Grief, commiseration, and consumption following the death of a celebrity

Journal of Consumer Culture

Volumn 12, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 137-155

  Radford, Scott K ^a   Bloch, Peter H ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI   (United States)

Author keywords

death related consumption; grief; netnography; parasocial relationships; sacralization; self identity

Indexed keywords

EID: 84864367888     PISSN: 14695405     EISSN: 17412900     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/1469540512446879     Document Type: Article

References (66)

1. Abraham N, Torok M Abraham N Torok M, ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press ; 1994: 107-24.
2. Amazon.com. (2012) Best sellers-music. Available at www.amazon.com/music- rock-classical-pop-jazz (accessed 13 February 2012).
3. Arnould EJ, Thompson CJ. Consumer culture theory (CCT): Twenty years of research. Journal of Consumer Research. 2005 ; 31 (4). 868-82
4. Bae H-S, Brown WJ, Kang S. Social influence of a religious hero: The late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan's effect on cornea donation and volunteerism. Journal of Health Communication. 2011 ; 16: 62-78
5. Belk RW. Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research. 1988 ; 15 (2). 139-68
6. Belk RW, Costa JA. The mountain man myth: A contemporary consuming fantasy. Journal of Consumer Research. 1998 ; 25 (3). 218-40
7. Belk RW, Wallendorf M, Sherry JF. The sacred and the profane in consumer behavior: Theodicy on the odyssey. Journal of Consumer Research. 1989 ; 16 (1). 1-38
8. Biressi A, Nunn H Reality TV: Realism and Revelation. London: Wallflower Press ; 2005 :
9. Bonsu SK, Belk RW. Do not go cheaply into that good night: Death-ritual consumption in Asante, Ghana. Journal of Consumer Research. 2003 ; 30 (1). 41-55
10. Brown WJ. Steve Irwin's influence on wildlife conservation. Journal of Communication. 2010 ; 60 (1). 73-93
11. Brown WJ, Basil MD, Bocarnea MC. Social influence of an international celebrity: Responses to the death of Princess Diana. Journal of Communication. 2003 ; 53 (4). 587-605
12. CastroT (2010) Fans flock to Michael Jackson's mausoleum. LA Daily News, 25 June 2010. Available at: www.dailynews.com/ci-15380653 (accessed 15 August 2010).
13. Caughey JL Imaginary Social Worlds: A Cultural Approach. Lincoln: University of Nebraska ; 1984 :
14. CNN Wire Staff. (2011) A souvenir moment becomes tragedy at ballgame. CNN.com, 9 July. Available at: edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/07/07/texas.rangers. game.death/index.html (accessed 5 November 2011).
15. Cohen J. Parasocial break-up from favorite television characters: The role of attachment styles and relationship intensity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 2004 ; 20 (2). 187-202
16. Connor T 2001 :
17. Couldry N The Place of Media Power: Pilgrims and Witnesses of the Media Age. London: Routledge ; 2000 :
18. Cova B, Cova V. Tribal marketing: The tribalisation of society and its impact on the conduct of marketing. European Journal of Marketing. 2002 ; 36 (5/6). 595-620
19. Cova B, Pace S. Brand community of convenience products: New forms of customer empowerment-the case 'My Nutella the community'. European Journal of Marketing. 2006 ; 40 (9/10). 1087-105
20. Curasi CF, Price LL, Arnould EJ. How individuals' cherished possessions become families' inalienable wealth. Journal of Consumer Research. 2004 ; 31 (3). 609-22
21. Eyal K, Cohen J. When good friends say goodbye: A parasocial breakup study. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 2006 ; 50 (3). 502-23
22. Fine J 2006 :
23. Gabel TG, Mansfield P, Westbrook K Advances in Consumer Research. Corfman KP Lynch JG, ed. Minneapolis: Association for Consumer Research ; 1996: 361-7.
24. GaudinS (2011) 'Steve Jobs' death creates Twitter surge. Computerworld, 7 October. Available at www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220647/Steve-Jobs-death- creates-Twitter-surge (accessed 5 November 2011).
25. Gentry JW, Kennedy PF, Paul K, Hill RP. The vulnerability of those grieving the death of a loved one: Implications for public policy. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. 1995 ; 14 (1). 128-42
26. Giles DC. Parasocial interaction: A review of the literature and a model for future research. Media Psychology. 2002 ; 4 (3). 279-305
27. Grayson K, Shulman D. Indexicality and the verification function of irreplaceable possessions: A semiotic analysis. Journal of Consumer Research. 2000 ; 27 (1). 17-30
28. GreenbergA (2009) Why celebrities twitter. Forbes Magazine, 3 March. Available at: www.forbes.com/2009/03/03/twitter-celebrities-privacy-technology- internet-twitter.html (accessed 15 August 2010).
29. Hills M Framing Celebrity: New Directions in Celebrity Culture. Holmes S Redmond S, ed. London: Routledge ; 2006: 101-18.
