Our Infatuation with Fame : Leo Braudy

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Summary

The image of fame permeates America: celebrity athletes, movie stars, stars of rock music and television. Celebrity is a code we all learn to read. A name can sell a product, or stand for an idea. ...

The image of fame permeates America: celebrity athletes, movie stars, stars of rock music and television. Celebrity is a code we all learn to read. A name can sell a product, or stand for an idea. If, as Andy Warhol contended, everyone gets to be famous for 15 minutes, Leo Braudy can tell us why. Braudy, who is a professor of literature at the University of Southern California, has focused on the history of fame since ancient times and the phenomenon of celebrity in 20th-century America, and has traced how our collective attention has shifted from political leaders like Abraham Lincoln to television personalities like Vanna White. In this program with Bill Moyers, Braudy discusses the concept of fame in America and its recent further explosion in our culture.

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