Larissa Oakley

How is society affected by celebrity worship?

I chose to write about the topic celebrity worship because I have a certain fixation with
celebrities. Celebrity worship is a term coined in the early 2000s to describe the act of being

Comment [AP1]: Interesting.

overly obsessed with a certain famous person. There seems to be a way of life dedicated to

Comment [AP2]: Not sure what you mean

by a way of life.

celebrities. With social media, this has gotten even more prominent. I discovered the term
celebrity worship while looking up articles for the Paraphrasing Arguments ILP. I am a huge fan

Comment [AP3]: Nice!

of Taylor Swift. I have made fan accounts for her on multiple social media platforms. This is a
form of celebrity worship that takes a lot of time and dedication. I am fascinated to research why
not just me, but millions of people around my age are so dedicated to celebrities. We spend hours
making edits or clever posts hoping that maybe a celebrity might find it and make one comment.
We spend months planning concert costumes poster sayings. Many young people dream of
becoming celebrities themselves. My only qualification is personal experience and observation,
but I'm hoping my sources will assist me in my deeper research. This research question will also
be a type of self-discovery. I am deeply curious to figure out what research will explain the

Comment [AP4]: Nice, I like the tone and

the attitude youve adopted here.

reasoning or history behind why we are all fixated on celebrities, and how it is all impacting
society.
The first source I will be using is "The Celebrity Illusion; Why does America Invest so
Much in the Idea of Fame?" by Timothy Caufield. This article was found on LexisNexis. The
central claim is that America is fixated on the idea of becoming a celebrity. His major evidence
is American Idol. Ordinary people from all over the country audition for this reality show just for
a slight chance at becoming a celebrity. He went to an audition himself to observe the behavior
and mindset of those serious about auditioning. The values and interests at stake are Americas
value places on fame and celebrities. Celebrities themselves are also at stake, as well as those

Comment [AP5]: Thats great that youve

used LexisNexis, but the database is
unimportant. Tell be about who the publisher
is.

Larissa Oakley
who are fixated on celebrities or are trying to become celebrities. This article seems credible to
me, unless he has lied about his experiences. He seemed to be very dedicated to his research and
had cited multiple sources and colleagues. He may have slight bias because he is a Public Health

Comment [AP6]: Sure, but this kind of

evidence-less speculation about the veracity
of the article isnt really valuable.

professor, so his views on celebrities in society is from a health standpoint and how it could
possibly be detrimental to society.
The second source was found from JSTOR. It is an excerpt from textbook written for the
American Sociological Association called Sociological Theory. The chapter is called Celebrity
Status. The main idea is about the history of celebrity in relation to the sociology world. The

Comment [AP7]: Sure, but this kind of

evidence-less speculation about the veracity
of the article isnt really valuable.
Comment [AP8]: Sure, but this kind of
evidence-less speculation about the veracity
of the article isnt really valuable.

chapter relies heavily on Max Weber and his social status theories. Max Weber is one of the
founders of sociology. The major interests in the text are the historical clime of celebrity in
American culture as well as why society is transfixed on celebrities. The source seems extremely
credible since it comes from the American Sociological Association. There could possibly be
slight bias due to the fact that it was written by sociologists. Since Max Weber is so heavily
referenced in sociology, I feel there is a slight chance that they assume everything he says is

Comment [AP9]: Sure, but this kind of

evidence-less speculation about the veracity
of the article isnt really valuable.

correct.
The third source is by Kristy Fairclough-Isaacs. Her article is titled "Celebrity, Youth
Culture, and the Question of Role Models". I found this article in LexisNexis as well. The main
claim in the article is that society and research needs to focus more on the effect that celebrities
have on young people. The article does not have any hard evidence, but does mention a few
studies. The studies are not accompanied by any organization names or sources. The author basis
a lot if their claims on pure logic. The value of interest is our society's concern for youth
behavior. There is a lot of stake in our younger generations lives and how they are influenced by
the role models presented to them by the media. The media and celebrities are also at stake for

Comment [AP10]: bases

Larissa Oakley
these values. The article does not seem completely credible due to the lack of hard evidence.
However, I do believe the author makes some very good points that can lead to further research.
This research question can be arguable because you have to pick a side on
whether celebrity influence can be detrimental to society or just an inevitable, unimportant part
of life. There also needs to be research on what the exact results are. A lot of the research I came
across discussed how America places a lot of value and hop into celebrities It also discussed how
whenever celebrities do something that involves us we feel some sort of honor because of it.
There is a lot of evidence discussing how America's high value on celebrities can be detrimental
to our society. The perspectives have helped me realized my own views. Going into this, I never
really saw a problem with celebrities in general. I now realize that certain celebrities actions, and
our societies views on celebrities can potentially be harmful. I feel that a lot of the perspectives
mirror some of my own concerns and ideas. I may revise my research question to be about
celebrity in general and not just celebrity worship. I feel that most sources I find will be more
likely to discuss celebrities in general as opposed to celebrity worship. Celebrities are definitely
a huge impact on society and it is important to research the results of that.
Larissa,
I really like this topic, it seems apropos, and I really like how youve expressed the stake you
have in this topic as well. I still would like, as you move forward, a clearer sense of a specific
direction. Right now your inquiry is quite broad, which is okay, but you will need to narrow your
scope. Also, i need more information about some of these sources like, who is publishing them
and how, if at all, do these sources help answer your research question. Looks really fascinating
so far!

Comment [AP11]: Dont think of credibility

as a binary. Think of it as a spectrum. So there
may be limitations to its credibility or
authority due to a lack of hard evidence
(which you need to define what you mean by
hard evidence). But that doesnt mean it is
simply not credible.