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Oscar Wilde and the Invention of Modern Celebrity
- antman 12y agoThe first modern celebrity was probably Lord Byron, decades earlier than Oscar Wilde. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron Ill conceived association of Oscar Wilde's fame with Kim Kardashian's and others to promote a book.
- milesf 12y agoActually the first modern celebrity, as defined as someone who drew large crowds and media coverage, was George Whitefield, predating both Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Whitefield https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Whitefield
- vinceguidry 12y agoThe article author tried to draw a distinction between mere fame and celebrity. Celebrity, as he defined, had no underlying 'reason', the celebrity had no 'claim' to fame, he decided he was going to be famous and managed to conjure up that image of his own accord, using a combination of wily trickery and applied psychology. The canonical example is Paris Hilton.
- olavk 12y agoBut Oscar Wilde was an accomplished writer and playwright. Some of his plays have become classics and are still played around the world. While a celebrity due to his charm and extravagant demeanor, he wasn't just famous for being famous.
- CurtMonash 12y agoThe argument is that he was a famous celebrity BEFORE he wrote any of that great stuff.