Abstract
This is a case study of the Oscars ceremony, 2007, analysing how the awards show works as a mediated ritual within celebrity culture. In the analysis, I characterize the Oscars as an example of a live media event, and then I analyse how it is connected to celebrity culture and, eventually, I discuss whether it can be said to have religious affinities and perhaps even be an example of a replacement strategy for the decline in organized religion. In my analysis I combine sociological analysis of the media event genre as presented by Dayan & Katz, as well as Couldry, with cultural analysis of celebrity culture and stars as argued by Rojek, Turner, Morin and Dyer. On the basis of this analysis, I want to argue that the Academy Awards ceremony can be seen as a re-enchanted evening on several levels: as a live media event, a mediated ritual and as presenting glamorous stars as objects of identification.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Nordic Journal of Media Studies. |
| Volume | 6 |
| Pages (from-to) | 127-142 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| ISSN | 1601-829X |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Keywords
- Faculty of Humanities
- religion
- mediated ritual
- media event
- stars
- celebrity culture
- awards show