Chapter
1
Introduction
Huge
posters, ecstatic faces, loud screams --- all of these present in a
celebrity-fan gathering. In a country where everything is a hype, from the
latest fashion to the presidency, celebrities and fans are a common sight.
They always go together. A person cannot be called a celebrity if he has no following and of course, there won't be fans if there is no celebrity. Jenson (1992, 10) said that, "The fan is understood to be, at least implicitly, a result of a celebrity - the fan is defined as a response to the star system".
They always go together. A person cannot be called a celebrity if he has no following and of course, there won't be fans if there is no celebrity. Jenson (1992, 10) said that, "The fan is understood to be, at least implicitly, a result of a celebrity - the fan is defined as a response to the star system".
Celebrities
in the 21st century may be considered a celebrity in a lot of ways. They may be
"extraordinary or they are 'just like us'; they deserve their success or
they 'just got lucky'; they are objects of desire and emulation or they are
provocations for derision and contempt; they are genuine, down-to-earth people
or they are complete phonies" (Turner, 2004).
Celebrities come in many forms. They could be from the tri-media: television, radio and the newspaper. These include performers, newscasters, anchors, disc jockeys, producers, directors, even reporters. Some, as Turner mentioned, are extraordinary and some 'just like us'. The Reality TV shows for one, is a breeding ground of people 'just like us' in becoming celebrities. The Kimerald1 and the Melason2 phenomena have captured the whole nation during and after Kim Chui and Gerald Anderson's and Melai and Jason's stay at the Big Brother House as part of the Pinoy Big Brother3 (Teen Edition) and Pinoy Big Brother (Double Up Edition) shows, respectively.
Ordinary folks who became celebrities were Efren Penaflorida4, declared CNN Hero of the Year in 2009 and Charice Pempengco5, a now world-renowned singer, discovered via another medium which is the Internet, specifically YouTube.com6.
Celebrities come in many forms. They could be from the tri-media: television, radio and the newspaper. These include performers, newscasters, anchors, disc jockeys, producers, directors, even reporters. Some, as Turner mentioned, are extraordinary and some 'just like us'. The Reality TV shows for one, is a breeding ground of people 'just like us' in becoming celebrities. The Kimerald1 and the Melason2 phenomena have captured the whole nation during and after Kim Chui and Gerald Anderson's and Melai and Jason's stay at the Big Brother House as part of the Pinoy Big Brother3 (Teen Edition) and Pinoy Big Brother (Double Up Edition) shows, respectively.
Ordinary folks who became celebrities were Efren Penaflorida4, declared CNN Hero of the Year in 2009 and Charice Pempengco5, a now world-renowned singer, discovered via another medium which is the Internet, specifically YouTube.com6.
