MEST 4: XMAS TASK 2

.*.*.Additional Reading.*.*.

• "The media don’t simply reflect , they provide the symbols, images, ideas and frames that constitute power itself – the dominant media create some of the forms by which power operates”

- By Bennett, Petter and Slater, Jerry and Wall, Peter (2006): The Essential Introduction. Oxen: Routledge

This quote illustrates that the mass media is an example of the hypodermic syringe that has the "power" to inject certain hegemonic ideologies through various different mediums into their audiences. This allows me to understand that the extent to which teenage girls are influenced by celebrities is through the various mediums they utilise to recieve information which reflects the dominant ideologies of celebrity culture.

• "Celebrities act to fulfill our own dreams of autonomy and dreams of intimacy."

- Lewis, A. Lisa (1992): Adoring Audience- Fan Culture and Popular Media. London: Routledge

We as the audienec desire to be like our most admired celebrities, hence the reason why we try to match up to them which forms an artificial relationship, which we presume to be true as we like to think that we have some sort of relationship with our ideal celebrities. This explains why many teenage girls go to such extents to match up to their ideal celebrities.

• "Marshall Mcluhan dubbed the mass media 'an extension of our senses', he meant that the sheer speed of contemporary media channels reflects the speed of our senses in face to face communication. The media rarely 'see' by accident and never without interest, although it is often known to 'cover its tracks' by allowing reportage and 'realise' to be casually confused with reality."
  

- By Bennett, Petter and Slater, Jerry and Wall, Peter (2006): The Essential Introduction. Oxen: Routledge

• "The media portrayal and construction of celebrities shape the way in which audience understand and make sense of the social world."

- Evans, Jessica and Hesmondhalgh, David (2005): Understanding Media: Inside Celebrity. Berkshire, England: Open University Press

From this quote I can gather that the audience perceive the social world to be constructed based upon the celebrities. The reason for this maybe that the media have overwhelmed the audiences of celebrity lifestyles, which makes the audience believe that it is the ideal or norm.

• "Also interesting is the reason for the extravagant value we attach to the lives of public figures whose actual accomplishments may be limited, but whose visibility is extensive."

- Cashmore, Ellis (2006): Celebrity/culture. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge

The actual value placed on celebrities is due to how much coverage they recieve in the media, which eventually leads to the consumers recieving more information about their personal lives. Also less stress is placed upon what their real accomplishments are or what they really are famous for, instead the more visible they are in the media makes them more famous.

• " The celebrity is a voice above others, a voice that is channeled into the media systems as being legitimately significant."
• “The greatness of the celebrity is something that can shared and, in essence, celebrated loudly and with a touch of vulgar pride. It is the ideal representation of the triumph of the masses.”

- Marshall, P. David (1997): Celebrity and Power: Fame in contemporary culture. Minneapolis, USA: university of Minnesota Press