Chapter 37
Stars and Image
Objectives: The chapter aims to help students understand the concept of stars and stardom, how star images are
formed, and how complex the phenomenon of stardom is.
Key words: image, stardom, acting, studio system
The Star System
“More stars than there are in heaven.” ---MGM studio logo
All of us have seen promotional materials surrounding a film’s launch or release - posters, trailers, interviews in
print, on TV and online, as well as a host of further merchandising products. The one thing that most of us
remember is the star on the promotional materials, a fact that reveals the considerable stake stars hold in
announcing its presence and generating an audience of sufficient size to recoup costs. Considering this reality,
the star is understood as a specific form of industrial commodity.
Would you believe that in the first few years of its beginning, film industry had no stars at all? Individual actors
were not even named in most films. This remained the case till 1910. The official ‘first movie star’ is Florence
Lawrence, who starred in almost 300 films. She worked for the Vitagraph Company as an anonymous actress
for some time and then moved on to the Biograph studios. She was the first actress who the audiences knew by
name. It was also this time that producers and studios realized the value of stars as commodities and the
importance of creating hype around stars. From here onwards, stars started becoming visible and began to wield
great economic power. Stars helped in selling films and producers realized that soon.
By the mid-1910s, the star systemwas taking hold and actors like Charlie Chaplin and Lillian Gish were making
over a million dollars a year. Once in the 1930s, the major studios, particularly MGM, placed several stars
under exclusive contract and even created stars by means of carefully assigned film roles and publicity
campaigns. Some notable examples are: Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Bette
Davis, Rita Hayworth, Humphrey Bogart etc.
These people were stars because they fulfilled a certain set of expectations. As Jeanine Basinger puts it:
The star machine was the daily routine inside a studio. Knowing how much their business depended on
movie stars, and knowing how much young actors and actresses (or waitresses and gas jockeys) wanted
to become movie stars, the studios created a plan to locate suitable candidates, hire them, fix’em up, and
put’em on the market. …They manufactured the product they needed and manipulated their system
shamelessly from case to case. (2009: 19)
The fascination with stars went out of bounds as was evident through news reports about them in various fan
magazines. Film studios, scared that a bad news item about a star may harm the films’ box office prospects,
started to control the film magazines through their well-oiled publicity machinery and public relations.
In classical Hollywood, most stars were white. Actors of other races who came into prominence did minor and
highly stereotyped roles. Hattie McDaniel, a black actress, achieved certain stardom and even an Academy
Award for Gone with the Wind (1939). In the 1960s, when the civil rights movement opened up some
opportunities for minorities in the United States, Sidney Poitier plated central roles in several films. He
established a star persona as a dignified, black man in films such as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and
To Sir with Love (1967).
Since the collapse of the studio system in the 1950s, stars have become arguably the key element of the film
industry. When the studio system declined in the 1950s, many stars formed their own production companies
which had been the situation for several decades. Stars such as Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, and Angelina Jolie
have combined superstardom with successful business acumen.
Theories of stardom

Richard Dyer and Stars (1979, 1998):
Dyer discusses stars in terms of consumption, types and images. While discussing stars and their films he
opines:
Inevitably, the films have a distinct and privileged place in a star’s image. It is after all film stars that we are
considering---their celebrity is defined by the fact of their appearing in films. However, the star is also a
phenomenon of cinema (which as a business could make money from stars in additional ways to having them
make films, e.g. in advertising, the fan industry, personal appearances) and of general social meanings, and
there are instances of stars whose films may actually be less important than other aspects of their career. (1979:
61)

Richard Dyer on star images in Heavenly Bodies (1986, 2004):
The star phenomenon consists of everything that is publicly available about stars. A film star’s image is not just
his or her films, but the promotion of those films and of the star through pin-ups, public appearances, studio
hand-outs and so on, as well as interviews, biographies and coverages in the press of the star’s doings and
‘private’ life. Further, a star’s image is also what people say or write about him or her, as critics or
commentators, the way image is used in other contexts such as advertisements, novels, pop songs, and finally
the way the star can become part of the coinage of everyday speech. Jean-Paul Belmando imitating Humphrey
Bogart in A Bout de Souffle is part of Bogart’s image, just as anyone saying, in a mid-European accent, ‘I want
to be alone’, reproduces, extends and inflects Greta Garbo’s image.
