<![CDATA[Celebrity popularity is an appealing commodity for filmmakers, turned into a creative idea that generates profit for the global entertainment industry while unconsciously trapping fans in an illusion of emotional closeness with their idols. This study aims to uncover the commodification practices surrounding the popularity of the boyband One Direction in the documentary film One Direction: This Is Us. The research employs a qualitative approach using Roland Barthes' semiotic analysis through three levels of signification, namely denotation, connotation, and myth, applied to eight purposively selected key scenes, with data collected through observation, documentation, and literature review. The findings show that the popularity of the five members becomes a magnet for the industry to generate profit, where their vulnerability, brotherhood, and personal lives are packaged as spectacle selling an illusion of authenticity through three modes of commodification: content, audience, and labor. Behind a documentary format that appears honest and unfiltered, the film conceals the exploitation of the members' energy, time, and private space. The study concludes that celebrity popularity, with all its personal aspects, brings adverse effects, both for the exploited members and for fans driven to normalize consumption as a form of seemingly natural emotional support.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
