Su Holmes – författare

The study of audience relations with star / celebrity culture has often been marginalised in Star/Celebrity Studies. This book brings together new research which explores a range of audience encounters with celebrities, moving across social media, royal weddings, national identity to questions of age, gender and class. In doing so, the essays illuminate the complex and negotiated nature of audience investments in celebrity culture, collectively questioning the often simplistic and dismissive judgements that are made about audience/ celebrity relationships in this regard. The book provides a dedicated space to showcase a range of current work in the field, seeking to both consolidate and stimulate what is a vibrant and crucial aspect of studying celebrity culture.

'Popular Factual Programming' has rapidly come to occupy a place at the forefront of contemporary television culture on an international scale. Tracing the history of reality TV from Candid Camera to The Osbournes, Understanding Reality Television examines a range of programmes which claim to depict 'real life', from reality formatted game shows to 'real crime' programming and make-over TV. Contributors discuss the phenonenon of reality TV in the context of the debates it has introduced to our social, cultural and televisual agendas, such as the construction of celebrity, fandom, surveillance and the politics of representation.

'Popular Factual Programming' has rapidly come to occupy a place at the forefront of contemporary television culture on an international scale. Tracing the history of reality TV from Candid Camera to The Osbournes, Understanding Reality Television examines a range of programmes which claim to depict 'real life', from reality formatted game shows to 'real crime' programming and make-over TV. Contributors discuss the phenonenon of reality TV in the context of the debates it has introduced to our social, cultural and televisual agendas, such as the construction of celebrity, fandom, surveillance and the politics of representation.

Celebrity culture has a pervasive presence in our everyday lives – perhaps more so than ever before. It shapes not simply the production and consumption of media content but also the social values through which we experience the world. This collection analyses this phenomenon, bringing together essays which explore celebrity across a range of media, cultural and political contexts. The authors investigate topics such as the intimacy of fame, political celebrity, stardom in American ‘quality’ television (Sarah Jessica Parker), celebrity 'reality' TV (I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!), the circulation of the porn star, the gallery film (David/David Beckham), the concept of cartoon celebrity (The Simpsons), fandom and celebrity (k.d. lang, *NSYNC), celebrity in the tabloid press, celebrity magazines (heat, Celebrity Skins), the fame of the serial killer and narratives of mental illness in celebrity culture. The collection is organized into four themed sections: Fame Now broadly examines the contemporary contours of fame as they course through new media sites (such as 'reality' TV and the internet) and different social, cultural and political spaces. Fame Body attempts to situate the star or celebrity body at the centre of the production, circulation and consumption of contemporary fame. Fame Simulation considers the increasingly strained relationship between celebrity and artifice and ‘authenticity’. Fame Damage looks at the way the representation of fame is bound up with auto-destructive tendencies or dissolution.

Celebrity culture has a pervasive presence in our everyday lives – perhaps more so than ever before. It shapes not simply the production and consumption of media content but also the social values through which we experience the world. This collection analyses this phenomenon, bringing together essays which explore celebrity across a range of media, cultural and political contexts. The authors investigate topics such as the intimacy of fame, political celebrity, stardom in American ‘quality’ television (Sarah Jessica Parker), celebrity 'reality' TV (I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!), the circulation of the porn star, the gallery film (David/David Beckham), the concept of cartoon celebrity (The Simpsons), fandom and celebrity (k.d. lang, *NSYNC), celebrity in the tabloid press, celebrity magazines (heat, Celebrity Skins), the fame of the serial killer and narratives of mental illness in celebrity culture. The collection is organized into four themed sections: Fame Now broadly examines the contemporary contours of fame as they course through new media sites (such as 'reality' TV and the internet) and different social, cultural and political spaces. Fame Body attempts to situate the star or celebrity body at the centre of the production, circulation and consumption of contemporary fame. Fame Simulation considers the increasingly strained relationship between celebrity and artifice and ‘authenticity’. Fame Damage looks at the way the representation of fame is bound up with auto-destructive tendencies or dissolution.

Entertaining television challenges the idea that the BBC in the 1950s was elitist and ‘staid’, upholding Reithian values in a paternalistic, even patronising way. By focusing on a number of (often controversial) programme case studies – such as the soap opera, the quiz/ game show, the ‘problem’ show and programmes dealing with celebrity culture - Su Holmes demonstrates how BBC television surprisingly explored popular interests and desires. She also uncovers a number of remarkable connections with programmes and topics at the forefront of television today, ranging from talk shows, 'Reality TV', even to our contemporary obsession with celebrity.The book is iconclastic, percipient and grounded in archival research, and will be of use to anyone studying television history.

Entertaining television challenges the idea that the BBC in the 1950s was elitist and ‘staid’, upholding Reithian values in a paternalistic, even patronising way. By focusing on a number of (often controversial) programme case studies – such as the soap opera, the quiz/game show, the ‘problem’ show and programmes dealing with celebrity culture – Su Holmes demonstrates how BBC television surprisingly explored popular interests and desires. She also uncovers a number of remarkable connections with programmes and topics at the forefront of television today, ranging from talk shows, 'Reality TV', even to our contemporary obsession with celebrity.The book is iconclastic, percipient and grounded in archival research, and will be of use to anyone studying television history.

