Pop Culture Serazio, Michael. "Shooting for Fame: Spectacular Youth, Web 2.0 Dystopia, and the Celebrity Anarchy of Generation Mash-Up." Communication, Culture & Critique 3 (2010) 416 -- 434.

In "Shooting for Fame," Michael Serazio argues that the new media environment creates unique opportunities for a vehemently destructive sort of narcissism. Pointing to the Columbine massacre, the Virginia Tech massacre, and the Jokela High School Massacre in Finland, the author claims that the attacks are both "premeditated," in the traditional sense that their perpetrators planned the attacks; and "premediated," in the sense that the acts were "prepackaged," as Serazio puts it (425). The media was instrumental to the message and the massacres. The act of premediation also suggests that the perpetrator choreographs movements and actions to make them media ready and therefore celebrity-ready. Celebrity consciousness creates narcissism, distorted ideals, skewed role modeling, and also egomania. Therefore, "Shooting for Fame" discusses the violent repercussions of a society that celebrates...

Both Cho and Auvinen knew how to capitalize on new media to craft their personas and messages. By creating "mashups," and spreading their videos on YouTube, the perpetrators designed their own documentaries. They designed the drama, wrote their own script, and starred in their own movies. Auvinen said, "I want this to be remembered forever. Maybe I'll get followers too. Because I am an ubermench, nearly a god," (cited by Serazio 427). Likewise, Cho attempted to "write himself into history," (Serazio 426).
Narcissism is the underlying psychological force that promotes the creation of a narrative like these events. Celebrity culture is a culture of narcissism, central to the Me-generation sensibility. Social alienation promotes even more inward-focused personal discourse and new media enables the narcissistic trend. Even while new media is democratizing and empowering,…