ABSTRACT
The sight of immediate reality has become an orchid in the land of technology. (Benjamin, 1968: 219)
Throughout most of the twentieth century, the celebrity (or more specifically the 'star')! has been linked to notions of the ideal. The celebrity or star is an individual who has acquired fame and fortune because of some extraordinary quality, variously identified as natural talent, charisma, beauty, or athleticism (although 'luck' is also argued to playa part in the celebrification process). Originating with the promotional activities of American movie studios in the early 1900s, the transformation of a performer into a 'star' - circulating a combination of the individual's private identity with his or her onscreen/ stage roles - is a mechanism central to the entertainment industry and the creation of contemporary celebrity culture in Western industrialized societies. The mass media, and in particular, the medium of photography, have played a central role in the dissemination of a star image. Accordingly, official star photographs are constructed to portray the celebrity in a positive or flattering manner. They are generally used to induce the consumer's desire for the celebrity and his or her products - in essence, they function as an advertisement. Since much is invested in these images, their creation can be quite painstaking, with the smallest detail managed, massaged and retouched in order to create the appropriate illusion.
