Publicising private lives: celebrities, image control and the reconfiguration of public space

Author: McNamara, Kim

Source: Social & Cultural Geography, Volume 10, Number 1, February 2009 , pp. 9-23(15)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

The nature of contemporary celebrity demands the negotiation of publicness and privacy. Given the increasingly intrusive presence of the paparazzi, entertainment media, and fans (from obsessed 'stalkers' to well-wishers), celebrities need to regulate but also publicise their 'front stage' public persona. While this is usually achieved with a degree of comfort, at certain times their space is threatened. Through a case study of the 2003 court case concerning unsolicited photographs of the wedding of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, published in Hello! magazine, this paper examines the policing, staging and legislative defence of celebrity privacy. It is suggested that celebrities' role in public is compromised by their extreme recognisability.

Keywords: celebrity; publicity; privacy; publicness; paparazzi

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14649360802553178

Affiliations: 1: Urban Research Centre, University of Western Sydney, Parramatta, NSW, Australia

Publication date: 2009-02-01

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