Celebrity, Media and Culture

Your final portfolio should consist of three illustrated case studies that demonstrate both a breadth and depth of knowledge of celebrity media and culture. Your case studies should show a consideration of different methodologies for analysing celebrity, and should engage with a range of primary materials. In choosing your case studies, think about how you can demonstrate a breadth of knowledge. For example, think about different local, national and transnational contexts, historical periods, different forms of media, different kinds of celebrity, and theoretical frameworks that allow you to approach your case studies differently. You also need to demonstrate depth of understanding in the analysis of your case studies. Avoid simply describing, and make sure you choose a clear focus for your analysis. For example, in looking at a film star like Leonardo di Caprio, 1500 words would enable you to produce a descriptive biography, but this would not show a depth of understanding or analysis. Instead, you could analyse a glossy magazine profile of di Caprio in comparison to the way he is discussed on gossip blogs, and draw out the way that the different formats produce different images of the star, particularly in relation to heterosexuality and politics. You are expected to draw on and reference a range of further reading in your case studies, and should provide an overall bibliography which covers all three case studies. The word count for each case study is short, and so you are encouraged to make creative and thoughtful use of illustrations. This might include stills from films, tv interviews, news reports or music videos, screen grabs of social media or blogs, scans of magazine copy, photographs of images of merchandise or the way celebrity appears in space (e.g. posters around the city).