The Role of a Star - Essay Example

Putting a definition for the word “star” has often been the subject of debates in the last few decades. Many questions come to nourish that debate such as what are the difference between a normal actor and a star? What are the common characteristics between all stars? Why is such huge, sometimes exaggerated, attention given to stars? That dilemma can be justified by the multiplicity of possible interpretation to the conception of stardom. In fact, in “seeing stars”, Janet Staiger attempts to question the traditional way of perceiving the role of a star. Staiger’s analysis of the origins of the American “star system” reveals the variety of angles through which the word “star” can be defined. Stars can be considered as a commodity tool as they represent an extremely successful form of investment. They can also be perceived according to the literal meaning of the word “star”; the character played by a given star forms with the real character of the same star a surreal versus real paradox leading inevitably to an association between the in-text and the in-real-life images of the same star. The third main approach of stardom holds a psychological dimension as it regards the spectatorship, the reasons why stars are often objects of desire have been subject to many analysis, some attribute it to charisma, some to “heavenly bodies”, .. etc. For a fuller vision of the evolution of the conception of stars, a flashback on the history of cinema has to be done. Various developments in Europe and the United states led to the invention of moving image technology forming the origin of the movie creation. However, it was only in the 1890’s that films were used as an entertainment medium, it was then when this technologic invention transformed into a business. In the nineteenth century, many political and social elements influenced the evolution of film industry. The art of Cinema tended to transform into a capitalist enterprise indeed. In fact, Janet Staiger, in her definition of the system of movie production, supports a Marxist point of view. She tends to consider the latter system as a sub-system initially controlled by patterns of organization of labor, such as script writers, camera men and women, prop makers in combination with two major factors, technology and capital. In the first decade of the twentieth century, American movie companies withheld the name of film performers fearing that the public recognition would lead these “stars” to ask for higher salaries. In this dissertation, studying the Motion Picture Patents Company is to be used as a proof of the prominence of the role of stars in the evolution of the movie industry. The Motion Picture Patents Company In 1908, two companies, Edison and Biograph, attempted to monopolize the film industry through the key patents they held in camera and projection technology by forming the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC). The company played the role of a “patent tool” that issued licenses for fee to firms. However, the biggest income source for the MPC didn’t have licensing as its main source, it was priory based on the Nickelodeon, their most important exhibition outlet. Technically, what marked the MPPC movies most was the notion of voyeurism, “the look of the peeping tom, able to see without being seen. Early Cinema very frequently represents the female, dissected by the close up into a fetishised object of the male look” (Nelmes, 2003 : 99). The capital event that marked the end of this era is the start of the “star system” (1920), one of Hollywood’s established features. As Janet Staiger clarifies in “Seeing stars”, the origin of its creation remains a subject of discussion. Some say that it started in 1910 when Carl Laemmle, the owner of the Independent Motion Picture (IMP) production company, promoted the arrival of a female star, Lawrence, to his company by publicly exposing her name in a newspaper. That came as an opposed reaction to the MMPC which refused to publish stars’ number fearing that their public recognition would cause them to claim higher salaries. Some others say it was Marie Spickford not Lawrence. Another story assumes that it was stars that refused to have their names exposed since movie actors back then was “low ranked”. The expression “star system” is revealing of the nature of the activity held by film companies. Stardom appears to be transforming into an organized combination of elements and features. Analyzing some mechanisms adopted by the MPPC to promote stars would give a clear vision of the definition of the star system. Stars are used by the movie industry makers to attract audiences by participating in the promotion in so many ways. In fact, a fan magazine called The Motion Picture Story magazine was created in 1911. Posters of stars were hanged in several places and the crediting system has totally improved to make the star’s name the basic element. The evolution of cinema in this period can be illustrated by a series of key movies that are attached to key star figures. Stars in silent films created their own images and types. The most important star of this era is Chaplin. He is considered as of the greatest mimes and clowns in the history. One of the most famous actresses was Thedra Bara who made her debut in A Fool There Was (1954), Representing “the Arabian beauty clad in black who survived less on oxygen and victuals than by wrecking homes and devouring men”. Her physical traits qualified her to be the “lusty, seductive siren” (Mast, 1976 :123). and set her apart from the Mary Spickford’s “spunky, good-hearted, prankerish little girl with the golden curls” (Mast, 1976 :123). Many other types can be names in this era. Male stars were divided into gentle juveniles, exotic Latin men, strong virile men, tough cowboys, fat comic characters and so forth. When it comes to women they often were assigned the prototype of either the pure hearted wife or the tragic lady. All what precedes is revealing of the superiority of the role of stars, being considered as the element that determinates the nature films. At this period, stars didn’t follow scripts, it was scripts that followed stars. Stars are never discussed separately from important film making elements such as producers and directors. One of the most important figures of that era is Griffith, producer, director and screenwriter. His most important movies are, The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), which were based on reality illustrating the atmosphere of World War I. Ince was also a prominent figure of this era as he was a director, producer, screenwriter and an actor. His contribution to the history of cinema is fertile among which we can mention In the Sultan's Garden (1911), King Lear (1909), Their First Misunderstanding (1911) ,The Indian Massacre / Heart of an Indian (1912)..etc. The importance of the role of the MPPC in the evolution of cinema is undeniable.” During the first twenty years of (its) life, the film industry increased in scale from a cottage-sized enterprise to a mass medium, its rapid and enormous growth was largely driven by the explosion in exhibition, which in turn trigged a streamlining in distribution methods and in the industrialization of products” (Nelmes,2003 :4) . The stars of this era of silent movies played the biggest role in tracing the evolutional path of the history of cinema. That role persisted with the coming of the sound era “when the jazz singer opened on Broadway on October5, 1927. (225) Sources 1- Christine Gledhill, Stardom: Industry of Desire, Routledge, 1991. 2- 2- Jill Nelmes, An Introduction to Film Studies, Routledge, 2003. 3- Gerald Mast, A Short History of the Movies, Bobbs-Merrill, 1976. Read More