From two distinguished academics, Stars: The Film Reader brings together key writings and new perspectives on stars and stardom in cinema including coverage of stars and star systems from Europe and Asia as well as Hollywood, such as Mario Lanza, Oprah Winfrey and Roseanne Barr.
Including contributions from top scholars such as Richard Dyer, the book addresses questions of production, labour and circulation, and examines neglected areas of study such as the Avant-Garde star, the non-American stars, and the question of ethnicity.
Grouped in thematic sections, the articles explore key issues and developments in the study of stardom, providing a comprehensive overview of stardom across the world and in different genres and media.
Part 1: Re-Forming the Star Canon 1. Labour and the Commodity Form 2. Marlene: Modernity, and the Biopic 3. Action Movie Hysteria, or Eastwood Bound Part 2: The European and Asian Popular Cinema Star 4. Negotiating Exoticism: Hollywood, Film Europe and the Cultural Reception of Anna May Wong 5. Sophia Loren, Italian Icon 6. Reigning Stars: The Political Career of South Indian Cinema 7. Muscles and Subjectivity: A Short History of the Masculine Body in Hong Kong Popular Culture Part 3: The Avant-Garde and Underground Star 8. Performance and Persona in the U.S Avant-Garde: The Case of Maya Deren 9. Camping with Lady Divine: Star Persona and Parody Part 4: Race, Ethnicity and the American Star 10. Stars and Ethnicity: Hollywood and the United States, 1932-51 11. Hollywood Exoticism 12. Paul Robeson: Crossing Over 13. Opera and Popular Culture: The Case of Mario Lanza Part 5: The Network Television Star 14. Roseanne: The Unruly Woman as Domestic Goddess 15. C'mon Girl: Operah Winfrey and the Discourse of Feminine Talk 16. The Moving Image in Crisis
