Celebrity Health Narratives and the Public Health

Celebrity Health Narratives and the Public Health
Author: Christina S. Beck
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2015-08-10
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 078647971X

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We follow celebrities on Twitter and Facebook, watch them on television, and read about them in supermarket checkout lines. Our relationship with celebrities has never been so immediate. Their personal trials are news headlines and water cooler talk. Offering the first extensive look at celebrity health sagas, this book examines the ways in which their stories become our stories, influencing public perception and framing dialog about wellness, disease and death. These private-yet-public narratives drive fund-raising, reduce stigma and influence policy. Celebrities such as Mary Tyler Moore, Robin Roberts, Michael J. Fox, and Christopher Reeve--as well as 200 others included in the study--have left a lasting legacy.

When Illness Goes Public

When Illness Goes Public
Author: Barron H. Lerner
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2006-11-20
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0801889553

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Outstanding Academic Title, 2007, Choice magazine Steve McQueen had cancer and was keeping it secret. Then the media found out, and soon all of America knew. McQueen’s high profile changed forever the way the public perceived a dreaded disease. In When Illness Goes Public, Barron H. Lerner describes the evolution of celebrities' illnesses from private matters to stories of great public interest. Famous people who have become symbols of illness include Lou Gehrig, the first “celebrity patient”; Rita Hayworth, whose Alzheimer disease went undiagnosed for years; and Arthur Ashe, who courageously went public with his AIDS diagnosis before the media could reveal his secret. And then there are private citizens like Barney Clark, the first recipient of a permanent artificial heart, and Lorenzo Odone, whose neurological disorder became the subject of a Hollywood film. While celebrity illnesses have helped to inform patients about treatment options, ethical controversies, and scientific proof, the stories surrounding these illnesses have also assumed mythical characteristics that may be misleading. Marrying great storytelling to an exploration of the intersection of science, journalism, fame, and legend, this book is a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of health and illness.

Celebrity in the Time of Covid

Celebrity in the Time of Covid
Author: Christina S. Beck
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2022-07-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1476684928

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This work describes the crucial role celebrities played in the emergence of two competing narratives about Covid-19, one a pro-science narrative that advocated for preventive measures and the other a skeptical counter narrative that denied the disease's existence or downplayed its severity. During the first postmodern pandemic, a slew of interactions took place across a variety of platforms between prominent figures and those who connected with them, forming parasocial communities that framed perspectives on Covid-19. The author first describes how Covid-19 unfolded in the world of sports, then goes on to explain how supportive behavior toward public officials fueled the two competing narratives, emphasizing how celebrities themselves aided in the development of common perspectives. The text concludes with a description of how citizens initially regarded health care professionals as "heroes," but even the most powerful public appeals could not persuade some that Covid-19 posed a genuine threat. Exploring the polarity of publicly held beliefs, this book documents how celebrity advocacy had a lasting effect on people's health choices during a global pandemic.

Celebrities Against Violence

Celebrities Against Violence
Author: Truman R. Keys
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2022-03-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1476677557

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Violence is more than an issue in America. It is a pandemic, its negative impacts and corrosive character are harming us whether we are a victim, a bystander or professional tasked with public health and safety. Violence affects us regardless of class or social standing. For decades, celebrities and well-known public figures have taken to the media to share their own experiences with violence. This book spotlights the celebrities and their loved ones who have survived self-harm, bullying, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, family abuse, home invasion, gun violence, or police brutality. Violence prevention experts increasingly recognize the influence of celebrities and work with them to spread awareness. This collection of case studies aims to support this growing influence by documenting the effects of violence prevention through celebrity advocacy.

Celebrity Media Effects

Celebrity Media Effects
Author: Carol M. Madere
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2018-11-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1498577814

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This book explores the effect of celebrity on Americans' public and private lives. It examines how celebrities bring about change, intentionally and unintentionally, and how those changes affect the public that loves and follows them. It explores health, philanthropy, activism, and celebrity attitudes toward feminism and police brutality.

Celebrity Philanthropy and Activism

Celebrity Philanthropy and Activism
Author: Hilde Van Den Bulck
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2018-03-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1315306859

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In recent years, celebrity philanthropy and activism has attracted much attention from the media, sparking a great deal of public interest. As exponents and endorsers of the marketisation and corporatisation of philanthropy and activism, globally renowned super-celebrities habitually lend their name, time and energy to a range of causes. They help raise awareness, generate funds and endeavour to evoke social and political responses to crucial societal issues. These can range from domestic violence, cancer prevention, climate change and transgender acceptance, to refugee problems and fighting poverty at home and abroad. But in what ways do (mediated communications about) these celebrities have the power to define what is going wrong in the world, who or what is to blame, how this can be solved and how this is to be evaluated morally and ethically? Does celebrity humanitarianism and activism serve to reinforce postcolonial power relations or does it help solve social problems, advancing traditional views on how society is, and should be, organised? Importantly, more than conceptual and empirical exploration of celebrity philanthropy and activism as such, this book analyses the mediated communication, the mediatised narratives that these endeavours provide. Combining insights from philanthropy and welfare regime studies, international politics and diplomacy, postcolonial studies, but also from marketing, from celebrity, star and fan studies, and from media, communication and cultural studies, this book critically analyses the mediated discourses and debates that celebrity philanthropy and activism provokes, and considers wider ethical and theoretical perspectives. It will be of interest to all scholars and students working in sociology, health and social care and social policy.

