Week 11 - Charisma and Celebrities

The term 'charisma' was coined by Weber to explain the type of authority commanded by leaders who possessed exceptional qualities or some 'divine gift' (for eg, Hitler or Martin Luther King). 

Do you think it can be extended to sporting and popular culture figures who command respect by virtue of special gifts?

According to Max Weber, ‘charisma is endowed with powers and properties regarded as extra ordinarily and attributed to a person. In this respect we can relate to virtue and special gifts as extra ordinarily and attributed (Alberoni, 1962). The above group was referred to by Alberoni as the powerless elite, as their power is not institutionalized like that of representatives of power like leaders in church, politics or industry. However, using modern media, the celebrity status of specially gifted celebrities has been discovered as a powerful boost to sell products to the public. In this respect, sporting and popular culture figures contribute their being special as a form of power to help industry sell their product. Obviously, a refinement process takes place, elevating products to a higher level of perceived quality due to the fact that celebrities recommend these products to the consumer.

How significant do you think celebrities are in contemporary culture? 

Without celebrities, who would give testimonial about the brilliance of products in TV advertisements or on bill boards? Celebrities are significant marketing tools as they represent certain charismatic aspects in contemporary culture: coolness, hipness, sex, fitness, beauty and many others. It is the fact that celebreties attract universal attention that makes them so important for industry. People idolize celebrities fort their way of life.

Reference

Alberoni, F 1962. ‘L’Elite irresponsable; tbéorie et recherche sociologique sur le divismo’. Ikon vol. 12 -40/1, pp. 45-62.