Starring James Van Der Beek as himself: celebrity, camp and the ‘meta-role of a lifetime’

ABSTRACT

There has been a shift in celebrity culture over the past two decades, inextricably tied to the increased accessibility of celebrity – both interacting with one and becoming one – via social media platforms. While social media has not ‘democratised’ celebrity in the way many have imagined, it has blurred the line between the extraordinary (stars) and the ordinary (the rest of us), increasing audience’s knowledge of celebrity practice, and the ability of ‘fallen stars’ to reinvigorate their star text or ‘persona’ via inexpensive and accessible media platforms. This article uses the example of the 1990s teen soap star James Van Der Beek’s re-vamping of his star text via social media to argue that ‘traditional’ celebrities can use this shift in celebrity culture to recreate themselves, and illustrates how Van Der Beek employs Camp and comedy to construct a star text that revolves around the exploitation of this shift.

KEYWORDS:

• Celebrity
• social media
• camp
• comedy
• James Van Der Beek

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jocelyn Smith

Jocelyn Smith is a PhD candidate in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She is interested in celebrity and fandom in the age of social media, and her dissertation focuses on ‘fangirling’ and male celebrities, looking at how sexuality/gender and labour/leisure impact the online interactions and relationships between fangirls and the objects of their fannish desire.