Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Abstract

John Green, is the author of "Looking for Alaska" and the wildly popular "Fault In Our Stars," which is soon to be made into a movie. But perhaps his largest group of fans come from his YouTube channel, "Vlogbrothers" which he runs with his brother Hank. They have created a cult of fans who hail from "Nerdfightaria" and live by the mantra, "DFTBA" (Don't Forget To Be Awesome). 
He and Hank have been touring, "performing" at Carnegie Hall in New York City as well as abroad. What interests me is how this idea of celebrity can be applied to authors. Though JK Rowling has quite a following,  fans come to see the creator of "Harry Potter," whereas fans come to see John Green in order to see John Green. Authors using a multi-media platform to promote their work, as well as themselves is a recent development and I think John Green is perhaps the most prominent example of that. However, I wonder if the quality of his work, gets lost amidst the online community he has helped to create. 
Who: John Green
What: His online/authorial persona
Where: Online
When: The recent social media boom
Why: Because authors don't often fall into the realm of celebrity; so what sets John Green apart or how do we treat authors and fame differently. 

Research: I plan to watch his videos, read the reviews of his most recent tour (including the NY Times review of his night at Carnegie Hall) refer to reviews of his books, and also read comments made by fans of his online community. I also need to search for more negative perceptions of John Green and of celebrity and celebrity authors in general.  

1 comment:

  1. Very interesting subject. I've never heard of him, though the issue of authors presenting themselves on multiple platforms is all the buzz in the publishing world--to the point that an author in her book proposal and pitch to agents must make an argument for her online presence and ability to reach a wide audience across multiple platforms. OK, so what argument will you be making about him? Or will it be about this phenomenon?

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