- Central District, Hong Kong
Adam Jaworski
The University of Hong Kong, School of English, Faculty Member
CITATION DETAILS: Jaworski, A. & Thurlow, C. (2017). Mediatizing the “super-rich,” normalizing privilege. Social Semiotics, 27(3): 276-287. ABSTRACT: The argument we make here is a straightforward one: constant news-media coverage of the... more
CITATION DETAILS: Jaworski, A. & Thurlow, C. (2017). Mediatizing the “super-rich,” normalizing privilege. Social Semiotics, 27(3): 276-287.
ABSTRACT: The argument we make here is a straightforward one: constant news-media coverage of the excessive lifestyles and consumption patterns of the so called " super-rich " normalize their extreme privilege, while obfuscating the privilege of many others. We examine a series of typical news stories (" print " and " broadcast ") together with examples of popular books to show how the mediatization of the " super-rich " is ambivalently organized through a mixture of celebratory and derisive stances. In tandem with the logics of capital and the tenets of consumer culture, these lurid spectacles fuel a complex mix of anxiety and desire among target readers-viewers, while absolving us from responsibility for our own relatively and seemingly modest excesses. We are invited also to defend ourselves on the grounds of superior judgement and taste.
ABSTRACT: The argument we make here is a straightforward one: constant news-media coverage of the excessive lifestyles and consumption patterns of the so called " super-rich " normalize their extreme privilege, while obfuscating the privilege of many others. We examine a series of typical news stories (" print " and " broadcast ") together with examples of popular books to show how the mediatization of the " super-rich " is ambivalently organized through a mixture of celebratory and derisive stances. In tandem with the logics of capital and the tenets of consumer culture, these lurid spectacles fuel a complex mix of anxiety and desire among target readers-viewers, while absolving us from responsibility for our own relatively and seemingly modest excesses. We are invited also to defend ourselves on the grounds of superior judgement and taste.
Research Interests:
CITATION DETAILS: Thurlow, C. & Jaworski, A. (2017). Word-things and Thing-words: The transmodal production of privilege and status. In J. R. Cavanaugh & S. Shankar (eds), Language and Materiality: Ethnographic and Theoretical... more
CITATION DETAILS: Thurlow, C. & Jaworski, A. (2017). Word-things and Thing-words: The transmodal production of privilege and status. In J. R. Cavanaugh & S. Shankar (eds), Language and Materiality: Ethnographic and Theoretical Explorations (pp. 185-203). New York: Cambridge University Press.