Despite its enduring popularity with both broadcasters and audiences, the quiz show has found itself marginalised in studies of popular television. This book offers a unique introduction to the study of the quiz show, while also revisiting, updating and expanding on existing quiz show scholarship. Ranging across programmes such as Double Your Money, The $64,000 Dollar Question, Twenty-One, The Price is Right, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and The Weakest Link to the controversial 'Quiz TV Call' phenomenon, the book explores programmes with a focus on question and answer. Topics covered include the relationship between quiz shows and television genre; the early broadcast history of the quiz show; questions of institutional regulation; quiz show aesthetics; the social significance of 'games'; 'ordinary' people as television performers, and questions of quiz show reception (from interactivity to on-line fandom). Key Features*Represents one of few book-length studies of the quiz show*Offers an accessible introduction to the genre for undergraduate students*Draws upon new archival research in order to contribute to knowledge about the early history of the quiz show*Demonstrates why the quiz show matters to Television Studies*Brings together key approaches in the field with new interventions and areas of study (such as the quiz show in the multi-platform age, and the study of 'ordinary' people as performers).

This is a timely collection exploring the politics of female celebrity across a range of contemporary, historical, media and national contexts. "In the Limelight and Under the Microscope" is a timely collection exploring the politics of female celebrity across a range of contemporary, historical, media and national contexts. Amidst concerns about the apparent 'decline' in the currency of modern fame ('famous for being famous'), as well as debates about the shifting parameters of public/private visibility, it is female celebrities who are positioned as the most active discursive terrain. This collection seeks to interrogate such phenomena by forging a greater conceptual, theoretical and historical dialogue between celebrity studies and critical gender studies. It takes as its starting point the understanding that female celebrity is a particularly fraught cultural phenomenon with ideological and industrial implications that warrant careful scrutiny.In moving across case studies from the 19th century to the present day, this book works from the assumption that the case study should play a crucial role in generating debate about the dialogue between 'past' and 'present', and the individual essays will seek to reflect this spirit of enquiry.

The study of audience relations with star / celebrity culture has often been marginalised in Star/Celebrity Studies. This book brings together new research which explores a range of audience encounters with celebrities, moving across social media, royal weddings, national identity to questions of age, gender and class. In doing so, the essays illuminate the complex and negotiated nature of audience investments in celebrity culture, collectively questioning the often simplistic and dismissive judgements that are made about audience/ celebrity relationships in this regard. The book provides a dedicated space to showcase a range of current work in the field, seeking to both consolidate and stimulate what is a vibrant and crucial aspect of studying celebrity culture.

"Acts as a concise introduction to the study of both contemporary and historical stardom and celebrity. Collecting together in one source companion an easily accessible range of readings surrounding stardom and celebrity culture, this book is a worthwhile addition to any library."- Kerry Gough, Birmingham City University"Absolutely wonderful. The inclusion of seminal works and more recent works makes this a very valuable read."- Beschara Karam, University of South Africa"An engaging and often insightful book." - Media International Australia

This book brings together some of the seminal interventions which have structured the development of stardom and celebrity studies, while crucially combining and situating these within the context of new essays which address the contemporary, cross-media and international landscape of today's fame culture. From Max Weber, Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes to Catherine Lumby, Chris Rojek and Graeme Turner.At the core of the collection is a desire to map out a unique historical trajectory - both in terms of the development of fame, as well as the historical development of the field.

"Acts as a concise introduction to the study of both contemporary and historical stardom and celebrity. Collecting together in one source companion an easily accessible range of readings surrounding stardom and celebrity culture, this book is a worthwhile addition to any library."- Kerry Gough, Birmingham City University"Absolutely wonderful. The inclusion of seminal works and more recent works makes this a very valuable read."- Beschara Karam, University of South Africa"An engaging and often insightful book." - Media International Australia

This book brings together some of the seminal interventions which have structured the development of stardom and celebrity studies, while crucially combining and situating these within the context of new essays which address the contemporary, cross-media and international landscape of today's fame culture. From Max Weber, Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes to Catherine Lumby, Chris Rojek and Graeme Turner.At the core of the collection is a desire to map out a unique historical trajectory - both in terms of the development of fame, as well as the historical development of the field.

This is a timely collection exploring the politics of female celebrity across a range of contemporary, historical, media and national contexts. "In the Limelight and Under the Microscope" is a timely collection exploring the politics of female celebrity across a range of contemporary, historical, media and national contexts. Amidst concerns about the apparent 'decline' in the currency of modern fame ('famous for being famous'), as well as debates about the shifting parameters of public/private visibility, it is female celebrities who are positioned as the most active discursive terrain. This collection seeks to interrogate such phenomena by forging a greater conceptual, theoretical and historical dialogue between celebrity studies and critical gender studies. It takes as its starting point the understanding that female celebrity is a particularly fraught cultural phenomenon with ideological and industrial implications that warrant careful scrutiny.In moving across case studies from the 19th century to the present day, this book works from the assumption that the case study should play a crucial role in generating debate about the dialogue between 'past' and 'present', and the individual essays will seek to reflect this spirit of enquiry.