Ben Light @doggybUniversity of Salford, UK

LOCAL CELEBRITY IN THE INTERNET: MAKING

THE MARKET STREET MINCER

LOCAL CELEBRITY IN THE INTERNET: MAKING

THE MARKET STREET MINCER

Ben Light @doggybUniversity of Salford, UK

DEFINING CELEBRITY• Celebrity = impact on public consciousness (Rojek 2001)

• Rojek identifies 3 types of celebrity (2001:17)

• Ascribed’ by lineage/ bloodline

• ‘Achieved’, which is acquired through the perceived accomplishments and individual achieves in open competition

• ‘Attributed’, which is akin to achieved celebrity but largely a consequence of concentrated representation as exceptional/note-worthy by ‘cultural intermediaries’ like agents and publicists.

• Celebrities are vessels for the creation of social meanings and wither directly or indirectly serve to convey (typically dominant) social values as well as definitions of sexual/gendered identity; thus they play a significant role in organising our perceptions of the world (Evans, 2005:2)

CELEBRITY AND CONTINUITY

• Concepts of class, status and party (Weber, 1966)

• Personal charisma as a source of power (Weber, 1968)

• Role models (Lines 2001; Kellner 2001; Fraser and Brown 2002)• Figureheads in movements

for social change (Meyer and Gamson 1995)

MOTIVATIONS

• A focus on meaning, and on indigenous practices of meaning-making around the topic of celebrity, is needed (Ferris 2007).

• Instead of assuming or insinuating the worst through choice of topic or construction of hypotheses, research on celebrity should assume and insinuate as little as possible (Ferris 2007).

• Jenkins (1992) argues that we should emphasise the active positive benefits when fans create social networks around favourite celebrities.

POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS - FERRIS (2007)

• Confined to one particular celebrity system

• Speak of celebrity as a general system in which all types of celebrities are included.

• Much social scientific writing on celebrity is partially or entirely theoretical, attempting to conceptualize the phenomenon by relying on abstractions rather than empirical data. These theoretical writings are useful in that they problematize fame and celebrity as concepts. However, the authors often use personal impressions and observations to support their theoretical claims, and these observations are likely to be selective and unsystematic. Such selectivity may facilitate the pathologizing of celebrity in theoretical works.

•

THE MAKING OF CELEBRITY

• Relationships with celebrity

• Recognition and response work

•Dynamics of celebrity/fan sites

• The roles of ‘technology’

•Definitions of celebrity

METHODOLOGY

• Homage to the MSM on Facebook• Content analysis of 384 comments• Analysis of discussion threads

• Review of MSM associated materials

RELATIONSHIPS WITH CELEBRITY

• Celebrities often fulfil an important, personal role with respect to their audience’s sense of identity (Ndaliania, 2001; Caughey 2004)

• A celebrities need for adoration fuels celebrity worship (Fuller, 1996)

• Non-reciprocal intimacy at a distance’ (Thompson, 1995)

Ok, here is my story about the one of the many times I was lucky enough to witness Robocop Dude (a.k.a M.S Mincer) pacing market street. I passed Robocop one day coming out of Music zone on market street. I started to walk at a brisk pace towards piccadilly bus station (Robocop was gliding his way in the opposite direction - towards Boots etc). I thought that that was the last sighting of the day for me, but to my amazement as I passed Nero Coffee/Abby to turn the corner he nearly bumped into me coming in the opposite direction.... amazing!

Thanks for brightening up my day and thank you for giving us somewhere to remember him ;)

CELEBRITY IN FAN MEMORY EVOCATION

• He one day in about 2003 as I came home to my hall in the first year and he exited the building I lived at in New Medlock Halls. I was so shocked to see him face to face in the same build I lived in but it was him. I don't remember seeing him since. Hope he's ok.

• God i remeber him well from when i was at the good old manchester met uni back in the day!! I wonder what happened to him?? was he english?? did he have a real name?? ah how he used to brighten my day!!

• Oh my god, what a blast from the past! I used to live in Manchester and remember this guy so well, not thought about him (in any way) for ages. That guy was a legend, me and my friends would point him out every time we saw him. Thanks for brightening up my day and thank you for giving us somewhere to remember him ;) Does anyone know where he was moving to?

RELATIONSHIPS WITH CELEBRITY

• Celebrity often achieves ‘role model’ status for their audiences (Gauntlett, 2002).

• Fans imbue celebrities with god-like powers, regard the celebrity as “everything,” and seek to serve and/or suffer for their celebrity. They treat celebrity-related objects as sacred (O’Guinn 2002).

• Exposure to celebrities often contributes to life-long preferences in fashion styles and personal appearance (Schindler and Holbrook 1993) and shapes the basis of sexual attraction to the opposite sex (Holbrook and Schindler 1994).

One time he stood on the back of my shoe and then looked really annoyed about it! Wish I'd kept that shoe...

RECOGNITION AND RESPONSE WORK

• Moral order of the street (Ferris 2007)

“We made a hell of a noise trampling on pebbles of his driveway, the gardener asked us to leave.”

• Moral order of the street (Ferris 2007)

• Followed him down to the Royal Exchange once, but he caught wind of me and I had to duck in to a shop! He was later seen walking back up Markey Street towards Picadilly Gardens, not one bag in his hand!