Audience Interactions in Contemporary Celebrity Culture

Audience Interactions in Contemporary Celebrity Culture
Author: Gaëlle Ouvrein
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2024-05-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1666922447

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Audience Interactions in Contemporary Celebrity Culture: Approaches from across Disciplines explores current understandings of celebrity-audience relationships in the context of digitalization and the ongoing celebritization of all aspects of culture and society. Focusing on the themes of celebrity and health, celebrity and identity, and celebrity and scandal, this volume presents chapters authored by experts from across the globe that deal with celebrity-audience relationships in different historical, cultural, and social settings, tackling the topics from social-psychological, critical/cultural, and persuasive perspectives. In doing so, this book highlights the broadening of disciplinary, paradigmatic, theoretical, and methodological approaches to celebrity studies research. By bringing these different approaches together in one book and drawing overall conclusions across chapters, the editors and contributors of this volume promote and facilitate cross-fertilization in ongoing efforts to grasp the fascinating complexity of celebrity-audiences relationships. Scholars of media, pop culture, and celebrity studies will find this collection particularly useful.

Bad Advice

Bad Advice
Author: Paul A. Offit
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2018-06-19
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0231546939

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Science doesn’t speak for itself. Neck-deep in work that can be messy and confounding, and naïve in the ways of public communication, scientists are often unable to package their insights into the neat narratives that the public requires. Enter the celebrities, the advocates, the lobbyists, and the funders behind them, who take advantage of scientists’ reluctance to provide easy answers, flooding the media with misleading or incorrect claims about health risks. Amid this onslaught of spurious information, Americans are more confused than ever about what’s good for them and what isn’t. In Bad Advice, Paul A. Offit shares hard-earned wisdom on the do’s and don’ts of battling misinformation. For the past twenty years, Offit has been on the front lines in the fight for sound science and public heath. Stepping into the media spotlight as few scientists have done—such as being one of the first to speak out against conspiracy theories linking vaccines to autism—he found himself in the crosshairs of powerful groups intent on promoting pseudoscience. Bad Advice discusses science and its adversaries: not just the manias stoked by slick charlatans and their miracle cures but also corrosive, dangerous ideologies such as Holocaust and climate-change denial. Written with wit and passion, Offit’s often humorous guide to taking on quack experts and self-appointed activists is a must-read for any American disturbed by the recent uptick in politicized attacks on science.

Talking about Health and Health-related Issues

Talking about Health and Health-related Issues
Author: Li Chen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2016
Genre: Internet in medicine
ISBN:

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Results of the study suggested that celebrity physicians in China mainly used social media to achieve three goals: to increase public health literacy, to rebuild their professional identities, and to push the government to make changes to the current health care system. Accordingly, celebrity physicians were found to play multiple roles on Weibo: medical experts, opinion leaders, and celebrities. Each of these roles were performed and recognized by their social media fans in different ways, indicating the complexity of virtual social networks. By analyzing Chinese celebrity physicians' online narratives and examining the factors that shaped their online activities, the project further explored the sociological factors contributing to digital media use, revealed the multiple connections contributing to the formation of virtual social networks comprised of celebrity physicians and their social media followers, and studied the presentation of cultural tension in cyberspace. From the practical perspective, future scholars and advocates could use the findings of this study to better design health and science campaigns. From the theoretical perspective, this study expanded the scope of the uses and gratifications approach, proposed new angles for examining the doctor-patient and the celebrity-fan relationships, and discussed the online presentation of, and inherent nuances contributing to, cultural conflicts.

The Intersection of Star Culture in America and International Medical Tourism

The Intersection of Star Culture in America and International Medical Tourism
Author: Kathy Merlock Jackson
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2015-12-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0739186884

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Celebrity culture, health care, and travel attract attention in America’s media-saturated society. These worlds curiously intersect in the study of medical tourism. Although the US touts some of the finest and best-known medical facilities in the world, many jet-setting A-list celebrities, who can well afford the finest of health care, seek treatment far away from home, popularizing international sites, physicians, and procedures. These travelers, whose every move is chronicled by the media, both reflect and influence health care concerns in America. An analysis of these high-profile cases of celebrities with both life-threatening and non life-threatening conditions sheds light on the link between medical tourism and celebrity, showing how health care and entertainment intersect, and the American public responds. The Intersection of Star Culture in America and International Medical Tourism: Celebrity Treatment argues that celebrity cases and media content drive awareness of medical tourism among Americans at a time when the medical system is under intense scrutiny. By popularizing international sites for treatment, procedures not available in the US, and different approaches to patient care, media narratives present options for health care, triggering dialogue on one of America’s most important human welfare issues.