Authors:Sharyn McDonald, P David Marshall Pages: 1 - 20 Abstract: Highly mediated, mega-sporting events provide opportunities for elite athletes to use their prominent status to elicit social change. However, with expectations and policies in place to regulate behaviour that prevents athletes from making political statements, athlete activists face risks. An examination of the 2018 Commonwealth Games highlighted two athletes who used their personal reputation whilst at this highly mediated global sporting event to raise the visibility of societal issues. Through the lens of persona studies, this research examined how these athlete celebrities crafted individualised narratives through internetworked platforms of new and traditional media to demonstrate forms of athlete citizenship. This research illustrates how athletes can become co-creators of the social cause narrative, demonstrating how valuable athletes can be in amplifying the core values of major sporting events by reinforcing a fluid form of intercommunication. PubDate: 2023-04-30 DOI: 10.21153/psj2023vol9no3art1720 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Brandy Monk-Payton Pages: 21 - 37 Abstract: Persona can be understood as a form of art that highlights different styles of fashioning the self for various media platforms and audiences. This paper explores what I term the “art of notoriety” through the creative pursuits of the notorious hip hop artist, Kanye “Ye” West. I argue that West’s public embrace of antagonism in American media propels not only his fame but also his increasing notoriety, which is predicated on negative affect made manifest through his persona and artworks. Teasing out the complex role that polarising media personas can play in current popular culture; this paper specifically emphasises the negative affect of irritation that orients public response to the figure of the ‘asshole’. I suggest that West’s notoriety is not only due to his attitude and behaviour, the latter of which cannot be separated from his mental health, but is also connected to his penchant for ‘bad’ design at the level of aesthetic form in his artistic endeavours, and especially with his career in fashion. This paper provides a close reading of West’s persona and aestheticized conduct that incites public discomfort. I link the U.S. public’s peculiar relationality to West to issues concerning race and racial difference that amplify his status as a notorious black celebrity subject. Ultimately, West’s creativity emanates from an oppositional space and his infamous mediated confrontations with the public confirm his artistic skill as a perennial provocateur. PubDate: 2023-06-17 DOI: 10.21153/psj2023vol9no3art1614 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 3 (2023)
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