''Can You Handle My Truth?'': Authenticity and the Celebrity Star Image

IN HIS 1985 BOOK INTIMATE STRANGERS: THE CULTURE OF CELEBRITY, Richard Schickel suggests that the history of celebrity in western culture is closely linked to the history of communication technology. As new forms of media develop and older forms find new ways to reach larger audiences more quickly, demand for and availability of information has skyrocketed (28). Ideally, easing and increasing the flow of information should result in the democratic ideal of well-informed public who are astutely tuned in to the world around them. However, Schickel sees the information explosion in modern society as having the opposite effect. As information is spread wider and faster, it necessarily becomes more simplified, relying more heavily on simple symbols ‘‘that crystallize and personify an issue, an ideal, a longing’’ (28). These symbols stand in for our needs and desires within modern society, helping us to make sense of the competing stimuli in our social world. According to Schickel, the celebrity image is a useful ideological symbol for constructing meaning within the modern western capitalist system. Generally, although not exclusively, emerging from the sports or entertainment industries, celebrities are highly visible throughout the media, thus making them easily accessible symbols. More importantly, however, is the fact that celebrity images are not confined to their professional appearances, for