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answers to questions regarding all the readings for this course...

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Words 150 Portfolio 1. Celebrity Culture Is Burning 2. Amanda Hess 3. Publication information a. Online newspaper article b. Not relevant c. Not relevant d. No page numbers 4. The research question being posed throughout the article is not clearly stated and is somewhat undefined. However, after reading the article, the question, “how are the masses reacting to celebrities and their attempts to remain relatable during the Covid-19 pandemic?” seems to be the most sensible inquiry that the article strives to answer. 5. The main message of the article is that despite concerted efforts of the rich and famous to utilize their platforms to raise awareness, or ensure the public that “we are all in this together” during the pandemic, the message comes off as crude and hypocritical as it is sourced from those who truly have no experience with the struggles the virus has brought to the majority of the population. Ultimately the message being communicated through celebrities’ “relatable and compassionate antics” is not being well received by the masses and only serves as subpar entertainment. 6. The supporting points showcased in the article are that celebrities expressing their stay home struggles in their luxurious homes invited a negative response, wealthy celebrities appealing to the less financially fortnuate public to donate to aid workers sparked angry criticism, and the skewed understanding of celebrities that what the population needs during this stressful time is trivial content has received heavy ridicule. 7. Descriptions, images, and videos of different celebrity posts during the Covid-19 pandemic are all pieces of evidence used in the article. 8. Hess conducts research in the form of celebrity social media posts and the public’s reactions to them during the Covid-19 pandemic. Other than addressing the posts directly in detail, the article does not discuss how and why the pieces of evidence were selected. 9. Due to the audience the article is directed at, Hess wrote this piece in a more informal way. Comedy is integrated into the article and the language, while clear and descriptive, is not extensively formal. The structure is separated into paragraphs which adds some formality but otherwise the article holds a more casual aesthetic.

10. The intended audience is most likely individuals who are social media users that may follow the online presence of celebrities for entertainment purposes and are somewhat educated in popular culture. I believe those who do not concern themselves with what celebrities are doing on the web would not find interest in how their presence is being received. In addition, the use of inclusive pronouns suggests that the article is catered towards individuals who see themselves as the audience for celebrities, and a part of the masses, not the elite. 11. Being an adolescent that spends much of her time on social media and has seen the evidence posed in the article first hand, there was nothing in the piece that confused me. 12. I think the article reads a little too deeply into some aspects of the celebrity posts. Including a dissection on the potential meanings behind Britney Spears’ choice to add three red rose emoticons to wrap up her caption on an instagram post seems to be going overboard, as though Spears slaved over the clues she could drop that reflect her thoughts through corresponding emoticons. 13. The primary research in the article are all the celebrity posts and the following reactions to them that Amanda Hess conducted and observed herself. Hess did not use secondary research to support her points as her evidence was able to cement her points clearly. 14. The research is qualitative as it dives into the nuanced reactions of the masses towards online celebrity presence and no quantitative data is integrated into the article. 15. Hess uses the several different celebrity posts as evidence to solidify her claims regarding the negative feedback they are receiving. Because of the direct relationship between an individual post and the response it commands, the ratio stands at around equal parts reporting and interpreting the findings. 16. Hess seems to position herself as a celebrity observer and as a part of the public who shares the negative view of how celebrities have been comporting themselves during this time. The use of inclusive pronouns and active sentences demonstrates this as well as the section of the article where she describes her own experiences, in first person, of viewing celebrities lounge in their expensive homes while voicing their quarantine struggles, and the distaste she felt towards it. 17. Yes I believe this is a reliable academic source one could probe for information on the given subject. The author, Amanda Hess, specializes in writing about internet and pop culture and has her work displayed in the New York Times often. Her writing credentials are extensive as she has been employed at many different businesses that share reliable information, and she has even won an award for her work discussing the online harassment of women. In addition, the New York Times is a credible

source and all of the evidence used within the article can be discovered on the internet and is properly described and interpreted. Exercise 1 In Amanda Hess’s piece “Celebrity Culture Is Burning”, different segments of evidence denote the intended audience of the article. Throughout the article, Hess utilizes formal elements such as a compact length, and multiple spaced out paragraphs in order to appeal to an audience that generally does not read extensive pieces of literature and may perhaps find writing of that caliber to be intimidating. This accompanied by the lack of academic references suggests that the intended viewers of the article are those who typically do not expect these kinds of references and are most likely reading the piece for personal enjoyment. In addition, the topic of discussion within the article being celebrities, their behaviour during the pandemic, and how that behaviour is being received by the public also invites a certain category of spectators. The usage of inclusive pronouns and celebrity social media posts as supporting evidence alongside the subject matter caters to people who have some knowledge in popular culture and are likely avid social media users. Ultimately Hess is able to create a piece of writing that engages the audience she hopes to reach.

