RT Article
T1 A Parasociology: Jean Genet in the Age of Celebrity Worship
JF Religion and the arts
VO 24
IS 3
SP 290
OP 317
A1 Lucas, Kevin
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2020
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/172627795X
AB In 1956, American researchers Horton and Wohl coined the term “para-social interaction,” defined as the bond of intimacy that a consumer of media feels towards the “image” of the performer. Later developed into the notion of “celebrity worship” by researchers, “parasociality” has a relationship to the worshipful dynamics of totemism—in which the image of the animal exceeds the actual being in sacredness—as described by French sociologist Émile Durkheim. Discussing French author Jean Genet’s exploration of the unlikely forms of totemic worship common in the age of mass media, this article posits that Genet’s “parasociology of religion” demonstrates the way in which Durkheimian sociology of religion can offer insight into ostensibly secular contemporary practices, including those of fan communities.
K1 Jean Genet
K1 celebrity culture
K1 para-social interaction
K1 sociology of religion
K1 the sacred
DO 10.1163/15685292-02403003