Film Stardom and the Ancient Past

Idols, Artefacts and Epics

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Film
Cover of the book Film Stardom and the Ancient Past by Michael Williams, Palgrave Macmillan UK
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Author: Michael Williams ISBN: 9781137390028
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK Publication: January 13, 2018
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan Language: English
Author: Michael Williams
ISBN: 9781137390028
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication: January 13, 2018
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: English

This book offers the first comprehensive exploration of how the ancient past has shaped screen stardom in Hollywood since the silent era. It engages with debates on historical reception, gender and sexuality, nostalgia, authenticity and the uses of the past. Michael Williams gives fresh insights into ‘divinized stardom’, a highly influential and yet understudied phenomenon that predates Hollywood and continues into the digital age. 

Case studies include Greta Garbo and Mata Hari (1931); Buster Crabbe and the 1930s Olympian body; the marketing of Rita Hayworth as Venus in the 1940s; sculpture and star performance in Oliver Stone’s Alexander (2004); landscape and sexuality in Troy (2004); digital afterimages of stars such as Marilyn Monroe; and the classical body in the contemporary ancient epic genre. The author’s richly layered ‘archaeological’ approach uses detailed textual analysis and archival research to survey the use of the myth and iconography of ancient Greece and Rome in some of stardom’s most popular and fascinating incarnations. 

This interdisciplinary study will be significant for anyone interested in star studies, film and cultural history, and classical reception.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book offers the first comprehensive exploration of how the ancient past has shaped screen stardom in Hollywood since the silent era. It engages with debates on historical reception, gender and sexuality, nostalgia, authenticity and the uses of the past. Michael Williams gives fresh insights into ‘divinized stardom’, a highly influential and yet understudied phenomenon that predates Hollywood and continues into the digital age. 

Case studies include Greta Garbo and Mata Hari (1931); Buster Crabbe and the 1930s Olympian body; the marketing of Rita Hayworth as Venus in the 1940s; sculpture and star performance in Oliver Stone’s Alexander (2004); landscape and sexuality in Troy (2004); digital afterimages of stars such as Marilyn Monroe; and the classical body in the contemporary ancient epic genre. The author’s richly layered ‘archaeological’ approach uses detailed textual analysis and archival research to survey the use of the myth and iconography of ancient Greece and Rome in some of stardom’s most popular and fascinating incarnations. 

This interdisciplinary study will be significant for anyone interested in star studies, film and cultural history, and classical reception.

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