Star images are always extensive, multimedia, intertextual. Not all these manifestations are necessarily equal. A
film star’s films are likely to have a privileged place in her or his image. (2-3)
A Star’s Image
Let us look at the development of the star image of a major star of our times, Bruce Willis. Willis became
extremely popular in the television series as Detective David Addison in Moonlighting which began in 1985
and ran for four successful seasons till 1989.
Willis’s first film, Blind Date (1987), was a moderate success with him cast in a slapstick comedy. The film
appeared in the midst of his TV success. His minor films were followed by his unforgettable tough talking New
Yorker John McClane in Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990). Willis had a whole new image as a muscular
actions hero, along the lines of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Willis followed this up with
Brian de Palma’s Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) where he played the role of a journalist against the type; and
Death Becomes Her (1992), an early comedy opposite Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep. He took minor roles in
independent films such as Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) and Terry Gilliam’s postmodernist 12
Monkeys (1995).
But the biggest surprise was M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense (1999), where Willis plays a psychiatrist
treating a young boy who sees dead people. From a television star to an action hero to playing lead roles in
comedies, and also playing the protagonist in a psychological thriller, Willis’ career has a distinction like none
other. His personal life too was under great scrutiny while he was married to Demi Moore, a big star in her own
right.
It is believed that celebrity is a mode of stardom relatively unconnected to the sphere of professional work.
Look at the trajectory of Tom Cruise's romantic relationships, his divorce from his first wife Mimi Rogers, his
marriage to Nicole Kidman, their divorce, and his subsequent marriage to and divorce from Katie Holmes, and
the custody of their daughter, Suri Cruise. Cruise is also discussed for his interest in scientology. The main
point here is the idea that often attention is directed towards the drama of the star's personal life, and not his
work as a professional actor. We do recognize that Cruise is the megastar who is the young rebel in Top Gun
(1986), The Color of Money (1986), Cocktail (1988), Days of Thunder (1990); playful, yet professional in A
Few Good Men (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996); and a war veteran in Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Between
Mission Impossible 1 (1996) and Mission Impossible 2 (2000), he did two unlikely roles: as Frank T J Mackey
in Magnolia (1999) as a brash, yet wounded misogynist; and as William Harford in Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
where he is seen in a troubled marriage. In Collateral (2004) he is a professional criminal with premature grey
strands, and in Tropic Thunder (2008) he is so un-Tom Cruise-like that he is almost unrecognizable. He also
did an off-beat Vanilla Sky (2001) , and then a complete commercial entertainer such as Knight and Day
(2010).
Method Acting
“I’m always making fun of the Method, but I use a lot of things that are taken from it.” Orson Welles.
The exponent of the Method was the Russian theatre director Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky. This was
known as the Stanislavsky system. In the US, the Stanislavsky system became popular as The Method, first
popularized by the Group Theatre in New York City in the 1930s in the US, whose proponents were people
such as Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler.
The Stanislavsky System, or "the method," as it has become known, held that an actor’s main responsibility
was to be believed. Stanislavsky first employed methods such as "emotional memory." To prepare for a role
that involves fear, the actor must remember something frightening, and attempt to act the part in the emotional
space of that fear they once felt. This was a clear break from previous modes of acting that held that the actor's
job was to become the character and leave their own emotions behind. The creation of physical entries into
these emotional states, believing that the repetition of certain acts and exercises could bridge the gap between
life on and off the stage.
Leading practitioners of the Method include: Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Montgomery Clift, James Dean,
Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway,
Meryl Streep, Liv Ullman, Emma Thompson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicholas Cage, Adrian Brody, Christian Bale,
Heath Ledger,Forest Whitaker, and Frank Langella.
Case studies of Stardom and Method Actors
James Dean (1931-55)
“You're tearing me apart! You say one thing, he says another, and everybody changes back again."---Rebel
without a Cause.
James Dean was born in Indiana. Helost his mother at age 9 and remained estranged from his father throughout
his life. Often compared to Marlon Brando because of his shuffling, mumbling style, he played characters that
were inarticulate and possessed a defenseless and innocent quality. His angst-ridden protagonists were
misunderstood outcasts, desperately craving approval from a father figure.
