The Aristocratic Fame of Britney Spears (pt. 3)

Sociology of Culture Project in response to Joshua Gamson's Assembly Line of Greatness. Gamson argued that there are two models of fame, two claims-to-fame stories, which have been historically in tension: aristocratic fame and democratic fame. The former relies on the notion that those who are famous achieved this status strictly through their own merit. The latter refers to the understanding of fame as accessible to all, and not as a meritocratic, elitist privilege. Gamson argued that the tension between the two models of fame is characteristic of modern discourse regarding fame. He investigated texts on the topic of fame to see how this tension has shifted over time, from the early nineteenth century to current time. Ultimately, Gamson found that there has been a constant effort to preserve elements of the aristocratic model in public consciousness, despite evidence that it might not reflect reality . While I agreed with much of Gamsons argument, I identified several weaknesses in his article. One of them was an exclusion of audiences from the story. In this project I aimed to respond to Gamson by incorporating the audience into the story of fame. I show that texts regarding Britney Spears negotiate democratic and aristocratic elements of fame. I show that the narrative of struggle and self-help is consistent with Eva Ilouz's argument regarding the glamour of misery. Finally, I entertain possibilities of audience response to Britney's fame. Ultimately, I aim to show that the tools that are used to uncover the real, human Britney act to reinforce the innate, magnificent, aristocratic (to use Gamson's term) quality to her fame.

Note: Apparently the other two parts violate copyright law, so they are currently not able to be viewed. Sorry.

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People & Blogs

Tags:

• Britney
• Spears
• Fame
• Culture
• Cultural
• Studies
• Macalester
• College
• Eva
• Ilouz
• Joshua
• Gamson
• Reflection
• Theory
• Fans