Expanding celebrity studies’ research agenda: theoretical opportunities and methodological challenges in interviewing celebrities

Driessens, Olivier

doi:10.1080/19392397.2014.970653

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Much celebrity studies' research has relied on content and discourse analysis, resulting in analyses of sound bites rather than in-depth representations of celebrity agency (Driessens, 2014). Having done work in the areas of bullying and popular culture, after viewing Jennifer's season of the show, Steven (co-author) became interested in her portrayal on the show from a sociological perspective.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

They’re Not Mean Girls If They Are Adult Women: Reality Television’s Construction of Women’s Identity and Interpersonal Aggression

Downing

2017

Sociological Research Online

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Drawing on a first-hand account from co-author and participant in a recent season of a popular romance-based reality TV show, this study considers how such shows construct and reinforce stereotypes about women’s relational dynamics with men and other women. It is argued that through careful production and gender scripting, these typologies are situated within a hierarchy of women’s relational interaction that normalizes aggression and bullying among adult women, reframing the ‘mean girl’ from an undesirable role to one that is portrayed as a normal and empowering role for adult women, especially in service of the pursuit of a male partner. The implications of this transformation extend to other women who are portrayed as ‘the other’ and as a result often subordinately positioned in the relational hierarchy reflected on the show. Implications for future research on gender scripts in popular media, the social construction of women’s relational dynamics, and manifestations of covert and overt bullying in these dynamics are discussed.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

They’re Not Mean Girls If They Are Adult Women: Reality Television’s Construction of Women’s Identity and Interpersonal Aggression

Downing

2017

Sociological Research Online

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show abstract

“…Dominated by textual analysis (Turner, 2010), celebrity studies and research on celebrity and promotion is ripe with opportunities for additional methods of inquiry. Celebrity studies scholar, Oliver Driessens (2015: 192), advocates for the interview, a method that has ‘hardly been used’ to study celebrities. Driessens (2015) identifies several reasons why interviews are scarcely used in celebrity research.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Celebrity studies scholar, Oliver Driessens (2015: 192), advocates for the interview, a method that has ‘hardly been used’ to study celebrities. Driessens (2015) identifies several reasons why interviews are scarcely used in celebrity research. First, interviews require access to elite individuals, and celebrities and their publicists may be over-interviewed, as they are often inundated with interview requests from media outlets.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The man behind the woman: Publicity, celebrity public relations, and cultural intermediation

Ciszek

2020

Public Relations Inquiry

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Since the early 20th century, public relations has been implicated in the production and sustainment of celebrity. Celebrities rely on the work of publicists to strategically cast, produce, and place discourses within spheres of popular culture. Through an extended interview with Alan Nierob, publicist of transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, this article is an analysis of celebrity public relations as a site of cultural intermediation. Drawing on Bourdieu’s notions of habitus, capital, and fields, this article sheds light on the practice of celebrity public relations to understand how publicists leverage cultural and social capital to construct legitimacy for their clients. This study contributes to a broader sociological understanding of celebrity public relations and opens new avenues for research in considering how publicity might translate into broader socio-political impacts.

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“…An additional challenge was to handle and unpack the 'canned' answers of these often already 'over-interviewed' subjects (Driessens, 2015). It turned out rather soon that the candidates were quite used to critical questions about the whys and wherefores of their participation.…”

Section: Interviewing the Uit De Kast Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘These cameras are here for a reason’ – media coming out, symbolic power and the value of ‘participation’: behind the scenes of the Dutch reality programme Uit de Kast

Boross

Reijnders

2016

Media, Culture & Society

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This article addresses the increasing popularity of coming out as mediatized practice, by focusing on the example of the internationally successful Dutch television programme Uit de Kast ('Out of the Closet'). While the choice of coming out in front of the cameras is often received controversially both by the public and the protagonists' immediate environment, youngsters keep applying to participate in the programme. To understand the continuous appeal of this form of self-disclosure, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 participants from different seasons about their motivations, experiences and evaluations of taking part in the show. By following their journey into the world of media production, this article highlights the implications of media participation for the process of coming out, as related to questions of empowerment, visibility and agency, and ultimately, to the perceived symbolic value of (participating in) broadcast media in the new media age.

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Expanding celebrity studies’ research agenda: theoretical opportunities and methodological challenges in interviewing celebrities

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

They’re Not Mean Girls If They Are Adult Women: Reality Television’s Construction of Women’s Identity and Interpersonal Aggression

They’re Not Mean Girls If They Are Adult Women: Reality Television’s Construction of Women’s Identity and Interpersonal Aggression

The man behind the woman: Publicity, celebrity public relations, and cultural intermediation

‘These cameras are here for a reason’ – media coming out, symbolic power and the value of ‘participation’: behind the scenes of the Dutch reality programme Uit de Kast

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