Celebrity worship serves a social and political function, for real

Paris, Paris, Paris. Are we not sick of the Hilton heiress's foibles? Yet celebrity gossip, says sociologist Joke Hermes, thrives in democratic societies where there's a sense of "cosmic justice." OK, sure. But the statistics and the sociologists tell a different story: In the pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSun-journal (Lewiston, Me.)
Main Author Edwards, Haley
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Lewiston, Me Sun Journal 04.02.2007
Subjects
Evenson, Carey
Marshall, P David
Spears, Britney
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Summary:Paris, Paris, Paris. Are we not sick of the Hilton heiress's foibles? Yet celebrity gossip, says sociologist Joke Hermes, thrives in democratic societies where there's a sense of "cosmic justice." OK, sure. But the statistics and the sociologists tell a different story: In the past five years, the marketing of celebrity culture has skyrocketed. And with the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears hogging the spotlight on that ignominious stage, the Hollywood gossip scene has precious little to do with acting. Sociologist Joke Hermes recently studied the readers of Dutch and British celebrity magazines and concluded that there are two kinds of celebrity-gossip followers: The bold and the bashful. That latter group tends to loudly dismiss celebrity gossip as idiotic drivel, insulting to its sense of social propriety - while secretly getting its fix for the latest scandal in supermarket check-out lines. (Don't worry, your secret's safe with us).