44 research outputs found
Celebrity meets Populism in Europe: The Political Performances of Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi
Throughout the world, celebrity and populism have become formidable combinations in supporting political leadership. The rise of these phenomena has provoked much debate and has led to the examination of the features, causes and consequences of this kind of politics. Celebrity politics is a reflection of both the influence of celebrities and the power of celebrity images in the media which see politicians becoming celebrities, deliberately or accidentally. The political rise and fall of Nicholas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi and their roles in the performances associated with political leadership furnish two case studies of celebrity and populism in France and Italy respectively. This paper examines these two āpresidential-styleā leaders in Europe who at first seemedadept in practising aspects of both celebrity and populist politics
The Aussie, 1918-1931: cartoons, digger remembrance and First World War identity
Feelings of community, cultural definition and memory were kept alive through the soldiersā mass circulation tabloid, the Aussie, examined here in the light of theorization of memory and representation, applied to both text and cartoons. The publicationās aim for veteransā values to become shared national values is analysed in the light of its high profile usage of soft cartoon humour and also of nostalgia ā highlighting the limitations as well as the effectiveness in terms of Australiaās evolving national identity. When the post-war economic situation worsened, deeper issues of national tension were glossed over by the use of scapegoats such as āprofiteersā and ālazy workersā. The armed forces were obliged to take on a political role of lobbying for their cause, but the Aussie as ācheerful friendā experienced its own identity crisis that proved to be terminal
Christianity as Public Religion::A Justification for using a Christian Sociological Approach for Studying the Social Scientific Aspects of Sport
The vast majority of social scientific studies of sport have been secular in nature and/or have tended to ignore the importance of studying the religious aspects of sport. In light of this, Shilling and Mellor (2014) have sought to encourage sociologists of sport not to divorce the āreligiousā and the āsacredā from their studies. In response to this call, the goal of the current essay is to explore how the conception of Christianity as āpublic religionā can be utilised to help justify the use of a Christian sociological approach for studying the social scientific aspects of sport. After making a case for Christianity as public religion, we conclude that many of the sociological issues inherent in modern sport are an indirect result of its increasing secularisation and argue that this justifies the need for a Christian sociological approach. We encourage researchers to use the Bible, the tools of Christian theology and sociological concepts together, so to inform analyses of modern sport from a Christian perspective