The Celebrity Construction of Taylor

Swift and Her Para-Social Fan

Relationships

By Courtney Sparling

“I Love You Like I Love Sparkles and Having the Last Word. And That’s Real

Love.”

(http://favim.com/image/493924/)

ELEVATOR PITCH

TOPIC: Construction of a Celebrity/ Para-Social Fan Relationships

FOCUS: Taylor Swift as a Celebrity and her Impact on Young Female Fans

TARGET: Taylor Swift, her PR team, and the Media

METHODS: Content Analysis and Discourse Analysis

GOAL: To prove that Swift is constructed as a celebrity figure who blurs the line between reality and fantasy for fans through her image/brand, persona, and song lyrics.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The Constructed Celebrity and Para-Social Fan Relationships-A Celebrity is a specific manufactured “character” to the public. There is a blurring line between a celebrity’s images as a performer onstage and her personal images offstage (McNamara 2009, 13).

-Para-social interaction = a fan creates a fabricated relationship with a celebrity figure, but the celebrity does not even know that the fan exists as an individual in return (Stever 2006, 1).

-The media creates an “illusion of intimacy” which makes one feel like he or she actually knows the celebrity on a personal level, much like we know our best friend (Choi and Rifon 2007, 304).

Taylor Swift and the Blurring Line between Reality and Fantasy -Taylor Swift’s lyrics are self-written, and drawn from past experiences she had growing up as an “All-American Girl” with family, friends, boyfriends, and even mean girls in school who told her she wasn’t pretty enough to hang out with them (Brown 2012, 162).

- Swift plays with and mixes the realms of reality and fantasy, bringing closer attention to the blur between the two (i.e.: “Love Story”)

CONTENT ANALYSIS

#1: Song Lyrics- 4 Albums, 54 Songs – All written by Taylor Swift

#2: Advertisements- 20 Ads Featuring Swift or a Product She Endorses

#3: Social Media Sites-Her Official Website, Facebook Page, MySpace Profile,

Instagram Account, YouTube Channel, and Twitter Account

ADVERTISMENT IMAGES

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Taylor Swift’s Official Facebook Page-Official Status Posts, Photos, etc. - Switches off and on in the Voices of Swift and Her PR Team

Taylor Connect-Fan Site Affiliated with Taylor Swift and Her Official

Website-Controlled Environment -Member Mediators

Taylor Swift Web - Popular Fan Site Run by Fans for Fans - Candid Environment -Allowed to Talk about her Personal Life (i.e. relationships,

gossip)

CONCLUSIONHer Song Lyrics: -Songs use Pronouns; Easy to Place Yourself in her Situation/Relate to her-Love/Heartbreak and Fantasy are Emphasized and Entangled in the Real

Her Advertisements:-Beauty > Talent; Emphasis on Femininity and Sparkles-Eye Contact to her Fans; Connection

Her Websites:-Millions of Fans Connect to Swift; Keeps them Updated and Interested

Discourses: Swift and PR Handpick what Fans Hear/Read; Bubbly, Scattered Thoughts, Random “Intimate” Posts (i.e. about her Cat, Meredith) on FacebookFan sites also used to Control Discourse, but unaffiliated ones offer more freedom to discuss gossip and candid moments “On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.”