1. Approaching Celebrity Studies 2. Graeme Turner 3. Publication information a. Journal article b. Celebrity Studies c. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group d. 11-20 (10 pages) 4. Where is the domain of celebrity studies lacking and how can it be improved upon? The research question of the article is not clearly stated, however, Turner describes the current terrain of celebrity studies and throughout the article, elaborates on which direction he believes the discipline should head towards and why it would be beneficial. Turner ultimately concludes that the field of celebrity studies should broaden its horizons and explore the production and consumption of celebrity in order to create a more complete and well-rounded discipline.

5. Celebrity studies should widen its barriers and address the production and consumption of celebrity as a commodity using various methodologies in addition to how celebrity influences social and cultural aspects. 6. In order to demonstrate how celebrity studies are lacking, Turner begins by criticizing how celebrity studies, so far, do not carry much depth or variety in regards to written information and research on celebrity, and mentions that the little information exists tends to be very similar in topics and in their discursive nature (Turner 14). He then states that unfortunately, scholars in this field tend to overly focus on celebrity as a genre of representation, and should pay more attention to the other definitions of celebrity such as a cultural formation, a commodity, and a discursive effect (Turner 13-14). Another way that Turner mentions how celebrity studies are lacking is in its use of methodologies to collect information (Turner 14-15). He argues that the overuse of textual analysis poses the issue that the broad subject of cultural studies requires a more comprehensive approach that utilizes multiple methodologies. 7. Secondary research is used to support the points being made by Turner. For example, Turner mentions the credible critique posed by Jim McGuigan, James Curran, and others to support his own similar critique of the lack of assorted methodologies used in celebrity studies (Turner 15). 8. Turner does not discuss the methodology he used when creating his article, however, the information present is an indicator of it. In order to collect the necessary information about the current condition of celebrity studies that highlights where improvement can be made, Turner conducted lots of secondary data analysis by observing secondary research and thus performed archival study. 9. Turner uses formal academic diction and spaces his paragraphs appropriately. He also addresses various credible secondary sources and includes formal article structures like the abstract and conclusion. 10. Based on Turner’s subject position, his audience is most likely scholars and other academics that are invested, or at least interested in the field of celebrity studies. Turner is essentially discussing the current terrain of the discipline and the problems within it, a topic that appeals to those who are educated or involved in the subject. The length and formal nature of the article also indicates that the intended audience are those who are accustomed to this variety of literature. 11. The words discursive was used often in the article and was a little confusing to me at first. I now understand it is an adjective to describe things in relation to discourse, and is implemented in celebrity studies to detail how when individuals are commodified as celebrities it changes the way they are spoken about and addressed. 12. I think this is a very useful article that clearly outlines the steps that can and should be taken in order to strengthen celebrity studies for the future. Turner essentially generated a blueprint for those in the field to execute for the benefit of their careers

and the discipline. This article probably opened up a world of opportunities for new research papers in the field. 13. Turner makes educated observations about where celebrity studies are lacking and how they can be bettered. This is the primary research he conducts as opposed to the various scholarly articles he addresses throughout the article to strengthen his claims that serve as secondary research. 14. Turner uses qualitative data as he reports descriptive observations about the topic at hand and does not introduce any quantitative numerical data. 15. I think the ratio is around 2:1 where Turner interprets his findings and discusses them in an opinionated manner in more detail than he when he is simply reporting the findings. 16. Turner includes qualifiers like “I think” and “I do not see” alongside statements voiced in first person in order to more delicately establish the main message of the article that essentially describes the current landscape of celebrity studies as inadequate and in need of improvement. Furthermore, Turner uses active sentences and inclusive pronouns throughout the article to make the article more digestible. Ultimately Turner positions himself as an individual that is well- immersed in the field of celebrity studies through the extensive knowledge he possesses and discusses in the article. This allows him to make educated critiques regarding the current state of the domain in an unbiased manner as, he too, contributed to the arena of celebrity studies. 17. This is a credible source as the author, Graeme Turner, was a professor  of cultural studies and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Queensland. In addition, the article is a part of a broader journal that was published by a respectable and reputable publishing company. Exercise 2 Celebrity studies is not full of debates about how we might understand the celebrity commodity and there is only a slim academic literature which focuses upon the production, trade, marketing or political economy of the structures which manufacture this commodity. Nor is celebrity studies full of research into, as distinct from theorising about, the social function of the cultural formation of celebrity. None of these are easy topics and approaching them involves drawing upon a range of disciplines, knowledges and research methods; but they do seem to point towards profitable ways of developing new directions for celebrity studies in the future. (15) Turner argues that the future of celebrity studies may rely on eliminating the gaps of knowledge regarding the celebrity commodity and the social impacts celebrities have as living representations of contemporary

culture by conducting extensive work on the multiple disciplines and research methods that contain this necessary information (Turner 15). He elaborates on these gaps of knowledge stating that “there is only a slim academic literature which focuses upon the production, trade, marketing or political economy of the structures which manufacture this commodity… [and] the social function of the cultural formation of celebrity” (Turner 15). Ultimately the struggle to collect this information as expressed by Turner is because it can only be found by sifting through many different domains of knowledge and research methods (Turner 15).

