"I think of him as an ancestor": Tupac Shakur fans and the intimacy of pop cultural heritage

Amanda Nell Edgar; Keven James Rudrow

doi:10.1093/ccc/tcy032

"I think of him as an ancestor": Tupac Shakur fans and the intimacy of pop cultural heritage

Amanda Nell Edgar, Keven James Rudrow

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

We consider the ways intimacy with pop cultural icons works as a type of heritage. Based on interviews with Tupac Shakur fans about his recent biopic and their histories with the rapper's music, we demonstrate the emotional investments fans have in the artist's image and their individual and communal connections to his memory. The 2017 biopic All Eyez on Me (AEoM) sparked public discussion of Shakur's legacy and prompted his fans to reflect on the importance of his work in their identity development. Specifically, they connected with him through deeply felt moments of commonality and family experience. Revisiting their connection to Shakur through the biopic functioned as intimate heritage, as fans used a variety of mediated forms to reflect on their lives through the symbolic record of Shakur's life. Therefore, the movie's content was secondary to the ways a mediated discussion of the artist facilitated fans' self-reflection.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	642-658
Number of pages	17
Journal	Communication, Culture and Critique
Volume	11
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcy032
State	Published - Dec 1 2018
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Audience studies
Hip-Hop
Intimate publics
Race
Tupac Shakur

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cultural Studies
Communication
Computer Science Applications

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10.1093/ccc/tcy032

Cite this

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abstract = "We consider the ways intimacy with pop cultural icons works as a type of heritage. Based on interviews with Tupac Shakur fans about his recent biopic and their histories with the rapper's music, we demonstrate the emotional investments fans have in the artist's image and their individual and communal connections to his memory. The 2017 biopic All Eyez on Me (AEoM) sparked public discussion of Shakur's legacy and prompted his fans to reflect on the importance of his work in their identity development. Specifically, they connected with him through deeply felt moments of commonality and family experience. Revisiting their connection to Shakur through the biopic functioned as intimate heritage, as fans used a variety of mediated forms to reflect on their lives through the symbolic record of Shakur's life. Therefore, the movie's content was secondary to the ways a mediated discussion of the artist facilitated fans' self-reflection.",

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"I think of him as an ancestor": Tupac Shakur fans and the intimacy of pop cultural heritage

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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