• Blimey, now I do feel old! It only seems like the other day when we were all posting about him on the Essential message boards, tracking his every movement and whatnot!! I wonder if he thought it was us lot who were the weirdos for following him? hehe! Bring Back The Market Street Mincer!!

Used to see this dude all the time - always laughed about him with friends - but ... OMG just how well known is he?!!! lol I had no idea.

more and more I look at this photo I think it must be him. Wow, what a claim to fame! Knew he was a strange soul but did not realise he had such an audience!

ON FANS IN THEIR SITES“As the ‘‘professor’’ of knowledge about the celebrity, the fansite designer is given special privilege and influence. As one fansite designer said, ‘‘I’m more than just an anonymous ‘ordinary’ fan. People go out of their way to contact me, and ask questions like I’m an authority.’’ In these cases, the identification is intensified—the fan emerges as an unofficial ‘‘representative’’ of the specific celebrity…..

Perhaps, in a digital environment, status lies not merely in compiling information and knowledge but also in the control over the celebrity’s representation.”

(Soukup 2006)

SITE DYNAMICS

• In these cases, the ‘‘audience’’ for the fansite is the casual web browser who may have a moderate interest in Alanis Morissette or Natalie Merchant but is not yet a full-fledged fan. In effect, the fansite serves as a ‘‘proselytizer’’ to the uncon- verted, people who may not recognize the unique qualities of the celebrity. (Soukup 2006)

• Fan sites, of course, have no such obligation to present the trade- marked and sexualized images of celebrities, but in many ways, they still do. (Lambaise 2003)

15%

13%

13%

10%9%

9%

8%

7%

7%

4%3%2%

Comment made regarding the Mincer’s nameComment on connection with the life of the comment posterExpression of fondness/concern regarding the MincerReporting sightingMaking a reference to the Mincer as a celebrity/famousAttempt at interaction Providing information regarding location of sightingComment or question about who the Mincer was and where he wentMention of other ‘eccentric’ personComment on the Mincer’s activityComment made regarding the Mincer’s appearanceSpeculation as to why the Mincer minced

Site dynamics

0

75

150

225

300

1 Post2 Posts

3 Posts4 Posts 5 Posts 6 Posts

One Post MadeMultiple Posts Made on Same DayMultiple Posts Made on Separate Days

“Much like other forms of virtual communities, these social ties can be loose or tight—ranging from fleeting encounters while ‘‘surfing’’ the web to enduring relationships in which participants consistently return to the same Web site. Regardless of the strength (or weakness) of these bonds, the connection is built upon a mutual identification with the celebrity.” (Soukup 2006)

>1 Post 27%(overall)

>1 Post 19% (on same day)

NUMBER OF COMMENTS OVER TIME

February 2007

August 2011

The Market Street Mincer is by far the shiniest jewel in the characters of Manchester crown. Clad from head to toe in skin-tight demin, the ‘MSM’ can be found strutting up and down the main shopping street with a steely determination. Rumoured to be both banned from the swimming baths and an undercover policeman. He is known by more names and courts more controversy than any of Manchester’s finest.

THE ROLES OF ‘TECHNOLOGY’

“In a digital environment, fans have even more influence over the meanings and interpretations of the media texts with which they (and others) identify...

...fans can screen, can reconfigure and can rearrange media texts based upon their own desires and interests”

(Soukup 2006)

If only video phones were more widely available back in 2001....

It only seems like the other day when we were all posting about him on the Essential message boards

he even had a profile on gaydar called marketstreetmincer created by people who had taken photos of him!!!

They once did a phone in on Key 103 radio " have you seen the Market Street Mincer?"

I had photos of him on n old mobile I had...long gone now though :(

DEFINITIONS OF CELEBRITY

• The Mincer is not a Micro-Celebrity (Senft 2008) nor a Quasar (Monaco 1978)

• Rojek (2001) argues for celebrity as commodity – in his analysis, celebrities are the perfect products of capitalist markets, as well as contemporary replacements for both god and monarch.

• Our analysis of the practices of famous people on Twitter reveals how social media can be used to maintain celebrity status. Entertainers, public figures and technologists actively contribute to the construction of their persona through public interaction with fans. This type of active labor is strikingly similar to that practiced by bloggers, online glamour models, social media gurus, and other people practicing micro-celebrity (Markwick and boyd 2011).

• Twitter also disrupts the expectation of parasociality between the famous person and the fan (Markwick and boyd 2011).

• Twitter demonstrates the transformation of ‘celebrity’ from a personal quality linked to fame to a set of practices that circulate through modern social media (Markwick and boyd 2011).

Galaxy had a feature called cock of the north which was a title that went to someone each morning and he may have had it one day. He certainly got mentioned a lot on Nicksy in the morning. I often wondered if he knew of his celebrity status. Looking at the picture he could have been very anyone but after seeing him in action you would appreciate he was something special. God bless him and all who quite clearly sailed in him (if that walk was anything to go by).

I love that he is so famous! He's like an urban legend!

I heard the reason he used to 'mince' up and down Market St was due to him hearing someone got talent spotted for a modelling agency walking up Market St and the MSM wanted that same fate.