Economics/Geekonomics

Review: Starstruck – The Business of Celebrity

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Starstruck
The Business of Celebrity
By Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

# ISBN-10: 0865479097
# ISBN-13: 978-0865479098

Pros:

  • A serious, passionate look at the business of celebrity in America and to an extent other countries.
  • Presents consistent theories and analysis of celebrity.
  • The personal approach of the book helps it avoid pretension and helps communicate its points.

Cons:

  • Shifts in tone at the end of book to discuss the negatives of celebrity is jarring and feels inconsistent.

SUMMARY: Must-read book for most anyone, but indispensable for people in media careers.

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Cross-Cultural Efforts and ‘Not Getting It’

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Few discussions of business start with the words "So, I was watching Godzilla: Final Wars" but this is going to be one of them.

So, I was watching "Godzilla: Final Wars", which was a giant festival of Kaiju-on-film (plus a lot else) done before the Godzilla movies took a hiatus.  In it, among many, many other famous monsters, was a parody of the American Godzilla.  Let us say this "Zilla" was not well treated in the movie, and it made me think about how the American Godzilla film frankly didn't get what Godzilla is about – and what that means for adaption of foreign material and ideas.

The American Godzilla treated the monster as having no personality – it was essentially a natural disaster.  The Godzilla films (and most Kaiju films, really) have creatures with personality.  Yes they're highly destructive, but they're highly destructive characters. The American film didn't get that.

Adapting foreign films, shows, and ideas to American media – or indeed adapting media from one culture to another – has one large risk well-illustrated by this film.

The risk of Not Getting It.

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How Cheap Is Also Confusing

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Does it seem that a lot of things, especially things in the geekonomy, are cheap or for that matter free?

I've got books on discount by ordering online.  I can get epic games for my Smartphone for pennies or dollars.  I've got eBooks that are usually cheaper than buying the physical book.  I can save money with a simple Netflix subscription that brings me endless streams of DVDs and endless streaming of shows.

The geekonomy is filled with cheap (and Cheap's unltimate manifestation, Free) . . . for all the expensive entry fees of the technology.

Cheap is something people are understandably interested in.  We like to save money and spend less.  We like to get more for less.  Cheap isn't the only thing we're interested in price-wise, but it is certainly a driver for us.

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