Download or read book American Idolatry written by Christopher E. Bell and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2010-03-08 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The popular definition characterizes celebrity as a product of manufacture rather than merit. If fame is taken to represent the recognition of achievement, then modern celebrity, in contrast, must be based on something other than achievement, for celebrity and fame are not the same thing. This book explores the process by which celebrity is created, using the first seven seasons of Fox Television's American Idol as a framework for analysis of how celebrity is defined, generated, nurtured, and intensified.