HOOPS OF CHINATOWN: The Construction of the Celebrity Image of Jeron and Jeric Teng
Abstract
This research studied the celebrification process of Jeron and Jeric Teng. Through interviews, textual analysis and semiotic analysis, their rise from being simple students to celebrities through basketball was analyzed and explained.
This research analyzed how the celebrification of Jeron and Jeric Teng is rooted in the existing structures they fit in: basketball star and Chinoy.
This study also showed how the audiences, as a result of branding and imaging in the celebrification process, formed ideas about the celebrities’ personalities. This ideation and identification turned these audiences into fans. The importance of the Chinoy look in attracting fans, as well as the spectacle in their rivalry in UAAP Season 76, became important parts of these findings.
Upon analysis, this research concluded that these two processes namely: Celebrification by Richard Dyers and Structuration by Mosco, are rooted in the political economic nature of the mainstream media industry. Celebrification and structuration are considered to be effective ways to construct a star and create profit.
Keywords: Celebrification, structuration, semiotics, media text, political economy, basketball celebrities, Chinoy, Chinoy celebrities, Chinoy personalities, Jeron Teng, Jeric Teng