Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"This meticulously researched book expertly draws from dazzling range material to produce a new understanding of how star images are produced and reproduced over time and to different ends." -- Kristen Hatch * Journal of American History *
"
Recycled Stars makes an original and sophisticated contribution to film and television studies and will be widely welcomed by readers and teachers. It is also illustrated with a delectable selection of stills that communicate the glamour and the sheer creepiness of the star images under discussion in equal measure." -- Ruth Barton * Journal of American Studies *
"Desjardins covers [Gloria Swanson and Lucille Ball] and much more in this fascinating tome, which is richly illustrated with frame grabs from kinescopes, as she considers the shifting landscape of mid-20th-century female celebrity. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." -- G. A. Foster * Choice *
"Well-written and using a rich variety of examples and methods,
Recycled Stars is a useful and very readable addition to star studies, feminist media studies and film history." -- Ellen Wright * Celebrity Studies *
"In addition to being multidisciplinary, this book demonstrates the importance of considering different elements of film studies together. Areas that were previously separate in film studies, such as stardom, fandom, and industrial factors, present a completely different understanding of the field when brought together—an understanding that could greatly benefit future research and study." -- Catherine Bednarz * International Journal of Communication *
“Recycled Stars offers valuable insights into the relationships between stars and their publics, extending traditional scholarship by evaluating their impacts and consequences beyond a specific historical moment.”
-- Patrick Kent Russell * Journal of American Culture *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. "The Elegance . . . Is Almost Overwhelming": Glamour and Discursive Struggles over Female Stardom in Early Television 13
2. Norma Desmond, Your Spell Is Everywhere: The Time and Place of the Female Film Star in 1950s Television and Film 57
3. Maureen O'Hara's "Confidential" Life: Recycling Hollywood Film Stars in the 1950s through Scandalous Gossip and Moral Biography 99
4. After the Laughter: Recycling Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as a Star Couple 143
5. Star Bodies, Star Bios: Stardom, Gender, and Identity Politics 191
Conclusion 243
Notes 253
Select Bibliography 295
Index 305
