Picture Personalities: The Emergence of the Star System in America [Paperback]

Richard Decordova (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 025207016X | ISBN-13: 978-0252070167 | Publication Date: August 31, 2001

Moving pictures existed for over a decade before anything resembling a star system appeared. Then, within the space of a very few years, American cinema went from being completely devoid of stars to being completely dependent on them. "Picture Personalities" is an invaluable account of this crucial development in cinema and modern culture. Conventional wisdom attributes the rise of the star system to the charisma of individual performers or to the public's desire to idolize an appealing star. In "Picture Personalities", Richard deCordova argues that the fledgling movie industry and the press conspired to develop the star system, along with a system of discourse to support it. How actors became stars and how they began to assume public identities distinct from their fictional roles was closely tied to the journalistic discourse of the period, produced by the trade press, newspapers, general periodicals, fan magazines, publicity stills, posters, and other material. DeCordova shows how the studios worked to fabricate moral images of the stars' marriages and personal lives and how a series of star scandals in the 1920s challenged those images and brought about changes in the conventions of representing stars. A new foreword by Corey K. Creekmur enhances this first paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is film history at its best, relying on a wealth of archival sources to reject, refine, and clarify the received history, sifted through a sophisticated theoretical model of relationship between culture, industry, and consumer. It all adds up to the definitive tale of the myth of Hollywood stardom." -- David Desser, coauthor of American-Jewish Filmmakers: Traditions and Trends

From the Inside Flap

"This is film history at its best, relying on a wealth of archival sources to reject, refine, and clarify the received history, sifted through a sophisticated theoretical model of relationship between culture, industry, and consumer. It all adds up to the definitive tale of the myth of Hollywood stardom." -- David Desser, coauthor of American-Jewish Filmmakers: Traditions and Trends

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (August 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 025207016X
• ISBN-13: 978-0252070167
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at the phenomenon of movie star celebrity, August 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Picture Personalities: The Emergence of the Star System in America (Paperback)

I knew the late Richard Decordova when we were kids. I lost touch with him after high school, and was intrigued to find out years later that he had become a college professor in the field of movies, film-making, etc. This book is a fascinating peek at the concept of stardom in America.