“I’ll see you in Mystic Falls”: intimacy,feelings, and public issues in Ian Somerhalder’s celebrity activism

Critics of celebrity activism often assume that fans blindly follow celebrities who invite them to support celebrity activism and charity. These fans are often imagined as participating in celebrity activism only because their beloved celebrity asked them to — not out of any kind of rational understanding of a political issue, awareness of a public problem, or commitment to a public issue. We contest this view of celebrity activism. Drawing on scholars like Bennett, Ellcessor, and Chouliaraki, we argue that the case of Ian Somerhalder demonstrates that a commitment to a celebrity may actually be connected to a commitment to a public issue. We trace the ways in which Somerhalder plays with the slippage between television celebrity and his character, arguing that such slippage merges the intimacy fans feel for Damon with the intimacy fans feel for Somerhalder and imbues Somerhalder’s environmental appeals with the values his on-screen character comes to represent in The Vampire Diaries. We argue that Somerhalder deploys themes and ideals from The Vampire Diaries in his communication with fans and in his activist appeals. Ultimately, Somerhalder’s celebrity activism demonstrates how intimacy with celebrities might function to connect fans to public issues in powerful ways.     

新媒体传播下学术期刊知识网红学术运营可行性分析

新媒体传播环境下,学术期刊的学术运营面临诸多问题,迫切需要提升学术期刊的学术传播能力。随着网红经济的盛行,知识网红为学术期刊的学术运营提供了新的思路,通过对学术传播趋势分析,知识网红对学术期刊的学术传播方面具有引导性。研究发现,利用知识网红的传播优势,能够提升学术期刊学术品牌影响力,有助于提升学术期刊的学术水平,发挥知识网红在市场经营和科普传播中的优势,对提升学术期刊的学术运营与学术传播能力具有重要意义。     

高校名人档案开发利用策略探析

高校名人档案不仅是重要的档案信息资源,也是高校拥有的珍贵的文化财富。做好高校名人档案的开发利用工作,对高校学生、教职工、学校本身、档案部门及社会都有重要意义。文章建议从提升高校名人档案信息资源质量和创新高校名人档案开发利用途径(如丰富编研成果类型、利用社交媒体平台讲好高校名人故事、建立高校名人人文景观、加强高校名人研究)两个方面提出了优化高校名人档案开发利用的策略,以期提升高校名人档案开发利用效果,发挥其价值。     

Hitching wagons to stars: celebrity,metonymy, hegemony,and the case of Will Smith

Representations of celebrities operate as politically and culturally significant resources for the construction, regulation, and even contestation of hegemonic discourses about race and gender in the United States. Not simply meaningful or important to fans, star images may also provide resources to critics aiming to interrogate and intervene against potentially oppressive cultural norms. Forwarding an approach called metonymic criticism, this essay argues that the associative logic of metonymy plays a central role in both the articulation of celebrity personae and the operations of hegemonic discourse formations. The analysis develops by considering the case of a star whose public image has unique probative value for studying the intersecting discourses of race and gender in US culture: Will Smith.     

新媒体语境下明星形象的“自塑”与“他塑”

技术理性日益改变人们的生活方式,新媒介的出现也给话语的生成带来颠覆性变化。明星作为公众人物本身就具有强大的社会属性,他们集聚了多重的目光,网络社会给明星带去更为复杂的表演"舞台"。近年来,明星人设崩塌的现象比比皆是,并且通过网络传播形成了恶劣社会影响,这进一步让我们思考明星形象在构建时面临的困境。文章通过探讨明星主体自我塑造的方式来证明其商品化的本质,指出网络环境已然对其形成了"全景监狱"式的监控;明星游荡在"自我"和"他者"间的焦虑引发了畸形的社会认知模式,文章由此强调了当下明星承担社会责任的必要性。     

Becoming Extra-Textual: Celebrity Discourse and Paul Robeson's Political Transformation

During the 1930s, news media constructed celebrities as individuals whose public lives naturally reflected (or expressed) their private lives. Paul Robeson, however, offered an intriguing challenge to such seamlessness, foreshadowing contemporary evocations of celebrity that highlight the fabricated nature of public personas. I posit that during the 1930s, the discursive formations of scandal and movie stardom challenged celebrity seamlessness by constructing Paul Robeson as a site of extra-textuality: Paul Robeson “the artist” became detached from Paul Robeson “the man.” Although mired in essentialism, Robeson's extra-textuality was crucial to his activism, for it ultimately created the space from which he voiced his most impassioned political polemics. Thus both regressive and liberatory, the discourses of scandal and movie stardom mediated Paul Robeson's transition from spiritual-singing aesthete to outspoken political activist.     

