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overview
Lesson 2 | Summary
Activity Pages
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lesson 2 | the face of fame
activity | a relative history of fame
Definitions
Celebrity: a famous person; renown
Celebrated: known and praised widely
Fame: Great reputation and recognition; renown
Famous: Well or widely known
Hero: A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose;
a person noted for special achievement in a particular field
Heroic: Nobly or selflessly brave
— The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright
© 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Define the terms celebrity, celebrated, fame, famous, hero and heroic.
What makes someone famous, celebrated or heroic? Are there differences
between these terms? Do these definitions change for various societies,
cultures or countries? What makes someone a local or national figure
versus an international celebrity? How do images help define the
celebrities and heroes of the world? Ask students to read Amy
Henderson’s essay “Media
and the Rise of Celebrity Culture.” Ask students what
the specific factors were that led to the radical shift from virtuous
and heroic political and military heroes to cultural heroes.
What are the implications for students as they define their own
sense of identity and place in a multi-media world? Discuss how
the proliferation of diverse media like radio, television, movies,
and printed advertising affect the way celebrities and figureheads
are introduced to a wider public. Discuss how current media shapes
the way they recognize celebrities and public figures.
Ask students to make a list of all of the famous living people they
can think of. After 15 or 20 minutes have students place the names
they have come up with into various categories that define different
kinds of fame, such as musician, actor, politician, business leader,
sports figure, and / or scientist. How would students define these
celebrities in terms of the longevity or integrity of their fame?
Are these people heroic—why or why not? Try to narrow down
the lists to the top ten most famous living people. Where is there
debate? Is it easy or difficult to create this list? Finally, have
the students look through several current, diverse newspapers and
magazines. Ask the students to list of the top 10 most photographed
individuals—how is this list similar or different to their
top 10 most famous individuals?
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the next activity for this lesson
The Public Eye
This activity addresses the power of the media in shaping the
public’s perception of an individual through the work of Paul
Pfeiffer and Collier Schorr.
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