The Fan Studies Network

CFP: ‘Star and Celebrity Branding within Asia: Using Comradery Capital’ edited volume for Bloomsbury Series in Asian Celebrity and Fandom Studies

Editors: Jackie Raphael and Celia Lam

Call for chapters
The centrality of the celebrity commodity to the flow of cultural and economic capital in mediascapes has been explored by scholars such as Driessens and Marshall who note that celebrities are “manufactured by the celebrity industry” (Driessens, 2012, p. 643), and a mechanism to sell products. Marshall notes that the “celebrity as public individual who participates openly as a marketable commodity serves as a powerful type of legitimation of the political economic model of exchange and value – the basis of capitalism – and extends that model to include the individual (2014 [1997], p. xlviii).

In a recent publication, Celebrity Bromances (Routledge, 2022), we engage with the notion of the celebrity commodity, expanding Driessens’ celebrity capital to the dynamics of celebrity relationships. Driessens outlines how celebrities become part of the currency in a commodity culture, amassing capital that can be traded for profit to the benefit of the celebrity or affiliated products. Celebrities are therefore seen as cultural commodities (Marshall, 2014; Driessens, 2012, 2013); products of culture that contain value which can be traded for economic capital.

The commodification of celebrity interactions is a lens through which celebrity bromances are explored. We suggest that a “bromance capital” operates in contemporary celebrity culture, wherein the bromance is not only used as a tool to draw attention to individual celebrity figures. It also becomes a cultural “product” which gains value as a consequence of the affective attachments it provokes. Expanding the discussion beyond male homosocial intimacy, we also propose the concept of comradery capital, which is inclusive of group dynamics and functions across genders. Comradery capital refers to inherent value of the presentation of celebrity friendships and how these are utilised for the promotion of movies, television shows, charities, and products. The capital can fluctuate depending on levels of authenticity and how the relationship is performed.

While Celebrity Bromances explored some examples of comradery capital, these examples originated mostly from Hollywood celebrity culture. In our efforts to explore the operation of comradery capital, we wish to examine the various readings of comradery capital across countries in Asia. For example, The Avengers cast promotes their dynamic and films in interviews across Asian countries. Similarly, the way Gal Gadot and Chris Pine perform their friendship in the promotion of the Wonder Woman films or Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson for Men In Black International.

We would like to capture cultures from around Asia including Japan, Korea, Dubai, Lebanon, India, China, Iran, Singapore, Pakistan, Malaysia, Israel and Indonesia. In examining the way comradery capital is performed and perceived in these various regions, the book would be able to capture the way in which celebrities vary their performances of friendship to take into account cultural differences of acceptable physical contact, understanding of language and slang, and the reading of sexuality and gender. It will also examine how comradery capital is a global promotional tool, breaking the barriers of communication.

We welcome contributions that focus on the political economy of comradery capital, as well as the affective/empowering dimensions of comradery capital, including fan and consumer relations.

We encourage interested authors to review definitions of bromance and comradery capital in Celebrity Bromances by accessing the open access chapters at the below links. We encourage an engagement with these concepts in abstracts submitted.

Chapter 4 – ‘Utilising’ Bromances<https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.taylorfrancis.com%2Fchapters%2Foa-mono%2F10.4324%2F9781003093329-4%2Futilising-bromances-celia-lam-jackie-raphael%3Fcontext%3Dubx&data=05%7C01%7C%7C5c7a858a51014954e98008dadf4891f8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638067800052913989%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xqIIXx%2FP%2FRm4LqPSE6fIeuLBGsklVF8RXUdDVzVfubQ%3D&reserved=0>

Chapter 5 – Beyond Bromances<https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.taylorfrancis.com%2Fchapters%2Foa-mono%2F10.4324%2F9781003093329-5%2Fbeyond-bromances-celia-lam-jackie-raphael%3Fcontext%3Dubx&data=05%7C01%7C%7C5c7a858a51014954e98008dadf4891f8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638067800052913989%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SsEeWFN%2B%2FwF6gSd7JZAo05FlKavhV%2BPziTUVDKSFFUY%3D&reserved=0>

Topics could include, but are not limited to:

·      Promotion of Hollywood films in Asian contexts

·      Reception of Hollywood cast dynamics in Asian contexts

·      The creation and presentation of cast dynamics in Asian contexts, including same and mixed gender (binary and non-binary) casts

·      The reception of regional cast dynamics in Asian contexts

·      Creation and reception of joint or group celebrity persona

Submission
Please send the following to the editors at: cjcelebrityresearch@gmail.com<mailto:cjcelebrityresearch@gmail.com> by April 1, 2023:

–       300-word abstract

–       100-word bio

–       5-6 key words

Contact: cjcelebrityresearch@gmail.com<mailto:cjcelebrityresearch@gmail.com>.

Anticipated timeline:
Abstract submission deadline: April 1, 2023
Submission of full proposal to Bloomsbury: July 1, 2023

If the proposal is accepted, full chapters would be expected by November 2023.

References
Driessen, O. (2012). The celebritization of society and culture: Understanding the structural dynamics of celebrity culture. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(6), 641–657. https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1177%2F1367877912459140&data=05%7C01%7C%7C5c7a858a51014954e98008dadf4891f8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638067800052913989%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sTi07KNaNTZixgWHlQmmTfwBZBQFVRXKUDN5ETjVKhU%3D&reserved=0.

Driessens, O. (2013). Celebrity capital: Redefining celebrity using field theory. Theory
and Society, 42(5), 543–560.

Marshall, P. D. (1997, 2014). Celebrity and power: Fame in contemporary culture. University of Minnesota Press.

This book anthology will provide a compilation of various themes that are within the broad scope of the Isekai genre. Starting with an introduction and a historic overview of the recently very popular anime and manga genre, the different chapters will deal with specific aspects in the field of film and visual culture, religious studies as well as possible effects on the militarization of societies. Authors can cover the thematic issues of gender representations, violence, the representation of state and religion, the military, and the societal aspect of transgressing to another world. Hence the aim of this book is to be a valuable source for all those who are willing to look behind the scenes of Isekai and other worlds, unraveling the mysteries, impacts, and social functions of this popular genre.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• History of Japanese Isekai novels, manga and anime
• The evolution of Isekai and it’s rise in popularity
• Gender aspects, Gender Swap, Gender Based Violence, Gender Role Models, Isekai Harem
• Religious aspects , The image of religion in Isekai
• Violence and the military in Isekai
• Unique features in Isekai
• Societal aspects of Isekai
• Case studies of a specific Isekai series/novels

Final submissions should be between 5000 and 7000 words (including bibliography and reference). If you have additional suggestions or topics that you would like to contribute, please feel free to email them. As this anthology understands itself as interdisciplinary, proposals from Japanese Studies, Cultural and Film Studies as well as from Popular Culture and the Social Sciences including Humanities are welcomed.

Submission details

Please send your proposal, approximately 200 to 400 words, covering the topic and methodology used before 20^th January 2023 to the editor. Please also provide a short academic bio of around 100 words.

Your work should be original and currently not submitted to another publisher or Journal.

Decisions will be communicated in February 2023. Chapter manuscripts are expected to be submitted in August 2023. A detailed guideline (citation, spelling, chapter structure of the book) will be communicated together with the decisions.

Contact Info: 

Proposals and any inquiries should be sent to the editor’s email:

Dr. Cserkits Michael (independent post-doc scholar; University of Vienna/Austria)

a1049671@unet.univie.ac.at (Academic email); and please cc to explainingisekai@gmx.at (Project email)