Hollywood Star System - Essay Example

Running Head: Hollywood Star system Hollywood Star system of Hollywood Star system The United s was an industrialized and economically powerful country during the start of the twentieth century. The huge consumer market consisted of products were manufactured and marketed successfully. The American film industry was also quickly becoming popular. Soon it was found that fame could also be successfully marketed. Personality was the vehicle for social and material progress in American society. The Hollywood Star system thus transformed actors and actresses into picture personalities that represented the privileged images for their fans. The star system created and promoted film stars by creating personas for them. In the process new names and backgrounds were created. Cary Grant, Joan Crawford and Rock Hudson were film stars who were created by the Hollywood star system. The system expected men to be gentlemen and women to wear stylish clothes when leaving the house. There were special clauses within the actors’ contracts which called for strict moral regulations to be adhered to (de Cordova, 52, 2000). The star’s public image was fiercely guarded by the Hollywood executives. Any scandals or incidents that damaged the star’s image were covered up. Sham dates were introduced for actors who were homosexual. Actors and actresses were matched together in order to create a public image of a romantic couple. Money was given to witnesses to hide incidents of drugs, adultery, drinking and divorce. Some tabloid papers were on the Hollywood payroll which exclusively reported on the stars to update their public image. Celebrity scandals were hushed up by giving money to tabloid papers and journals (Walker, 57, 1970). During the initial years of the film industry, actors and actresses were reluctant to perform in films. They felt embarrassment in working for movies. The film industry was considered at the level of carnivals and freak shows. Only silent movies were considered to be acceptable. Producers also feared that by working for films actors would gain more fame and prestige. Thomas Edison’s Motion Picture Patents Company forced companies to follow their rules and equipment during the design of films. The Motion Picture Patents Company did not promote stars. The star system eventually arose from the public desire to know the names of the actors. Film audiences gave their own nicknames to performers in movies they liked (McDonald, 77, 2000). Star promotion was first done by Carl Laemmle when he acquired Lawrence from Biograph. He promoted the star by spreading rumors of her being killed in a car accident. He countered the rumor by saying that she would star in upcoming movie. Film fan magazines began writing articles about the lives of actors and actresses outside their film roles. They eventually found out that more copies could be sold if they focused on the performers. The star system of the stage was a significant model to be emulated by Hollywood companies in promoting their stars. A regulated system for promoting Hollywood stars was designed along the models of commercial cinema. Producers began to understand the appeal of several actors. Charlie Chaplin, Lilian Gish, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Clara Bow were some of the early performers to be promoted by the Hollywood star system. The rise of Hollywood’s financial and cultural power was based upon the charisma and appeal of specific actors. The Hollywood star system consisted of several working parts. They were dance and singing lessons, makeup, hair, clothing, glamour photographs and constructed gossip. These tools were used to market specific performers. Millions of tickets, magazines and consumer goods were sold in the name of these specific performers. Fan magazines became popular as they documented the stories of actors and actresses outside the movies. An off screen image was constructed which tailored to the specific star’s screen persona. Fans wanted to know about the real Clark Gable and Joan Crawford. The star system effectively balanced between identification and adoration. Child stars like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney were famous kids who were promoted and marketed (McDonald, 77, 2000). Sometimes tension erupted between Hollywood’s controlled information about its stars and deregulated gossip. This happened when major stars were caught in scandals that threatened their onscreen and off screen images. The Hollywood star system thus also had to deal with crisis management. It also led to the introduction of morality clauses in the performers’ contracts. There were economic factors which led to the direct relationship between a performer’s public behavior and their box office success. Serious ethical questions were raised many decades later for issues such as sham marriages and dates for actors who were homosexual. New names and new faces were constantly shown to the public in response to the quick gratifications of mass culture (Maltby, 67, 2003). Many actors were transformed in response to the changing audiences and shifting fashions. Child stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Shirley