"They can imagine anything they want…": Identification, Desire, and the Celebrity Text
1997; Wayne State University Press; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1522-5321
Autores Tópico(s)Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
ResumoIn the summer of 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme, the reigning king of second grade action movies, attracted enormous media attention for what appeared an embarrassing, egotistical and slightly offensive remark. When asked during an interview for Movieline magazine how he felt about his legions of gay fans, Van Damme responded: It doesn't disturb me to have gay fans. Maybe they like me because gay people love beauty in general. They have a high level of taste (Rebello 35). Van Damme's somewhat muddled comment was immediately circulated as an object of ridicule on Entertainment Tonight , in US magazine, and numerous newspapers and radio programs. But in this seemingly absurd quotation, and our brief fascination with it, comes an open acknowledgment and acceptance by Van Damme of his role as a polymorphous sexual icon. The appeal of Van Damme to men and women, heterosexual and homosexual is an indication of how flexible contem-
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