In week three we continued our discussion about female actors having sexuality attached to their star image as Marlene Dietrich is introduced. Similar to Marylin Monroe, Dietrich’s star image was centered around her sexuality and was continuously featured as a sex object. Star vehicles were commonly used to showcase the sexual image that the industry wished to portray for her. The film Morocco, that we watched, is an example of a star vehicle used to enhance the sexual nature of her character by having her work in a cabaret and kiss females for male pleasure.
Our reading for this week titled “Part Two: Stars as Images”, written by Richard Dyer, focuses on the ways in which the star image is manipulated to portray certain ideas. Dyer first focuses on the way the star image is consumed. The consumption of the star image by the audience is seen in the way that the star is admired and emulated by the masses. Consumption by the star takes place via the wearing of haute couture which has an association with high class and exclusiveness. The longing to be apart of the exclusive elite is what drives the audience to consume the same products as stars and emulate their behavior. Because we shifted from a production society to a consumer society, these stars became idols of consumption, shifting our focus to products and leisurely activities which they endorse. “Conspicuous consumption” is a term used by Dyer to describe the ways in which wealthy people display their wealth through leisurely activities and hobbies. The notion that they don’t have to work contributes to the idea that the star is so popular and exclusive that they don’t have to exert energy to support themselves. This is far from what is truly happening, as audiences don’t see making the movies that they are watching as work or as a production, and therefore see the star lifestyle is one of pure leisure. But, Dyer argues that this does not make us inferior to stars with regards to our character, as he argues that “human attributes exist independently of material circumstances,” (pg 50).
Our second reading for this week was the introduction to “Heavenly Bodies” written by Richard Dyer. The author, like he does in his other excerpts, discusses the ways the star image is manufactured by Hollywood and it’s constituents. But, Dyer explains that the star, to some degree, has a role in the making of that image. Generally, this role is minimal, but it all shakes down to the fact that you cannot extract a person from their inner self and that by itself is a minimal amount of control. This is the control that Marlene Dietrich had in Morocco, as her image was mostly manufactured as the femme fatale, but Marlene’s true character is what tied her to this image in the first place.