Dean starred in only three films: East of Eden (dir. Elia Kazan); Rebel without a Cause (dir.Nicholas Ray); and
Giant (dir. George Cukor). Of these, Rebel is his most iconic performance. Incidentally, Brando was initially
considered for the role and Dean’s performance shows Brando’s distinct influence.
The term was coined by Robert Lindner, a psychologist in a book “Rebel Without a Cause” (1944). Warner
Brothers had bought the right to his book in 1946. Rebel is a milestone in the creation of new idea about young
people and about unfocused rage. The precedence was set by Marlon Brando as a motorcycle gang leader in
The Wild One (1953) and the rock n’ roll music of Elvis Presley in 1956.
Dean’s style quotient in the film was another reason for creating the image. The iconic red jacket and slickedback hair became a trademark for the rebellious youth. The switchblade scene and the chickie run scene became
a part of the cult world of teenagers.
Dean’s premature death in his Porsche 550 Spyder nicknamed Little Bastard, added to his aura. Rebel Without
a Cause was released after Dean’s death, and the ‘chickie run’ scene prefigured Dean’s own death. Unlike
Brando, who in his middle years had put on lots of weight and had turned into a recluse, Dean’s persona
remains of an eternally young and cool star, adding to his legend.
Marlon Brando (1924-2004)
Marlon Brando changed the way young men could be seen in popular culture. Actors became more brooding,
introspective, confused, and ambiguous about morals and sexuality. Brando, Dean and Clift embodied versions
of “protest masculinity”.
A New York stage actor trained under Stella Adler, Brando had many successes on the Broadway before he
ventured into the film industry.
Films such as A Streetcar Named Desire(1951 ), Viva Zapata (1952), The Wild Ones (1953 ), Julius Caesar
(1953), On the Waterfront ( 1954), Desiree (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), One Eyed Jacks (1961), The
Godfather (1972), Last Tango in Paris (1972), and Apocalypse Now (1979) were testimony to his versatility.
Of his performance, in On the Waterfront director Elia Kazan said, “If there is a better performance by a man in
the history of American film, I don't know what it is.”
Brando’s personal quirks (he once said, “I hate acting, and did it only for money.”), leaning towards native
Indians, political ideology, tantrums, and high drama in personal life (trouble in family, law and order situation)
regularly kept him in the news and contributed as much in his making his persona interesting as his acting.
Conclusion
Stardom manifests not only in the films in which a star appears, but across all kinds of other 'official' and
'unofficial' media texts in which the star may or may not appear in person: publicity and marketing materials,
interviews, newspapers, magazines, television, websites, DVD 'special features', auto/biographies, and so on.
Indeed, within this web of intertextuality 'the star' is understandable, as a specific form of text.
References
1. Basinger, Jeanine. The Star Machine. NY: Vintage Books, 2009.
2. Dyer, Richard. Heavenly Bodies. Londn& NY: Routledge, 2004.
3. -----------------. Stars. NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 1998.
Suggested reading
1. Everett, Ana. Pretty People: Movie Stars of the 1990. NY: Rutgers, 2012.
2. Gledhill, Christine. Stardom: Industries of Desire. NY: Routledge, 1991.
Suggested websites
1. http://www.filmsite.org/grroles.html
2. http://www.filmsite.org/100greatfilmstars.html
3. http://www.movie-greats.co.uk/
4. http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Romantic-Comedy-Yugoslavia/Stars-STARSTUDIES.html
5. http://www.afi.com/100years/stars.aspx
6. http://www.vulture.com/2012/07/most-valuable-movie-stars.html
7. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/12-most-unlikely-action-movie-stars-20140730
Quiz
1. Answer the following:
i. What were the main features of relationship between
ii. Mention any two teachers of the Method.
iii. Explain why a star like Bruce Willis is an interesting study.
2. Fill in the blanks:
i. The first film star was……………………
ii……………….was the first black star to win an Oscar.
iii.James Dean starred in…….films.
Answer key
2. i-Florence Lawrence ; ii.-Hattie McDaniel ; iii.-3