Celebration of participants and participants of protests Cover Image

Celebrytyzacja uczestniczek i uczestników protestów
Celebration of participants and participants of protests

Author(s): Karolina Gembara
Subject(s): Anthropology, Media studies, Civil Society, Theory of Communication, Crowd Psychology: Mass phenomena and political interactions, Human Ecology
Published by: Szkoła Wyższa Psychologii Społecznej
Keywords: celebrity: celebritisation: protest: viral: social media: photography

Summary/Abstract: In the article the author analyses viral images of the Turkish Spring, of clashes on the Israeli-Palestinian border, as well as some other iconic protest photographs. By following the impact these photographs make through the social media, it shall be observed how individuals captured by photojournalists become “protest celebrities”. This process, called celebritisation, resembles how famous people within the entertainment industry gain instant recognition, as a result of a singular act. The author proposes observing political protests in the same way we look at popular culture, and the way it produces celebrities, often against their will. Analogies shall be drawn and differences point out between traditional celebrities and protest celebrities using performative theory questioning the agency of celebrities.

  • Issue Year: 59/2019
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 120-131
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Polish