Temple were redefined for adult roles. The 1950s saw the weakening of the Hollywood star system. Major stars like Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas became independent when they formed their own production companies. Actor contracts now became short term and profit sharing deals that were linked to an actor’s salary with a specific movie. James Stewart received half of the profits of his hit movie Winchester in 1973. Stars became increasingly involved in their own public images and career choices. The studio’s control over its performers was slowly weakening. By the 1980s only a handful of stars were having their image and talents promoted by studios (Schickel, 26, 1985). Stars were increasingly becoming selective in their movies and careers during the 1960s. Several actors and actresses received criticism and censure from studios for selecting their own roles. Olivia De Havilland and Bette Davis sued their studios to be free of their chosen roles. The star system was becoming suffocating for actors and actresses. They required a system which would be free and personally beneficial for them. The dismantling of social boundaries led to an acceptance of taboos. The manufactured virtues of stars were questioned by the public. The individuality of the performers was treasured by the 1970s. This was another blow the Hollywood star system. The advent of TV finally saw the collapse of the Hollywood star system. The changes in entertainment and labor could not be resisted by the studio system. Cary Grant was one of the most famous actors who was promoted and marketed by the Hollywood star system. His early film roles showed a remarkable degree of sophistication which was opposed to his working class background. He became a traditional leading man when he made Blond Venus in 1952 and She Done Him Wrong in 1933. He was the exemplification of Hollywood sophistication by his tall, dark and handsome looks. He was both a leading man and comedian when he made groundbreaking comedies like “The Philadelphia Story” and “Bringing up Baby”. Under Hitchcock, Grant would play even darker and chameleon characters in movies like “Notorious”, “Suspicion” and “To Catch a Thief”. Grant played many roles in screwball comedies (Morin, 52, 1960). Hitchcock deliberately played against Grant’s familiar roles by the introduction of new darker and psychological twists which were a contrast to the actor’s smooth elegance. Grant’s onscreen persona was balanced and masculine by the many macho characters which he played. He retained enough strength and masculinity. He was very concerned about his image on screen and off. He only wore custom made suits and shirts. He was against suspenders, belts and garters. He had an obsession with being slim. He also used toothbrush after lunch, smoke or dinner with his friends. He would go the men’s room to brush his teeth. Cary Grant was obsessed with his looks just like Marilyn Munroe was. When his movie Blonde Venus was being filmed, the director Sternberg parted Grant’s hair on the right side. This became his hairstyle for the rest of his life. Cary Grant was a natural actor who worked very hard to appear natural. His naturalism was very unique because he was inventing at the same time he was trying to be true to it. He was also a very interactive actor who took notes and discussed his lines with the directors. His “know the better” attitude irritated some directors. However directors like Alfred Hitchcock welcomed his positive feedback and input. Hitchcock’s favorite actor was Cary Grant. Grant gave his best performances in Alfred Hitchcock’s movies like Suspicion, Notorious, To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest. Hitchcock saw a dark inner personality in Cary Grant. He gave Grant roles which would bring out these dark personalities with psychological twists (Marshall, 92, 1997). Cary Grant was one of the handfuls of actors whose personalities had a charming affect on moviegoers. He was the cinematic personification of elegance and sophistication. His movie Notorious saw the conflict between Grant’s image and his character personality. His character Devlin is emotionally repressed and he sends the woman he loves to a Nazi collaborator. His attraction to Ingrid Bergman sees struggles against it as he nearly leads her to danger. The movie was a brilliant example of the manipulation of the Hollywood star system as the public embraced the unattainable glamour of the stars even thought it was only in illusion. Grant’s charms and spirit of camp transcended beyond the limits of the frame. He displayed a touch of coyness and conceit. He remains one of the most popular actors of American cinema. The Hollywood star system was a social phenomenon and a business strategy. It was designed to generate large numbers of audiences to watch entertainment programs and products. This marketing technique and business strategy was widely popular in the 1930s till the 1960s. Hollywood expanded the star system and established the movie studios of stars. It also earned more profit than the theatre companies. The Hollywood star system portrayed its actors and actresses as