30. Horton D, Wohl RR. Mass communication and para-social interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry. 1956 ; 19: 215-29
31. Hughes Z. Tupac lives! Why fans are fascinated by stars who die tragically. Ebony. 2003 ; 58 (10). 112-15
32. James C Fame in the 20th Century. New York: Random House ; 1993 :
33. Jenkins H Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge ; 1992 :
34. Jenkins H Fans Bloggers, and Gamers. Jenkins H, ed. New York: New York University Press ; 2006a: 115-33.
35. Johnson R Border Patrols: Policing the Boundaries of Heterosexuality. Steinberg DL Epstein D Johnson R, ed. London: Cassell ; 1997: 232-52.
36. KaufmanG (2009) Michael Jackson dominates Billboard charts. MTV, 8 July. Available at: www.mtv.com/news/articles/1615461/20090708/jackson-michael.jhtml (accessed 15 August 2010).
37. Kear A Border Patrols: Policing the Boundaries of Heterosexuality. Steinberg DL Epstein D Johnson R, ed. London: Cassell ; 1997: 253-74.
38. Kozinets RV. E-tribalized marketing? The strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption. European Management Journal. 1999 ; 17 (3). 252-64
39. Kozinets RV. Utopian Enterprise: Articulating the meanings of Star Trek's culture of consumption. Journal of Consumer Research. 2001 ; 28 (1). 67-88
40. Kozinets RV. The field behind the screen: Using netnography for marketing research in online communities. Journal of Marketing Research. 2002 ; 39 (1). 61-72
41. Kubler-Ross E, Kessler D On Grief and Grieving. New York: Scribner ; 2005 :
42. Lennon J, Foley M Dark Tourism: The Attraction of Death and Disaster. New York: Continuum ; 2000 :
43. Martin PY, Turner BA. Grounded theory and organizational research. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 1986 ; 22 (2). 141-57
44. McCane BR. Bones of contention: Ossuaries and reliquaries in early Judaism and Christianity. Second Century: A Journal of Early Christian Studies. 1991 ; 8 (4). 235-46
45. McCracken G. Who is the celebrity endorser? Cultural foundations of the endorsement process. Journal of Consumer Research. 1989 ; 16 (3). 310-21
46. McCutcheon LE, Maltby J, Houran J, Ashe DD Celebrity Worship: Inside the Minds of Stargazers. Baltimore, MD: PublishAmerica ; 2004 :
47. Mulvihill M, Farmer DH The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs. New York: Viking ; 1999 :
48. O'Guinn TC Highways and Buyways. Belk RW, ed. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research ; 1991: 102-11.
49. O'Guinn TC, Belk RW. Heaven on Earth: Consumption at Heritage Village, USA. Journal of Consumer Research. 1989 ; 16 (2). 227-38
50. Presnell KK Media, celebrities, and identification: An examination of fan relationships with Dale Earnhardt amid the culture of NASCAR. 2008 :
51. Richins ML. Valuing things: The public and private meanings of possessions. Journal of Consumer Research. 1994 ; 21 (3). 503-21
52. Rojek C Celebrity. London: Reaktion ; 2001 :
53. Rojek C Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader. Redmond S Holmes S, ed. Los Angeles: Sage ; 2007: 171-80.
54. RoseLPomerantzD (2010) Top-earning dead celebrities. Forbes Magazine, 25 October. Available at: www.forbes.com/2010/10/21/michael-jackson-elvis-presley- tolkien-business-entertainment-dead-celebs-10-intro.html (accessed 10 October 10, 2011).
55. Sanchez-Pardo E Cultures of the Death Drive: Melanie Klein and Modernist Melancholia. Durham, NC: Duke University Press ; 2003 :
56. Sandstrom KL, Martin DD, Fine GA Symbols, Selves, and Social Reality. New York: Oxford University Press ; 2006 :
57. Sora S Treasures from Heaven: Relics from Noah's Ark to the Shroud of Turin. New York: Wiley ; 2005 :
58. Strauss AL, Corbin JM Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage ; 1998 :
59. Sullivan R. The last lap. Time Magazine. 2001 ; 157 (9). 60-9
60. Thompson CJ. Interpreting consumers: A hermeneutical framework for deriving marketing insights from the text of consumers' consumption stories. Journal of Marketing Research. 1997 ; 34 (4). 438-55
61. Thomson M. Human brands: Investigating antecedents to consumers' strong attachments to celebrities. Journal of Marketing. 2006 ; 70 (3). 104-19
62. Walther JB. Relational aspects of computer-mediated communication: Experimental observations over time. Organizational Science. 1995 ; 6: 186-203
63. Wang Y Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader. Redmond S Holmes S, ed. London: Sage ; 2007: 326-40.
64. Wicklund RA, Gollwitzer PM Symbolic Self-completion. Hillsdale: Erlbaum ; 1982 :
65. Worden JW Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner. New York: Springer ; 1982 :
66. YinS (2011) Sales of Steve Jobs' black turtleneck soar. PC Magazine, 7 October. Available at www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394343,00.asp#fbid= u12UeaMAOe1 (accessed 8 October 2011).