Snapshot: Religion in Contemporary Photography: Celebrity Obsession

Celebrity worship is prevalent in contemporary society (Caldwell and Henry 2009; Ward 2011) and intense celebrity worship is on the rise; psychologists term this disorder Celebrity Worship Syndrome (Faye 2013). Today research shows at least one in three people worship celebrities (Caldwell and Henry 2009). Maltby et al. (2001 p. 1157) have recognised a “(r)elationship between celebrity worship and religiosity”. God-like characteristics are often associated with celebrities, despite today’s meaning of celebrity deriving from “the fall of gods, and the rise of democratic governments and secular societies” (Rojek 2001 p.9). Giles (2000 cited in Maltby et al. 2001 p. 1158) argues that celebrity is a way of “preserving a unique part of the self for eternity”. This creates illusions of immortality, highlighting a parallelism between celebrity status and that of a god. While Ward (2011) in his book “Gods Behaving Badly” argues “(c)an our fixation on and devotion to celebrity culture itself be considered a religion?”

Celebrities achieve and record their god-like celebrity status through “(c)ultural intermediaries” (Rojek 2001 p. 10) such as fashion photographers. Fashion photography presents a staged representation of the celebrity’s ‘front’ whilst regulating the real self on display (Rojek 2001). Through these engineered and manipulated photographs celebrities are able to convey connotations of god, heightening their god-like status and associating themselves with religion.

Madonna: “I won't be happy ‘till I'm as famous as God”

Madonna photographed by Marcus Piggott and Mert Alas for Interview Magazine

Madonna has long established her relationship with religion in contemporary mass media; her key ‘accessory’ being the cross (Interview Magazine). In Madonna’s ‘daring’ 2013 article for Harper’s Bazaar she states “I decided I needed to have a spiritual life. That’s when I discovered Kabbalah” (Madonna 2013). Some recognise her as having a casual, romantic relationship with faith while others believe she encourages religious tolerance (Huffipost Celebrity 2013). Additionally, she arguably achieves her god-like status from the worship she receives from her mass fan-base (Caldwell and Henry 2009).

Madonna’s use of religious symbols permeates the fashion photography she features in. This reinforces her relationship with God and implies an affinity with God (Detweiler and Taylor 2003). Despite this, today, ‘Madonna catholic’ is a term used to refer to someone who “decides to keep their catholic status only for cultural/image reasons” (Urban Dictionary 2013).

Madonna for Interview Magazine

Dita Von Teese: A Religious Juxtaposition

At Christmas 2009 Harper’s Bazaar Russia’s cover photoshoot by photographer Marcin Tyszka staring Dita Von Teese, an american celebrity burlesque dancer, utilises religion to convey superiority, opulence and godly qualities (Another 2013;). Von Teese wears a Christian Lacroix wedding gown, rosary style beads (Jocelyn 2013) and white headscarf that “hints at the Madonnas taken out on the street during Spanish processions” (Gorgan 2009) as part of the ‘Sinner or Saint’ photoshoot.

Dita Von Teese: Haper's Bazzar Russia

Dita: Harper's Bazaar Russia

Religion: A Prevalent Theme Throughout Fashion Photography

Following on from this theme Vogue is declared to be the “fashion bible” (Conde Nast International 2014) while many other fashion publications aspire to be so. Contemporary fashion magazines and fashion photography have embraced conceptual religious themes as the “various ways we construct identity becomes increasingly important” (Hancock, Woods and Karaminas 2013 p. xii). The following fashion photographs highlight the prevalent theme of religious inspired fashion photography in contemporary media.