Introduction

Abstract

In this book I analyse stardom and celebrity, in its Western manifestations, as expressions of the anthropology of capitalism. By this latter term I mean more than the economic aspects of stardom as a system of inequality, but a cultural institution or form of life that justifies high reward. As Marx famously observed, a commodity appears as a natural thing to those living within a capitalist culture. But upon examination it abounds with ‘metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties’, promoting the perception, exemplified by the money form, that commodities are intrinsically valuable rather than valuable because they are the products of collective labour (Marx, 1867/1976: 163ff). What stardom and celebrity share is the perception that fame is a result of individual ‘natural’ qualities that come from outside the collective labour of media production. The different ways in which stardom and celebrity promote this perception is also part of the matter to be analysed.