Celebrity: A zero sum resource?

[Dave1001]

Although it isn't always talked about in these terms, it seems to me that celebrity is more or less a zero sum resource. There's only room for so many people in our collective consciousness before there's no room for others or they get pushed out. It's probably measured to a degree by Q ratings, but I don't know much about study in this field.

How many global A list celebrities can exist?

How many people are known is a positive way by 1 billion people? 1 million people? In America?

And has the celebrity pie been expanding (at the expense of knowing about fewer real life people or about fewer fictional or mythological characters) or is it steadily pegged to population?

Questions I have on this topic.

 

[blutoski]

Although it isn't always talked about in these terms, it seems to me that celebrity is more or less a zero sum resource. There's only room for so many people in our collective consciousness before there's no room for others or they get pushed out. It's probably measured to a degree by Q ratings, but I don't know much about study in this field.

How many global A list celebrities can exist?

How many people are known is a positive way by 1 billion people? 1 million people? In America?

And has the celebrity pie been expanding (at the expense of knowing about fewer real life people or about fewer fictional or mythological characters) or is it steadily pegged to population?

Questions I have on this topic.

I think you're partly right: an individual can probably only follow a fixed number of celebrities. The catch is that there are many individuals, and their celebrity pantheon will vary such that there is room for many overall.

This has to do with market segmentation. I don't watch sports, and couldn't name a single hockey player since the '70s, but the woman in the office next to me knows the entire lineup of our city's hockey team. My wife follows basketball. I have a friend who follows rock stars. Another friend is big on anime voice actors, another can recognize all the top models. Yet another has maneovred his career to get closer to actors who were previously in Dark Angel.

When I see the tablioids in the checkout line, I confess that I don't recognize most of the names.

 

[Dave1001]

I think you're partly right: an individual can probably only follow a fixed number of celebrities. The catch is that there are many individuals, and their celebrity pantheon will vary such that there is room for many overall.

This has to do with market segmentation. I don't watch sports, and couldn't name a single hockey player since the '70s, but the woman in the office next to me knows the entire lineup of our city's hockey team. My wife follows basketball. I have a friend who follows rock stars. Another friend is big on anime voice actors, another can recognize all the top models. Yet another has maneovred his career to get closer to actors who were previously in Dark Angel.

When I see the tablioids in the checkout line, I confess that I don't recognize most of the names.

Right. Media market segmentation has probably shrunk the celebrity pie (in contrast to when there were only 3 television channels and a handful of movie studios, with a fixed number of stars in their stable).

I think a true A list celebrity has to be recognizable to almost everybody (90% of the population?). A different type of A list celebrity is recognizable at least to everybody that matters -the cultural elites in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. The president of the United States is always an A list celebrity. So are the anchors of the big 3 nightly news programs. So are the winners of best actor/actress oscars, at least for the year after they win it.

For other A listers it seems to be more particular to their own achievements. Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie, Tyra Banks, Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt, John McCain: these are all people that it would be very, very hard not to have heard of or been exposed to, at least in the United States.

I read once that Muhammad Ali is the most recognized icon in the globe, more than even coke or mickey mouse. But who else has global recognition like that? And I wonder how that's trended throughout history and if there's a science and study of it.

 

[WaterD]

I think it can be thinked off people that are VERY VERY known on the world.
If i have to build a list of A celebrity are : the president of the most powerfull country "aka:USA" and The top stars of widely world played sports "AKA: Maradona, michael jordan, mohamed ali,Schumaher,etc". I don't think TV stars or MOVIE stars can ever be considered LIST A celebrities, TV are only watched on specific countries, And films are almost equal, films stars can be very known on his country and a few "colonized" country, but won't on most other countries. So basically is Sports stars, powerful people (bill gates comes to my mind) and iconic political figures (fidel castro)

 

[Lithrael]

The top stars of widely world played sports "AKA: Maradona, michael jordan, mohamed ali,Schumaher,etc". I don't think TV stars or MOVIE stars can ever be considered LIST A celebrities, TV are only watched on specific countries, And films are almost equal,

Sports stars but not movie stars? It's true that movies are not universally watched. But a lot of people don't follow sports. I've never heard of Maradona or Schumaher but I bet you've heard of Harrison Ford and Jackie Chan.

Of course you are right that there are a lot of places where you could never follow films, though.