The Culture of Celebrity

This is a very good piece by Edward Epstein on American's "Celebrity Culture," subtitled "Let us Now Praise Famous Airheads." After addressing this topic the article meanders into what it means to be a "public intellectual" and what it takes to be a "famous writer," comparing today's fame requirements unfavorably with those of the past. The article was adapted from a lecture given at a seminar on "Celebrity Culture" held at the University of Virginia Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture in April of this year.