•  
  •  
 

Document Type

Article

Abstract

How do local stars navigate global itineraries? This article analyzes black South African celebrity Nonhle Thema and the (dis)continuous flow of her transnational brand. Thema’s individual star image is predicated on her work as a television personality and entertainment news journalist who traverses across global markets in order to bring external (particularly U.S.) star visibility to a South African audience. Thema’s position as a conduit for the circulation of celebrity between South Africa and the world-at-large is made more complex when she becomes the subject of this transport in her original reality series Nonhle Goes to Hollywood (2011). As the theme song notes, Thema is transported "From S.A. to L.A."; Thus, the program follows Nonhle’s adventures in Los Angeles as the international face of Vuzu TV and her subsequent attempts to become a successful star in the United States. Thema’s negotiation of the multiple locales she resides in is indicative of a geographical displacement that highlights her liminal presence within a transnational community and celebrity culture. This essay explores the global commodification and branding of celebrity through the televisual medium. Nonhle Thema’s role as a cultural ambassador for South Africa, simultaneously allows her to import a global entertainment market to the country as well as export global recognition of the country through her star image. Utilizing global media theories of television, I aim to situate Nonhle’s stardom through the reformatting and repackaging of the "celebreality" genre of reality programming on television. Nonhle Goes to Hollywood is exemplar of the paradoxical expansion and containment of celebrity’s transmedia locations as Nonhle exists across televisual and digital markets, yet still retains a strong localized zone of reception.

Download

Share

COinS