I was thinking in the context of this class and of other forms of celebrity. An example is being famous for owning something unique. Case in point, a car. One of my hobbies is working on european cars. I have worked on modifying all of my cars and my friends and once a car is complete we show it off through the internet and magazines. In these photo-shoots and articles, I nor my friends are not usually shot, only the car. So it is not me who is getting "famous" but more so the material possession of the car. My car has been seen all over the world, not just through internet sites, but Japanese and British magazines as well; I recently discovered my pictures being used on a Chinese Yahoo store, advertising a certain product. These pictures were used without my permission, but there is little I can do. This is neither here nor there but my point is when I am driving, people stop me to say they have seen my car before and I have watched as kids take pictures of it with camera phones when its parked somewhere. My favorite instance of this was driving to class one day and someone stopped me at a red light to tell me how they have seen my car on the internet and how cool it looks in person. Another time was outside a club and as valet pulled the car around someone came up to me and asked if I was "Robots_are_neon" (my username for all forums) to which he told me he bought his car because my car inspired him. So what is the difference here between my face being seen all over or recognized, or my car? Is there one? Can my car get in just as much trouble? Let's say god for bid in an accident and then have people see that, knowing whose car it is because of its uniqueness? Of course, the irony of it all is the car is worth more without all the modifications, despite the fact that they are usually really expensive parts. If you have the time, you might be able to find a buyer who likes your car so much with all the stuff on it that you can sell it at a premium, but usually, you will make much more money if you sell the parts by themselves and sell the car stock. This is a funny commentary if looked at starts and celebrities, seeing that we assume they are rich and wealthy just because it fits the part, but who is to say most of them actually are? ( I will comment more on this notion in my core response on Black Masculinities)
Celebrity car ownership also fascinates me. Surfing through ebaymotors I constantly find "celebrity owned" as one of the selling points. I have seen 50cent's chrome Lamborghini around town a ton, although its never him driving it. And in my little supped up car world, because I know certain cars with certain modifications, especially the high end exotics, I see certain ones around town all the time, and upon spotting them, to me, I get the same thrill as someone else might on seeing an A-list walk in somewhere. So perhaps there can be celebrities in other forms... especially in LA
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Your last paragraph, about celebrities' cars, and the question as to whether there can be celebrities in other forms, made me immediately think of Angelyne. For those of you who don't know Angelyne, she is the epitome of manipulated, calculated celebrity; I like to think of her as the woman who paved the way for the likes of Paris Hilton. She is famous for her iconic billboards around Los Angeles, which literally just promote herself; even now, estimated to be in her fifties, she poses provocatively on Billboards with nothing more than her name, no goal other than self-adoration and promotion. Furthermore, she is notable, even synonymous with, her pink Corvette and ANGLYNE vanity plates. She was even a candidate in the 2003 California recall election, running on the campaign that it was time for California to get rid of Gray and have some blonde and pink in office. Here is a woman who is simply wealthy enough to splatter the town with billboards of herself, to the point that she is famous (even if it is just within the city), and who has a car specifically designed to further promote and maintain that notoriety. She is interesting to me on so many levels, for (like Paris Hilton), her ability to be famous for nothing more than being blonde, addicted to being photographed, and her possession of material objects that become famous in and of themselves, like her car.
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