Till death do us part? Conversations with deceased celebrities through memorial pages on Facebook. Issue 2 (3rd April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gil-Egui, Gisela; Kern-Stone, Rebecca; Forman, Abbe E.
• Is Part Of: Celebrity studies. Volume 8:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 262
• Page End: 277
• Publication Date: 2017-04-03
• Subjects: Parasocial interaction -- Facebook -- celebrities -- fans -- death -- online memorials; Fame -- Periodicals; Celebrities -- Periodicals; 306.405
• DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2016.1259076
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1939-2397

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Within the considerable body of research that the notion of parasocial interaction (PSI) has generated since the late 1950s, one aspect has been largely overlooked: the maintenance of one-sided relationships between fans and celebrities after the death of the latter. The present study focuses on this particular form of PSI, as reflected by memorial pages on Facebook dedicated to deceased public figures. Through a combination of content and theme analyses, we explored expressions of intimacy, role modelling, and identification by visitors of these pages and the subjects for whom these virtual shrines are designed. Corroborating findings from previous studies, our data revealed that a large number of postings serve a pseudo-dialogical function, allowing visitors to engage in public, unilateral 'conversations' with dead celebrities. Moreover, our analyses identified three recurrent themes underlying these pages: expansion of fans' communicating capabilities across different dimensions of reality; legitimisation of a traditionally disenfranchised form of social engagement through grief; and tacit expansion of the economies of attention that sustain the culture of celebrities. These themes have important implications for future explorations of PSI in connection with broader institutional and social factors.