1. ‘A trust betrayed’: celebrity and the work of emotion 2. Heather Nunn and Anita Biressi 3. Publication information a. Journal article b. Celebrity studies c. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group d. 49-64 4. How do celebrities strategically employ emotion work in light of scandal to repair their reputations and ultimately salvage the relationship with their fans that sustains their celebrity status and social success? This research question is not clearly stated, and it is instead implied as the authors thoroughly discuss the different tactics celebrities use to engage in image rehabilitating emotion work in relation to how they were received by the public, whilst applying real examples of this behaviour to analyze the motives behind emotion work dense celebrity performances. 5. Celebrities must constantly implement emotion work in the form of various affective performances in order to maintain their celebrity status, a loyal following, and thus socially accepted success. 6. In order to express how celebrities utilize emotion work Nunn and Biressi first establish the specific settings in which the performative tactics are predominantly found, and the motives for executing said emotion work. They provide the examples of “Reality television, the ghosted autobiography and the one-to-one interview” (Nunn and Biressi 50) as effective vehicles for divulging a heart-wrenching, intimate life story in a vulnerable manner to exchange for the “continuation of the relationship between the celebrity and his/her followers”(Nunn and Biressi 50). These articulations of dysfunctional struggles celebrities have undergone, as mentioned in the article, often communicates that despite their troubles, they were able to achieve social success and paints this illusive plausibility to the public. Additionally Nunn and Biressi argue that the therapeutic narrative exercised by

celebrities is commonly manipulated to demonstrate a self-rehabilitative intention, especially following a scandal that ignited public outrage (Nunn and Biressi 53). Finally, the authors unpack the mechanics of the contemporary publicised apology as a powerfully transparent performance that in essence, conveys a tone of confession and a personally transformative oath to rehabilitate and avoid future misdemeanors (Nunn and Biressi 59-61). Apologies of this sort in comparison to the overly formal apologies of the past that consisted of inadequate emotional performances make use of much more emotion work, thus reflecting the affective importance in celebrity culture today (Nunn and Biressi 61). Ultimately Nunn and Biressi emphasize throughout the entire article that “it will be the public figures who best understand the emotional dimensions of the public realm and its communicative rules who will most effectively connect with their publics”(Nunn and Biressi 62). 7. Various extensive examples are used as evidence to support Nunn and Biressi’s ideas such as the lengthy celebrity experience of Jade Goody, the emotion work performed in chat-shows, reality TV, and other media. 8. The methodology Nunn and Biressi use to collect data is archival study and secondary data analysis. Both real life examples and other scholarly works are integrated into the article to cement the ideas that were posed. Furthermore, Nunn and Biressi did not address the methodologies they use or why they are used. 9. The article contains many elements to constitute it as a formal piece of writing, such as academic diction, proper paragraph structure, the use of credible secondary research, well executed general organization, and a consistent citation style. However, while the article contained an abstract, it did not contain a conclusion. 10. The format of the article, the length, and the formality of it may indicate that the intended audience is most likely individuals who are more academically involved and are not intimidated by work of this nature. The in depth examples provided regarding media and celebrities in relation to emotions labour and sociological approaches also appeals to an audience that shares interest in the field of celebrity studies, cultural studies, media studies, or sociology. 11. The term “emotion work” with regard to authenticity was a little confusing to me as I was under the impression, at first, that emotion work involved a performance that did not reflect one's genuine emotional response. After watching Professor Connolly’s lecture and re-reading the beginning of the article I came to understand that emotion work insinuates the effort applied to alter one's initial emotional response to a circumstance in a way that results in an equally authentic  cultivated response. 12. After reading this article I now use the term emotion work and contemplate its commonality in my daily life. I find myself consciously pondering whether or not my

initial response to something could use a tad of emotion work to better the outcome of the situation, and have even asked my boss (restaurant owner) about the emotion work he implements in order to keep a healthy relationship between himself, his staff, and his customers. 13. Nunn and Biressi conducted primary research by collecting a large sum of relevant examples that amplify the points they make about celebrities employing emotion work on a regular basis. The accumulation of these quality examples and the observations of the evidence they represent are the ways Nunn and Biressi utilized primary research in contrast to their usage of credible articles that function as secondary research. 14. The lack of numerical data within the article indicates qualitative research. Furthermore, Nunn and Biressi make qualitative observations based on the selected examples of celebrity performative behaviour to voice how the events that occurred reflected emotion work that served the purpose of image reconstruction. 15. The ratio between reporting findings and interpreting the findings is about 2:1 where the descriptions of the findings occupy the majority of the article. This is due to the extensive use of telling examples that must be elaborated upon in detail to maximize their relevance in light of the topic. Findings such as the lengthy celebrity experience of Jade Goody and the emotional scenes within British landmark series Face to Face were thoroughly unraveled to provide a basis for Nunn and Biressi’s prime interpretations and foreground their ideas. 16. Nunn and Biressi rarely use inclusive pronouns throughout the article and make their arguments in a more impersonal manner. 17. Yes this is a credible source considering both authors, Heather Nunn and Anita Biressi, were respected professors at the University of Roehampton and have written many ...