be performed by anyone with a mobile device.” (eg Instagram vs YouTube). --Marwick p3
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  What are “image,spectacle, and drama” and how have they made politicians and businesspeople into celebrities? Celebritization describes contemporary changes in celebrity, primarily diversification, democratization, and migration. Diversification is the increased importance of celebrity status outside of entertainment and sports, while Migration refers to the ability of celebrities famous in one realm to migrate to another: the wrestler Jesse Ventura, for example, becoming governor of Minnesota. Julia Child “migrated” to the blogosphere: But did she do so willingly? Democratization, however, incorporates elements of celebrification, and is crucial to understanding micro- celebrity. --Marwick p4
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  What is thedifference between media representation and media participation? “Turner deliberately distinguishes between “democratic” and “demotic” to argue against the notion that the media apparatus has opened to ordinary citizens. Instead, the demotic turn is an increased appearance of participation— which may include more spaces for people of color, queer people, and so forth—tightly circumscribed within a hierarchical media system.” --Marwick p4
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  Cultures are celebritized. Personalitiesare celebrified. The upshot? Personhood IS celebrity. “Another aspect of democratization is the incorporation of elements of celebrity into individual subjectivity and self- presentation, which some scholars of celebrity mark as part of celebrification. [This] has been theorized in various disciplines as promotional culture (Wernick 1991), presentational culture (Marshall 2010), the specularization of the self (Hearn 2006), and personification (Sternberg 1998). Wernick argues that promotional culture has become the predominant modern paradigm.” --Marwick p5
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  Microcelebrity is something onedoes. Subcultural celebrity happens to you or comes with the job. “Related, but distinct, from micro-celebrity is the idea of the subcultural or local celebrity. Kerry O. Ferris suggests that this concept could also be applied to local celebrities like “newscasters, politicians, and professors, as well as the lifeguard at the pool, the cashier at the market, and the waitress at the diner—people who are seen, recognized and followed by more people than they can keep track” --Marwick p7
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  Fan-based participatory culture vsmicrocelebrity participatory culture. Are there elements of both in Julie’s practice? “While fans use cultural raw materials to create content about media properties like Dr. Who or Star Trek, microcelebrity practitioners turn the fannish discourse on its head to create content about themselves.” –Marwick p8
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  “While we expecta certain degree of artifice from celebrities, one of the key attributes of micro-celebrity practitioners is that they are authentic.” How does this illuminate the success of Julie’s practice?
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  Some Questions: • Doyou agree that many people engage in “microcelebrity practices”? Even if they aren’t consciously seeking celebrity status? What are some examples? • Given that individualism is itself socially supported—some would say manufactured— by all the industries of childhood care and education, by the culture itself—Is microcelebrity actually the fulfillment of some modern social goals, such as individual self-expression and free self-development? • Relatedly, if microcelebrity practices are visible on a continuum from just right to too much, are there people you would say are practicing microcelebrity too little? Contact: Marc Bousquet, pmbousquet at gmail