- Cult of celebrity
The cult of celebrity is the widespread interest in arbitrarily famous individuals, or '
celebrities ', that became a prominent socialphenomenon in late 20th century Westernpopular culture .The public fascination with such celebrities, though not technically a
cult , leads to a level ofidolatry , hence the use of the religious term. Driven by constant publicity and exposure in magazines, newspapers and television, fame is an essential prerequisite for celebrity status, though the principal reason for such fame is often minor. Such "nonebrities ", aportmanteau describing thosefamous for being famous , are often first noticed asreality television contestants,pop singer s,actor s or societydebutante s.The cult of celebrity is often considered representative of the perceived attitudes towards deliberate
apathy ,trivia , anddumbing down in popular culture. It is associated with an increased focus on celebrity by the entertainment industry, including the growth of the reality television andtalent show genre.Gossip -oriented magazines such as "Heat" and "OK! " in the UK and "In Touch Weekly " and "National Enquirer " in the US, and television channels "E! " and "VH1 " focus almost entirely on promoting the cult of celebrity.While the cult of celebrity refers primarily to a perceived recent escalation of the phenomenon, the celebration of fame - and the subsequent attraction for some to become famous - is not new. An early example was in the Victorian era when an ambitious young country girl,
Lillie Langtry engineered her rise to prominence by having her portrait painted by notedartists then advertising her beauty on penny postcards sold aroundLondon .People held as cult of celebrity icons
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Paris Hilton
*Nicole Richie
*Jade Goody
*Chantelle Houghton
*Coleen McLoughlin
*Teddy Geiger See also
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*Celebrity culture
*Celebrity
*15 minutes of fame References
* [http://www.dispatch.co.za/1999/05/17/features/CELEBRIT.HTM Heroes, villains and the cult of celebrity in the 20th century]
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