Essay Proposal

A proposed essay title or topic:
'How does the gaze theory within paparazzi culture affect celebrities and how the general public sees them?'

The main issues addressed by your argument
Who controls the mass media.
The positives and negatives of the 'Celebrity world' and the invasion of paparazzi
How and why gossip magazines and media portray celebrities the way they do
Why the general public obsess over them.
How celebrities cope and their need to self regulate

Any visual material that you will look at:
Gossip magazine images, eg. Heat magazine

What theoretical approach / methodology will you use?
The gaze theory, particularly the male gaze and panopticism

Which specific theorists / writers will you refer to?
Foucault, M.
Chandler, D.
Sontag, S.
Coward, R.

At least 5 books / articles / resources already located:
Berger, J (1972) Ways of Seeing, London, Penguin

Chandler, D (1998) Notes on the Gaze, www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze06.html (09/03/2010)

Foucault, M (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, New York, Pantheon

Marshall, P.D (2006) The Celebrity Culture Reader, New York, Routledge

Thomas, J (2001) Reading Images, New York, Hampshire, Palgrave