The Beckham enigma continues. Since the publication of Cashmore's
challenging social biography in 2003, the working-class kid from
the East London has left Manchester and conquered the world.
Undisputedly one of the world's most famous men, Beckham has
transcended sport to become an all-purpose cultural icon for the
twenty-first century.
What are the sources of Beckham's godlike status? Why does
someone who looks good, but speaks in platitudes and does little
but play football, command the adulation of the planet? By
dissecting his life and setting it in context of the age of
celebrity, Cashmore argues that Beckham has been turned into a
product, a commodity that can be bought and sold like any other
piece of merchandise. There is not just a person named Beckham:
there are countless Beckhams that exist independently of time and
space, constructions of peoples' imaginations.
The second edition of Beckham updates the original's arguments,
covering the events that have shaped the Beckham phenomenon: the
Flying Boot that symbolized the growing disquiet at Manchester
United, the replacement of his first agents SFX with Simon Fuller
(the creator of Pop Idol), the failed attempt to capture a US
market, the growing presence of adidas, the sportswear giants, and
the transfer saga that took Beckham to Madrid - and his influence
beyond.
Among the other features of the second edition are chapters on:
Manchester United, the club that provided Beckham with his first
showcase; Rupert Murdoch's takeover of British football; Beckham's
ambiguous sexual image and his gay following; the importance of
Madonna in kick-starting the age of celebrity in which Beckham
prospered; Beckham's curious relationships with the legacy of
Warhol.
Completely revised and updated, the new text emphasizes the
often overlooked part played by Victoria in the making of the icon
and the guile with which she helped plan an enterprise that had no
precedents.
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