Hermione's feminist book club Celebrity activism and cultural critique

Abstract

In this article, I analyse how a celebrity can perform cultural critique and feminist activism using her Instagram account and online book club. Th e celebrity in question is British fi lm star Emma Watson, famous for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise. Watson is performing her activism on gender equality and cultural critique by recommending feminist literature. Th is study undertakes an analysis of Watson's presentations of self on Instagram and in her letters in the Our Shared Shelf book club. Th e analysis takes its point of departure from theories of social media and celebrity culture and fi lm studies as well as investigations of celebrity book clubs and celebrity activism. Th is case study of Emma Watson's performance of cultural critique and activism on specifi c media platforms demonstrates that Watson's authority is based on her star image as well as the fact that her book club letters and Instagram posts mutually reinforce one another's written personal arguments and visual documentation.