Parasociality and Habitus in Celebrity Consumption and Political Culture

Abstract

This paper characterises the celebrity culture in the Philippines as a symbolic function of parasociality (“illusionary intimacies”) where interpersonal meanings are constructed upon celebrities in the context of consumption and political endorsements. By looking into accounts of focus groups and online social media communities, it qualitatively elaborates such sociocultural and political inclinations of celebrity parasociality that characterise the Philippine political and commercial systems. Through the discourses on how ordinary people, industry actors and celebrities themselves interact to negotiate the celebrity social meanings, the paper concludes that celebrification is an embedded trait of Philippine democracy and consumption ideals. Furthermore, such parasociality is nuanced by the notion of habitus where celebrities mirror spaces of social classification. The study implies that while celebrity culture is an important element in social connection and social identity sustained by traditional and social media use, it is also a component in citizens’ own accounts to issues of public concern, democratic exercise on political election matters, and in the everyday consumption decisions.