Tag: celebrity culture

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A Rough Week for Celebrities: Recap

This week, a major Hollywood star faces repercussions for a public stunt, while another remains with us despite a death hoax.

bettywhite
via Flickr

The satirical website EmpireNews.net caused a brief scare with a pun about beloved actress Betty White “dyeing.” In light of the very real passing of comedian Joan Rivers, the goof caused understandable alarm.


from NBC 5 San Diego
from NBC 5 San Diego

Meanwhile, Steve-O, a star of the Jackass franchise, is facing criminal charges for defacing a sign directing Southern California motorists to Sea World. With the horrifying scandals that have lately surrounded the aquatic amusement park, Sea World must be particularly sensitive about its reputation.

Related posts:

  1. In Review: April Fools’ Day 2019 Branding, Marketing, and Media Stunts
  2. April Fools’ Day 2018: Stunt Roundup
  3. Fear, Loathing, and Farts in Austin
  4. The Case for Giving Andy Kaufman a Rest
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Empire of Illusion

From editor Joey Skaggs: I recommend this piece from The January/February 2010 issue of Tikkun written by Christopher Hedges about the cultural phenomenon of celebrity-ism. Parts are excerpted from his 2009 book, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle.

Celebrity Culture and the Obama Brand, by Christopher Hedges

b_celebrity-425

Barack Obama is a brand. And the Obama brand is designed to make us feel good about our government while corporate overlords loot the Treasury, armies of corporate lobbyists grease the palms of our elected officials, our corporate media diverts us with gossip and trivia, and our imperial wars expand in the Middle East. Brand Obama is about being happy consumers. We are entertained. We feel hopeful. We like our president. We believe he is like us. But like all branded products spun out from the manipulative world of corporate advertising, this product is duping us into doing and supporting a lot of things that are not in our interest.

What, for all our faith and hope, has the Obama brand given us?

Read the rest of this article here.

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  3. Lee Atwater: Godfather of the Modern Negative Political Campaign.
  4. Campaign Spin: Push Polls Disguised as Market Research

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