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Dead Celebrities, Living Icons: Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar
This in-depth series of literary portraits studies celebrities who died in famous and tragic ways―ways that still resonate as archetypal death scenarios in present day.
We know their likes and dislikes, admire their talents, envy them for daring to be what we can't or what we won't. When they are snatched from us, we feel a personal loss and an unwillingness to let go. And so we transform these mere human beings into icons whose stars often shine in death even more brilliantly than in life.
Dead Celebrities, Living Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar explores this phenomenon through a series of essays on 14 men and women who are, arguably, the most famous people of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book covers the epoch of the celebrity beginning in the 1930s with Howard Hughes and Walt Disney and continues to the present day with the life and death of Michael Jackson. Far more than just a collection of biographies, Dead Celebrities, Living Icons documents the philosophical importance and significance of the contemporary cult of the celebrity and analyzes the tragic consequences of a human life lived in the glare of the media spotlight.
We know their likes and dislikes, admire their talents, envy them for daring to be what we can't or what we won't. When they are snatched from us, we feel a personal loss and an unwillingness to let go. And so we transform these mere human beings into icons whose stars often shine in death even more brilliantly than in life.
Dead Celebrities, Living Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar explores this phenomenon through a series of essays on 14 men and women who are, arguably, the most famous people of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book covers the epoch of the celebrity beginning in the 1930s with Howard Hughes and Walt Disney and continues to the present day with the life and death of Michael Jackson. Far more than just a collection of biographies, Dead Celebrities, Living Icons documents the philosophical importance and significance of the contemporary cult of the celebrity and analyzes the tragic consequences of a human life lived in the glare of the media spotlight.
- GenresPhilosophy
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2010
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About the author
John David Ebert
39 books61 followersJohn David Ebert is a cultural critic and the author of 26 books. He has a series of videos and audio albums on various philosophers posted on YouTube, Google Play and two websites: cinemadiscourse.com and cultural-discourse.com.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 26, 2019
A unique exploration into the phenomenon of celebrity. Ebert maps out the cartography of the electric world and illuminates the destabilising effects that accelerating your image to light speed has upon the psyche. A good read for anyone looking to understand a process that has been democratised in our contemporary age.
August 12, 2016
كيف يتحول الانسان إلى صورة؟ وكيف يعبد الناس ويصبحون مهووسون بهذه الصورة؟ مشاهير كثير يموتون وينسون، لكن هناك منهم من يزدادون شهرة بعد موتهم، ما هي الأسباب التي دعت لتحوله إلى الأسطورة التي لا تموت.
هذه بعض الأسئلة التي يطرحها الكاتب (والفلوقر على اليوتوب)
يتناول أعتقد عشر من الأساطير الأموات:
والت ديزني
مارلين مونرو
إلفيس بريسلي
كينيدي
الأميرة ديانا
مايكل جاكسون
هيث ليدجر
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews