Beckham, 2nd EditionISBN: 978-0-7456-3367-1
Paperback
224 pages
July 2004, Polity
Other Available Formats: Hardcover
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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.