How do fans purposively create information to promote a celebrity? An analysis of fans' information practices and literacy improvement

Fans purposively creating information aiming specifically to inform the public positively about a celebrity has become a significant practice within contemporary Chinese fan culture. “Celebrity promotion” information creation offers an important opportunity to understand how people intentionally create information beyond internal user groups and existing information needs. Based on unobtrusive observation and semi-structured interviews, findings show that fans create positive online content and conduct offline advertisements to boost a celebrity's specific works, reputation, and fan base. Fans also intentionally develop strategies and improve their information literacy to make informational materials more visible and appealing, while critically separating “celebrity promotion” from enjoyment-centered fandom activities. As fans adapt to the current information environment, the intentionality of their practices stems from beliefs that 1) they are the actor(s)’ shareholders/partners and 2) by creating “promotion” information, fans can achieve their goal of helping the actor(s).     

中医药名人档案在高校德育教育中的实践研究——以何世英档案为例

首先对中医药名人档案的内涵进行剖析,然后对中医药名人在教学中具有的学术传承、品德教化、治学榜样、交流宣传等四项功能进行研究,最后提出需要加强中医药名人档案的收集,做好名人档案馆的展示,以名人档案资料为模板,打造特色校园文化等措施,加强对名人档案的开发利用,更好地为德育教育服务。     

Online Celebrity Bashing: Wrecking Ball or Good for You? Adolescent Girls’ Attitudes Toward the Media and Public Bashing of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez

Journalists and readers of celebrity news regularly bash celebrities online, a behavior that is easily accepted among adolescents. This study investigates whether these attitudes of acceptance differ according to the perpetrator of the bashing (media versus public) and the likeability of the involved celebrity (liked versus disliked). Using a vignette study, we examine adolescent girls’ attitudes toward media (journalists’) and public (readers’) bashing of a generally disliked celebrity (Miley Cyrus) and a generally liked celebrity (Selena Gomez). All participants read an identical negative news story (media bashing) and two related negative reader comments (public bashing). Participants were randomly assigned to read this information about either Miley Cyrus or Selena Gomez. Results of a mixed-design ANOVA showed that the girls had less negative attitudes toward media bashing compared with public bashing. Moreover, they more easily accepted the bashing of a disliked celebrity than the bashing of a liked celebrity.     

真人秀节目中的“虐星”现象及其治理

真人秀节目靠明星的加持以期获得收视率的保障,竞技类真人秀遍地开花,却离不开"虐星"的桎梏。在受众需求的驱动下,明星与节目构成双向需求关系。明星自身价值透支,观众审美素养形成茧房,与行业恶性竞争的循环对社会带来灾难。真人秀避免其不良倾向,需形成行业审美与责任感兼具、观众绿色娱乐、政府完善细则三位一体的格局,促进行业良性发展,在同质化竞争中开辟新的道路。     

For the Public Good or Just Good Publicity? Celebrity Diplomacy and the Ethics of Representation

Celebrities in recent years have taken on a more active role in communicating global humanitarian crises to the American public. This role at times shifts between journalist, advocate, philanthropist, and personal publicist. This article evaluates how three of the most well-known celebrities in this genre in the United States—Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Bono—differ in their method of speaking about these issues, focusing on how their public discourse adds to, or detracts from, citizens' abilities to understand, discuss, and respond to the issues presented in the public sphere. Through critical discourse analysis, similarities and differences are teased out and placed within the context of previous research on celebrity diplomacy and humanitarian crises, in order to evaluate the usefulness of such performances for the U.S. public as democratic citizens and for the victims of foreign suffering the celebrities purport to represent.     

Does culture influence how consumers process negative celebrity information? Impact of culture in evaluation of negative celebrity information

This study investigates the relationship between cultural orientation (individualistic or collectivistic culture) and consumers' attribution styles (dispositional and situational attributions) as well as the consequences of attribution styles on brand evaluation and purchase intention. The study also examines how people perceive different types of negative celebrity information (self-oriented and other-oriented negative information) and how their identification with a celebrity endorser affects their response to negative information. The findings suggest that culture influences how consumers – having been exposed to negative celebrity information – make attributions. Dispositional attributions lead to more negative brand evaluation as well as to negative purchase intention. Other-oriented negative information leads to, among Korean consumers, more negative brand evaluation. Finally, the study found that consumers highly identified with a celebrity endorser are less likely to be influenced by negative celebrity information.     

