Contemporary Hollywood stardom - Barker, Martin

Star studies are vital to our understanding of film. Early work in the field stressed the relations between 'textual' and 'non-textual' dimensions of stars, and explored the history of stardom. Since then, the industry has undergone major changes, as studios have tried to reduce their dependency on big names, and other aspects of films such as 'special effects' have sometimes usurped the role of the star. At the same time the arrival of the internet and the explosion in materials such as glossy magazines and merchandise meant that information and images of all kinds multiplied and stars were visible as never before. All these developments require a major reappraisal of the field.



This book offers just that. It explores the political economy of stardom, questions of performance, the effect on stardom of convergence between the film industry and other leisure industries, and the role of audiences. The book combines a review of current trends with case studies of individual stars enabling students and researchers to widen their knowledge of the field and explore new ways of approaching the star phenomenon.