Russell Brand: Comedy, Celebrity, Politics

Comedy, Celebrity, Politics

verfasst von: Jane Arthurs, Ben Little

Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan UK

Buchreihe : Palgrave Studies in Comedy

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Über dieses Buch

Russell Brand is one of the most high profile and controversial celebrities of our time. A divisive figure, his ability to bounce back from adversity is remarkable. This book traces his various career stages through which he has done this, moving from comedy, to TV presenting; from radio to Hollywood films. It identifies how this eclectic career in entertainment both helped and hindered his high-profile move into political activism. Underpinning the book are interviews with leading activists and politicians, and sophisticated readings of Brand's performances, writing and on-screen work. There are sections on the Sachsgate scandal, his Newsnight interview with Jeremy Paxman, and his 2015 election intervention for aspiring Prime Minister Ed Miliband. It builds on scholarly work in the area of celebrity politics to develop an original analytic approach that blends the field theory of Pierre Bourdieu with the assemblage theory of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Introduction

Abstract

This introduction sets out the rationale for a book on the comedian Russell Brand as a case study in the complex interaction between celebrity and the political field. As well as commenting on the broader political context, it gives a brief overview of Brand’s career and explains the foundations of our approach to understanding his public persona as a performer and activist. It establishes how Russell Brand is positioned in the field of culture and politics and the discourses through which audiences make sense of his meaning and value. It then elaborates the hybrid nature of Russell Brand’s celebrity and how his relationship to his audiences changes as he traverses across different media and genres. It concludes with his move into politics and sets out a new theoretical model for analysing the impact of his activist interventions.

Jane Arthurs, Ben Little

2. Stand-up Comedy

Abstract

This chapter explores how Brand is positioned in the history of British comedy and by the distinctions in taste that structure this cultural field. It identifies his ‘signature practices’ through analyses of his major stand-up performances placing particular emphasis on the way he uses self-reflexive autobiography, language and wit, bodily expression and therapeutic discourses to develop a distinctive style of comedy that crosses class boundaries. It culminates with a detailed analysis of the Messiah Complex show in which he marshals these comedic techniques to create a quasi-shamanic ritual of spiritual and political transformation. Whether his comedy should be condemned as exploitative entertainment or admired as an audacious form of truth-telling divides the judgements made about Brand’s cultural value as a performer, thereby creating an unstable assemblage with diverse effects.

Jane Arthurs, Ben Little

3. Hybrid Media Celebrity

Abstract

This chapter traces Brand’s self-fashioning into a cross-media celebrity and film star and his move from digital television and radio presenting to Hollywood acting, then into political journalism and the creation of his YouTube channel The Trews. It uses this account of Brand’s career trajectory to identify the contradictory elements of his celebrity brand, its differentiation across the hybrid media system and the strongly divided responses it provokes. It identifies how he successfully adapts to new genres and cultural contexts despite periods of crisis such as ‘Sachsgate’ that threaten his public reputation. A close analysis of his notorious interview with Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight leads into an account of how he repurposes his celebrity and skills as a comedian and entertainer to seek influence in the political field.

Jane Arthurs, Ben Little

4. From Celebrity Apparatus to Political Assemblage

Abstract

The final chapter uses the theoretical model advanced in Chapter 1 to provide a detailed exploration of four examples of Brand’s interventions into politics: the celebrity pseudo-event Buy Love Here in Los Angeles; his guest editing of the political magazine the New Statesman; his contribution to housing campaigns in East London; and finally his pre-election interview on The Trews with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari, the chapter argues that the precise form of the apparatus formed to make each of these interventions influences the kind of assemblage produced in response. It demonstrates that while in celebrity terms Brand’s interventions have been hugely successful in gaining media attention, the results have been very mixed in achieving their intentions or having a lasting political impact.

Jane Arthurs, Ben Little

Backmatter

Titel: Russell Brand: Comedy, Celebrity, Politics
verfasst von: Jane Arthurs
Ben Little
Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-137-59628-4
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59627-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59628-4