Identification as a mediator of celebrity effects

Considerable research has been devoted to the effects of celebrity endorsers on consumer behavior. Most of the research has examined credibility or attractiveness as a determinant of message effectiveness, A review of Burke, Kelman, and Bandura's theories suggests that there may be another critical factor underlying celebrity effects — identification. A review of previous research results suggests that identification may be a viable explanation for the effectiveness of celebrity endorsers. A test of the identification effect was probed by examining people's personal concern, perceived risk, and sexual behaviors a year after Magic Johnson's announcement that he tested positive for HIV. The results of this study indicate that identification mediates message effects. This finding has important implications for media campaigns. It suggests that a spokesperson with whom the audience identifies insures the greatest likelihood of achieving lasting attitude or behavior change.     

Influence of TV endorser types on advertising attitudes and purchase intention among Indian rural women: an exploratory study

India has a growing rural consumer base that has been largely ignored by advertisers. Today, Indian rural consumers, especially women, are increasingly literate, brand savvy, and possess rising disposable incomes. Considering the nation's love for films and the availability of television broadcasting, celebrity endorsement has become one of the most popular strategies used by advertisers in India. However, its impact on rural consumers has yet to be tested. Using self-categorization as the theoretical framework, the current study examined the influence of endorser types (national celebrity, regional celebrity, and noncelebrity) on advertising attitudes and purchase intention of Indian rural women. In addition, the authors also analyzed the impact of the three dimensions of source credibility. A sample of rural women (N = 167) from the Kudumbashree mission, one of the largest woman empowerment projects in the country, was recruited for the experiment. Findings showed that noncelebrity endorsers were most effective and that trustworthiness was valued more than expertise and attractiveness. Implications for advertisers are discussed.     

Effects of Celebrity Media Exposure on Box-Office Performance

This article examines the relation between box-office performance and celebrity media exposure, as measured by appearances in the celebrity magazine, People. This study employs variables that capture different time periods to test whether People magazine appearances were merely part of a general promotional effort by a studio or whether appearances reflected the popular appeal of the actor. The results indicate that promotional appearances do not significantly affect box-office revenues. In fact, it is the star's popular appeal reflected in appearances prior to the promotional push that significantly affect box-office success.     

Notes on Contributors

The study reported herein aimed to identify and discuss the nature and pattern of the uses of new media through a notable YouTube phenomenon. It analyzed 132 online videos centered on ‘Bus Uncle,’ a YouTube celebrity who rose into fame in Hong Kong during April 2006. Most of the videos drew references from local popular culture texts. They were mostly playful and sarcastic in their undertones. The collective behaviors in YouTube suggest that this hugely popular video-sharing site takes on the roles as public space, a playground and a cultural public sphere.     

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Celebrity Media Diet and the Cultivation of Emerging Adults’ Materialism

The present study used cultivation theory to explore the relationships between celebrity media diet and materialism for a sample of 224 emerging adults. Results indicated main effects between both celebrity magazine consumption and celebrity TV news consumption on materialism. Total celebrity media diet was also significantly related to materialism. Findings suggest that a media diet high in celebrity culture and lifestyle has significant impact on emerging adults’ preoccupation with consumerism, particularly for women. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on the effects of a celebrity-saturated media environment and the cultivation of materialistic attitudes.     

The presence of academic health sciences libraries on Facebook: the relationship between content and library popularity

Social networks such as Facebook allow libraries to be proactive in reaching their users. While some libraries have popular Facebook pages, it remains unclear what attracts users to these pages. This study evaluates relationships between libraries' Facebook page content and popularity. An analysis of 72 academic health sciences libraries' Facebook pages showed positive correlations between number of library fans and number of tabs, photos, events, and wall posts on Facebook. Libraries posting videos had significantly more fans than libraries without them. This study contributes to an understanding of correlations between content and popularity on Facebook, with implications for library outreach.     

The Presence of Academic Health Sciences Libraries on Facebook: The Relationship Between Content and Library Popularity

Social networks such as Facebook allow libraries to be proactive in reaching their users. While some libraries have popular Facebook pages, it remains unclear what attracts users to these pages. This study evaluates relationships between libraries’ Facebook page content and popularity. An analysis of 72 academic health sciences libraries’ Facebook pages showed positive correlations between number of library fans and number of tabs, photos, events, and wall posts on Facebook. Libraries posting videos had significantly more fans than libraries without them. This study contributes to an understanding of correlations between content and popularity on Facebook, with implications for library outreach.