The Evolution of Celebrated Criminality

Abstract

The rise of celebrated criminality through the culture industry and its subsequent dilution through the undermining of its dominant trend, criminal-celebrity, changed in response to shifting circumstances. Celebrated criminality has evolved in the face of being threatened as a governance form with the growth and dominance of its second and previously subsidiary trend of rogue celebrity (celebrities who become associated with or commit criminal or deviant acts). This trend has emerged to become the dominant trend, replacing criminal-celebrity, within celebrated criminality. This chapter investigates the rise and increasing dominance of the rogue celebrity within celebrated criminality as briefly outlined in Chapter 3. By using media coverage of rogue-celebrity stories it will be argued that rogue celebrity is aiding celebrated criminality to evolve and survive the undermining processes of the Foucauldian government of the culture of control. A rogue-celebrity conceptualization and exploration of stories within the public domain of the impact of wild behaviour upon celebrity careers, image and status will be used to illustrate why certain rogue celebrities fail to survive their association with criminality and deviance, while others appear to benefit from their actions. Additionally, the wider implications of rogue celebrity are analysed in relation to their treatment within the criminal justice system.