being wealthy, famous and beautiful. They were the ultimate idols and images for their audience. They were important marketing assets in the production, exhibition and distribution of movies. The identities of the stars were constructed for commercial purposes. The character roles and types of performance were essential in the creation of the stars’ images and profiles. For audiences they were a collection of images, words and sounds. Gossips and rumors were features of the Hollywood star system. Rumors which were repeated again and again would ultimately be defined by the audience as something truth of the star’s image (Gamson, 42, 1994). There were ordinary and extraordinary images of stars under the system. However the wealth and looks of the stars made them appear to be exceptional and different from society. The popularity of the stars and their images also depended upon the fashions and tastes of the audience. They had to be constantly redefined in order to ensure interest in audiences. This led to fresh new faces being introduced. Older actors and actresses were redefined in order to suit the changing times and fashions of the audience. Stars in Hollywood were both a source of labor and capital. They were valuable assets for the production company. The rise of Hollywood’s financial and cultural power was based upon the charisma and appeal of specific actors. The Hollywood star system consisted of several working parts. They were dance and singing lessons, makeup, hair, clothing, glamour photographs and constructed gossip. These tools were used to market specific performers. Millions of tickets, magazines and consumer goods were sold in the name of these specific performers. Fan magazines became popular as they documented the stories of actors and actresses outside the movies. An off screen image was constructed which tailored to the specific star’s screen persona. Fans wanted to know about the real Clark Gable and Joan Crawford. The star system effectively balanced between identification and adoration. Child stars like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney were famous kids who were promoted and marketed. The monopoly of the Star system would eventually fade in the 1960s and 1970s as many actors and actresses began to question the policies and monopoly of the studios. They demanded better pay and more choices in roles. There was a sharp reaction by the studios. They required a system which would be freer and less suffocating. The advent of TV challenged the monopoly of the studios. By the 1970s the monopoly of the Hollywood star system had faded due to changes in entertainment, culture, politics, labor and history (Fowles, 52, 1992). The Hollywood star system grew out of the needs by producers and studios to market and distributes their movies. Audiences were interested in the lives of actors and performers off screen. Early movies did not show the names of the performers. Fans began to give their own nicknames to popular actors. The rise of fan magazines heralded the rise of star system in which the lives of actors were discussed. The Hollywood star system created a special image of actors and actresses. Women were told to wear makeup and flashy clothes whenever they left their homes. Men were to act as gentlemen. Dancing and singing classes were also conducted for many actors and actresses. Sham marriages and romantic dates were used to bury social taboos like homosexuality. The system also tried to control and manage the scandals which erupted by giving money to witnesses (Dyer, 32, 1986). Cary Grant was the epitome of elegance and sophistication in Hollywood. His worker background contrasted with his onscreen and off screen elegance. He was obsessed with his health and looks. He wanted to be slim and he used toothbrush everywhere. Cary Grant also participated in Alfred Hitchcock’s movies which showed his dark inner personality. Grant remains one of the most popular screen idols of American cinema. Today the star system exists but it is a former shadow of its glory days. Contemporary marketing of stars has been made by the actors and their agents. Gone are the days of the monopoly of the studios in crafting and manufacturing the images of the stars. References: de Cordova, Richard. Picture Personalities: The Emergence of the Star System in America. Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1990. Dyer, Richard. Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society. London, Macmillan, 1986. Fowles, Jib. Starstruck: Celebrity Performers and the American Public. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, 1992. Gamson, Joshua. Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1994. Marshall, P. David. Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Morin, Edgar. The Stars. New York, Grove Press, 1960. Schickel, Richard. Intimate Strangers: The Culture of Celebrity. New York, Doubleday, 1985. Walker, Alexander. Stardom: The Hollywood Phenomenon. New York, Stein & Day, 1970. Paul McDonald (2000). The Star System: Hollywoods Production of Popular Identities. US: Wallflower Press. 34-56. Richard Maltby (2003). Hollywood Cinema. US: Blackwell Publishing. 20-29. Read More