Celebrity and Mediated Social Connections Fans, Friends and Follower
Celebrity and Mediated Social Connections is a critical examination of the multiple realities of the mediated culture we traverse, extending from our imaginary inner worlds to the imagined communities of digital media. Chapters explore the dialogic at wor
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Fans, Friends and Followers in the Digital Age
Neil M. Alperstein
Celebrity and Mediated Social Connections
Neil M. Alperstein
Celebrity and Mediated Social Connections Fans, Friends and Followers in the Digital Age
Neil M. Alperstein Department of Communication Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, MD, USA
ISBN 978-3-030-17901-4 ISBN 978-3-030-17902-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17902-1 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover credit: gilaxia/E+/Getty Images This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
For Spencer and Gabriel
Preface
For over 20 years I have been studying the imagination, in particular the ways in which celebrities—modern-day goddesses and gods—enter into our nocturnal dreams, daydreams, fantasies, stream of consciousness and related self-talk. I had the good fortune to study with John Caughey, an anthropologist who after spending time in India and Micronesia returned to the United States to focus on contemporary American culture. His 1984 book Imaginary Social Worlds has been a major influence on my scholarly work, and I learned from him ethnographic methods that provide a gateway into my informants’ inner worlds. Much of my scholarship has in the past focused on advertising, as it is the one form of modern communication that has clear intent to sell or at the very least influence the consumer. If those years of research taught me one thing, it was not to take what we see before us—what’s on the surface—for granted. The real work is below the surface, and getting there is no easy chore. There is great resistance, as there should be,
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