Beckham (Polity celebrities series): 3

by EllisCashmore (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $9.29

  The Beckham enigma continues. Since the publication of Cashmore's challenging social biography in 2003, the working-class kid from the East London has left Manchester and conquered the world. Undisputedly one of the world's most famous men, Beckham has transcended sport to become an all-purpose cultural icon for the twenty-first century. What are the sources of Beckham's godlike status? Why does someone who looks good, but speaks in platitudes and does little but play football, command the adulation of the planet? By dissecting his life and setting it in context of the age of celebrity, Cashmore argues that Beckham has been turned into a product, a commodity that can be bought and sold like any other piece of merchandise. There is not just a person named Beckham: there are countless Beckhams that exist independently of time and space, constructions of peoples' imaginations. The second edition of Beckham updates the original's arguments, covering the events that have shaped the Beckham phenomenon: the Flying Boot that symbolized the growing disquiet at Manchester United, the replacement of his first agents SFX with Simon Fuller (the creator of Pop Idol), the failed attempt to capture a US market, the growing presence of adidas, the sportswear giants, and the transfer saga that took Beckham to Madrid - and his influence beyond. Among the other features of the second edition are chapters on: Manchester United, the club that provided Beckham with his first showcase; Rupert Murdoch's takeover of British football; Beckham's ambiguous sexual image and his gay following; the importance of Madonna in kick-starting the age of celebrity in which Beckham prospered; Beckham's curious relationships with the legacy of Warhol. Completely revised and updated, the new text emphasizes the often overlooked part played by Victoria in the making of the icon and the guile with which she helped plan an enterprise that had no precedents.

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.45

  There has never been an athlete quite like Beckham. Or, more accurately, there have been any number of athletes like him, but never a celebrity. His global status is challenged only by Tiger Woods: all over the world, people adore, venerate, even worship the boy with decorously pale good looks and his ex-Spice Girl wife. In the first serious analysis of Beckham and the culture of which he is part, Ellis Cashmore strips away the public persona to examine the real reasons why he has become the celebrity athlete par excellence. Is it because he is a great football player? Because of his supermodel looks, or his debonair dress sense? His rejection of the macho values typically associated with football? His marriage to Posh? Cashmore asks all the questions but uncovers different answers. Beckham has come to the fore at a unique time in history: when celebrity is venerated, when sport is entertainment and when Essex boys are icons. This is a book about the Beckham phenomenon. It examines the cult of celebrity, the changing configurations of the sports industry, the evolution of football culture, the role of advertising and marketing, the globalization of sports, entertainment and music and, most centrally, the emergence of an individual who has transcended the traditional boundaries between sport and entertainment.

• New

  Paperback
  2004

  $22.89

  The Beckham enigma continues. Since the publication of Cashmore's challenging social biography in 2003, the working-class kid from the East London has left Manchester and conquered the world. Undisputedly one of the world's most famous men, Beckham has transcended sport to become an all-purpose cultural icon for the twenty-first century. What are the sources of Beckham's godlike status? Why does someone who looks good, but speaks in platitudes and does little but play football, command the adulation of the planet? By dissecting his life and setting it in context of the age of celebrity, Cashmore argues that Beckham has been turned into a product, a commodity that can be bought and sold like any other piece of merchandise. There is not just a person named Beckham: there are countless Beckhams that exist independently of time and space, constructions of peoples' imaginations. The second edition of Beckham updates the original's arguments, covering the events that have shaped the Beckham phenomenon: the Flying Boot that symbolized the growing disquiet at Manchester United, the replacement of his first agents SFX with Simon Fuller (the creator of Pop Idol), the failed attempt to capture a US market, the growing presence of adidas, the sportswear giants, and the transfer saga that took Beckham to Madrid - and his influence beyond. Among the other features of the second edition are chapters on: Manchester United, the club that provided Beckham with his first showcase; Rupert Murdoch's takeover of British football; Beckham's ambiguous sexual image and his gay following; the importance of Madonna in kick-starting the age of celebrity in which Beckham prospered; Beckham's curious relationships with the legacy of Warhol. Completely revised and updated, the new text emphasizes the often overlooked part played by Victoria in the making of the icon and the guile with which she helped plan an enterprise that had no precedents.