ABSTRACT

Princess Diana is a secular saint whose fame spans generations and borders and has never dimmed. Fiction, fashion, relatability and a diverse and fervent fandom keep Diana current and relevant over 25 years since her death. In this article, I argue that Diana’s death and persisting celebrity give fans the freedom to own and play with her image and persona, and to relate to her in new ways informed by an ironic yet emotionally intense online milieu. I demonstrate that these new ways of relating to Diana prove that her digital life after death is not limited to her appearance and demise, but extends towards her attitude to social issues, rendering Diana fandom a political act. To do so, I combine analysis of Diana, digital fandom, dolls and the creation of AI animations. First, I analyse Diana’s portrayal in traditional and social media. Second, using a new creative methodology I call ‘social media reaction capture’, I create images using AI to test audience responses. Finally, I discuss how emerging technologies and cultures enable dead celebrities to live on while handing control of their image and personae to irreverent new audiences, arguing that ironic fandom and playfulness make Diana’s sainthood persist.

摘要

戴安娜王妃是世俗的圣人，她的名声跨越世代、跨越国界，从未黯淡。小说、时尚、亲和力以及多样化和狂热的粉丝群体使戴安娜在她去世 25 年的时间里一直与时俱进。在这篇文章中，我认为戴安娜的死和持续的名人让粉丝们可以自由地拥有和玩弄她的形象和角色，并在充满讽刺意味但情绪紧张的网络环境中以新的方式与她建立联系。我证明这些与戴安娜相关的新方式证明她死后的数字生活不仅限于她的出现和死亡，而是延伸到她对社会问题的态度，使戴安娜的粉丝成为一种政治行为。为此，我将对戴安娜的分析、数字粉丝圈、玩偶和 AI 动画的创作结合起来。首先，我分析了戴安娜在传统媒体和社交媒体上的形象。第二，使用一种我称之为“社交媒体反应捕捉”的新创意方法，我使用 AI 创建图像来测试观众的反应。最后，我讨论了新兴技术和文化如何让已故的名人继续生活，同时将他们的形象和角色的控制权交给不敬的新观众，并认为具有讽刺意味的狂热和嬉戏让戴安娜的圣人地位得以延续。