Russell Brand: Comedy, Celebrity, Politics

Jane Arthurs is Professor of Television at Middlesex University. She has published widely on film and television and feminist cultural studies. Her book Television and Sexuality on how the cultural politics of taste affects production, regulation and consumption, includes her well known essay on 'Sex and the City and Consumer Culture'.

Russell Brand is one of the most high profile and controversial celebrities of our time. A divisive figure, his ability to bounce back from adversity is remarkable. This book traces his various career stages through which he has done this, moving from comedy, to TV presenting; from radio to Hollywood films. It identifies how this eclectic career in entertainment both helped and hindered his high-profile move into political activism. Underpinning the book are interviews with leading activists and politicians, and sophisticated readings of Brand's performances, writing and on-screen work. There are sections on the Sachsgate scandal, his Newsnight interview with Jeremy Paxman, and his 2015 election intervention for aspiring Prime Minister Ed Miliband. It builds on scholarly work in the area of celebrity politics to develop an original analytic approach that blends the field theory of Pierre Bourdieu with the assemblage theory of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari.

First scholarly book on Russell BrandExplores Brand's relationship to  activist communitiesConsiders the potential and problems of Russell Brand's left-wing/activist celebrity capital in a 'post-political' age Shows how Brand orchestrates his campaign across different media platforms, using the power of his celebrity brand and his skills as a comedian and entertainer to engage a wider audience

1. Introduction.- 2. Stand up Comedy.- 3. Hybrid Media Celebrity.- 4. From Celebrity Apparatus to Political Assemblage.-