Page 209 - CULTURE IN THE COMMUNICATION AGE

STEPHEN HINERMAN

Although stars form the basis of probably the larger part of everyday
discussion of films, and although the majority of film books produced
are fan material of one kind or another, very little in the way of sus-
tained work has been done in the area. No work, that is, elaborates
some kind of theory of the phenomenon and uses this theory to
inform empirical investigation of it.
(Dyer 1979: 1)

While some theorists, including Dyer himself (1986), have attempted just such
an elaboration in the meantime, none has sufficiently explained how identity,
time, and space play crucial roles in the ways celebrity works in modern
culture. That is the specific goal of this chapter. I will now provide a short
introduction that outlines concepts that are basic to a modernist approach to
time and space. Then I will illustrate how fame has changed in modernity in
response to changes in perceptions of time and space. Finally, I will examine in
some depth how stardom works together with modern communications tech-
nology in cultural production and consumption, and how these aspects of
celebrity adapt to alterations in time and space brought on by modernity.

Fame and renown in history
Recognizability and renown appear universally throughout history. Many of
the words that refer to stardom – fama, ambitio, celebritas – can be traced to the
Roman world. The ideas they describe go back even farther (Braudy 1986: 57).
From the beginning of time, some individuals have hoped to see their reputa-
tions live beyond their death. Historically, more renown has been granted
when such reputations transverse space and reach wide audiences. Investiga-
tions of fame, like Braudy’s The Frenzy of Renown (1986), comprehensively
illustrate how fame has always been caught up in the subtleties and nuances of
time and space. Braudy argues convincingly that stardom is anything but a
recent phenomenon.
For Braudy, fame represents an attempt by individuals to ‘last longer than
any specific action’ (1986: 15). This impulse, he believes, is fundamental to
human nature, as people have always been interested in leaving legacies that
don’t just reproduce, but transcend, their deeds. As Braudy observes, ‘In great
part the history of fame is the history of the changing ways by which indi-
viduals have sought to bring themselves to the attention of others and, not
incidentally, have thereby gained power over them’ (1986: 3).
Braudy believes that famous persons (the ‘renowned’) often model themselves
on previously famous individuals. Although media technologies have changed
the way fame is spread, and while the development of communication tech-
nology has increased the number of widely recognized and admired people, the
genesis of fame is quite uniform, whether the famous person is Alexander the
Great or Greta Garbo (Braudy 1986: 4). Apparently, a ‘will to power’ drives

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