Celebrity Stardom Theory | Case study

 The Difference between Star/ Celebrity?

Although both are famous there is a very noticeable difference between the two. A celebrity is famous but only to a local audience or people with niche interests. A star is a famous individual who is known globally. You don't need to know what they do just that their name is known. 

An example of a star is someone like Steven Spielberg. A celebrity would be Taika Waititi. Both are excellent directors but more people would know Steven Spielberg's name more than Waititi's.


Shane Dawson is an American YouTuber who made his debut in 2008 at age 19. He now has over 19.6 million subscribers and over 4.2 billion views. His claim to fame was his "Conspiracy Theory" videos where he discussed and talked about many different types of conspiracy videos, horror stories, and rotten parts of history. He was considered the "King of YouTube" until his channel started to die in engagement. But once he started his documentary series his fame came right back up. But with every high point, there's a downfall.

His reel persona, the one we see in his videos, is dramatic, a jokester, and always reacting to everything with the most exaggerated of faces. He can also be seen as very problematic cause his humor is very dark and he tends to delve into controversial topics involving controversial people. (i.e James Charles, Jeffery Star, Tati Westbrook, and Jake Paul) He also paints himself as relatable to people of poorer backgrounds (he grew up very poor) despite living in a very big house in California. 

His real persona is not much different from his reel persona. He's naturally very extravagant and edgy so the rift between the two personas isn't that noticeable. However, he is much less censored when the cameras aren't rolling so he can be more offensive in his language and opinions. He's also living a remotely rich life despite being cheap in his videos. 



Love - We are fascinated with the love lives of the stars, and can also feel a romantic affiliation with them. 

Dawson's love life isn't discussed often in his videos but his boyfriend/fiance, Ryland Adams, appears very often. Around 2019 Shane proposed to his boyfriend of three years in a video and the internet went ballistic. Many people have said that their marriage will the the "Royal Wedding of YouTube". And according to recent news, they have gotten married.




Ordinariness - We like seeing celebrities living a normal life similar to our own

Dawson always talks about normal life topics in his videos since they're meant to be relatable. His favorite place to eat is Taco Bell and Chipotle which are really popular in the states. His quirky nature and doing things we'd all do and how we'd react to things is what makes his content and persona very appealing in ordinariness. The way he talks to the camera is the same as he would talk to a person or even a friend.


Success - People are fascinated with celebrity's success. Especially when they were once unknown and poor. 

Shane was once a really poor and overweight kid. He always talked about how much he struggled in his childhood not only as a queer man but also with his self-esteem. His story to success is that of a classic underdog tale. His success on YouTube made him a millionaire and that transformation from a poor kid who couldn't afford a lot of clothing to a man who lives in a mansion in California was what made people so interested. 

Consumption - People are curious and interested in what celebrities use and buy 

Dream turns sour - As much as we love seeing people rise to the top and win, people also love, if not more so, seeing their downfall. 


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