Who in your life do you consider a hero? What are the attributes that make her/him heroic?
What is the difference between hero and celebrity?
Who are your favorite celebrities? How have they made him/herself into a brand? What lifestyle are selling and what cultural myths are they using?
What is the difference between a “good” celebrity and a “bad” celebrity? As a society which one are we more interested in, and what does this say about our values and beliefs?
Suggested Readings
Hero With a Thousand Faces
Joshua Gamson, Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America
Graham Turner, Understanding Celebrity
Sample Assignments/Activities
List and trace popular culture heroes that follow Campbell’s monomyth.
Follow a celebrity on social media and analyze their presentation of self. How have they made him/herself into a brand? What lifestyle are selling and what cultural myths are they using?
.
