Hollywood: The stereotypical symbol of success and fame

Abstract

Proliferation of the Hollywood production in the world has proved its significance and powerfulness as the major global influencer that aspires people to achieve their dreams. Showing to the world “a perfect life,” the American dream factory has become a cultural symbol of a luxurious world that attracts people with fame, riches, everlasting youth, and beauty. As a specific sign, formed in the process of abstraction and reduction of social knowledge, the symbol of success and fame is mediated by consciousness, memory and associative relation to the lifestyle, activity and personal characteristics of people, who work in American film industry. Persistent reduplication of Hollywood imagery contributes to stereotyping the symbol of success and fame. This article investigates a stereotypical character of the symbol through application of a qualitative analysis of various media texts within the integrative research frame of social semiotics. The results of the research can be of use in semantic studies aimed at detecting media constructed symbols and stereotypes.