Rock Hudson is a legendary actor who is world renowned with his films. Hudson is not only known for his attractive looks but his amazing performance on screen. Hudson’s career peaked in the 50’s and 60’s. However, Hudson was also known to be one of the first stars who had an AIDS related complications. Since Rock Hudson was such a famous individual, his AIDS related death sparked attention to this horrible disease. The first real film that acted as a catalyst for Rock Hudson’s success was a film called Magnificent Obsession. This film can be described as a “tearjerker” and it helped stereotype the roles that Rock Hudson would later play. These roles being the likeable lead. Hudson played this role quite frequently in his career and he then decided to switch to a more comedic lead. He later became known for his comedies as he did such a terrific job getting into character. When acting in these roles, Rock Hudson kept his homosexuality under wraps. No one guessed that Rock Hudson was a gay man as he was type-casted in roles that were heterosexual. One of the most iconic gay celebrities, to me, is Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen is known for her talk show as well as being a comedian. During the beginning of Ellen’s fame, no one knew she was holding the secret of being lesbian. Ellen chose to come out on the TV show she was starring on. This contributed a lot of buzz throughout the world and really gave Ellen a strong fan base. It saddens me that stars during the times of the 50’s and 60’s were afraid of coming out to the world. I feel that it was a very foreign thing to come out during that time period that it was perceived as being “bad”.

This week the topic was on one of the best actresses, Bette Davis. I did not know too much information about Bette Davis before going into the readings about her, and I found it very interesting to find out how she got her start in the business. Warner Brother Studios noticed her talent in acting right away and immediately wanted to sign her. I found this very interesting since nowadays celebrities act in films that are under a variety of different movie studios. While Bette Davis is a beautiful actress, she was recognized for more than just her looks. Bette Davis was one of the first actresses to demonstrate how a person can fully emerge themselves into the role they are playing. Davis’ parts would often mimic real people. In one of her films called Dangerous, she played a woman who was modeled off of the Broadway actress Jeanne Jones. To me, this reminded me of the biopics that we see today. Those happen to be some of my favorite films, especially when the actors play people who have passed away. This is because the audience can see how well of a job they did with performing these characters. I feel that the best actors are the ones who can make the audience believe that they are the character they are playing. Bette Davis acted in films that were said to be geared more towards women. While that is a not genre that is typical today, I find it interesting that these types of movies were made.

Comparing this to movies that Marilyn Monroe starred in, it did not seem to bring that typical “sex appeal” that was known to sell and bring in audiences of men and women. However, this is some of Bette Davis’ best work as she then became known for not only being a star seen in the public eye but also an actress. The movie that was discussed during this week was All About Eve. I believe that this film’s theme is still very relevant to today when it comes to actors and actresses. The central premise of this film is “out with the old and in with the new”. Bette Davis played a character by the name of Margo, who is a critically acclaimed actress and recognized for being in several productions. However, a new aspiring actress named Eve snakes her way into Margo’s life to try and get her position. There are many prominent actors who have been around in the business for a while who still are being cast in major roles. However, I find that Hollywood often sticks with the new upcoming actors and casts them in as many roles possible until the next new actor comes along. This makes me sad to realize that this issue was happening during the time when Bette Davis was the most famous actress. It also makes me think of the question as to why this is a continuous thing that is occurring. Is there really such a thing as a shelf life for actors?

During Week 3, the readings went more in-depth with the ways stars are represented as images. The first reading of ‘Part Two: Stars as Images’ discussed how stars are much more than their appearance. During this time period of stars, and any time period really, I feel as if stars become famous partially because of their appearance and the ways in which they hold themselves. It is interesting to me when some celebrities complain about how much of their life is broadcasted in the media and news. When becoming a celebrity, I believe that there should be some realization and acceptance that most of your personal life will be shown to the masses. This reading then argues how the “image” of the star is how they live their lives rather than what they look like. Some stars need to keep up this “image” in order to keep up with the stereotype that they have been type-casted into. I find that celebrities today do not necessarily have the stereotype that their publishers have made for them. Some stars who are known for being cast in comedy roles, for example, can also now be cast into roles that are geared more toward satire. I find it odd when I see Steve Carrell play more serious roles since I am so used to seeing him play comedic roles. The reading then starts to discuss how stars are never going to appear as “ordinary.” This is because they have been thrown in the public eye so frequently that there is no way they can blend into normal society now. By having someone consistently thrown into the public eye, these celebrities start building a fan base. These fans begin to worship these stars since they are frequently seeing them. I find it strange that we put certain people on a higher pedestal in our society just because they are featured in films. Do not get me wrong, I have certain celebrities that I will fangirl over, but I do not understand why they need to be consistently photographed and shown in the press so much. The next reading of ‘Heavenly Bodies’ discusses how stars are more public and available to audiences. As discussed above, stars are consistently being thrown into the media pool and shown off in order for other people to have something to read about. The reading also brought up the point of stars losing their individuality because they are being discussed so much in the news and media.

The star that was discussed was Marlene Dietrich and how she showed a different side of being a female star. Dietrich would often play characters that were very charming and knew exactly what they wanted. For example, in her film, ‘Morocco,’ Dietrich showcased her talents in seducing the characters in the film as well as the audience members watching. Dietrich came across as very strong-willed and did not need a man to complete her character’s goals. Although she took sultry pictures just like Marilyn Monroe, she came across differently with the characters she was cast as.

 

Almost everyone knows who Marilyn Monroe was. She is recognized as being a beautiful blonde bombshell who was given a “playmate” persona. There was a time when Marilyn Monroe was actually a professional actress before becoming the ultimate on-screen sex symbol. As with many celebrities, most people do not know the full story of how they became famous. I always knew Marilyn Monroe as a sex symbol, who many men desired to be with, and many women wanted to be like. To quote her character in the movie, “Don’t you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You might not marry a girl just because she’s pretty, but, my goodness, doesn’t it help?” It is incredible to me that Marilyn Monroe is still relevant in my generation. From people dressing up like her or even just watching her movies over again. One of the movies discussed was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I had heard of the title of this film but never got around to watching it. It perfectly depicts the stereotype in which Marilyn was used to being showcased. One of the topics that stuck out to me the most was from the reading ‘Monroe the Building of Popular Images.’ This reading discusses how stars were manufactured to get their image out into the world. It made me think of the possibility that Marilyn could have been stereotyped as an entirely different character than what we all know of her. This reading then continued to discuss how each network markets its star. I never even realized that stars back then were marketed through their movie companies. The reading would then give examples of some of the big companies that marketed these types of stars. These companies being MGM and Paramount. These companies would hire publicists who would try and get their stars in the public eye as much as possible. I understand that celebrities today also undergo the same advertisements; I just never knew it was the same back then. What stood out the most to me in this reading was the use of a “unit man.” This “unit man” went around to different types of outlets to get their star shown, which means they would try to get their star’s stereotype advertised very frequently. This was the case for Marilyn, as the media would continue to showcase her body and sultry poses as much as possible. It made me curious whether or not Marilyn enjoyed being classified as “the blonde.” During the weeks where we learned about Marilyn, I never realized that she started her career off as a pin-up model. This helped me better understand why she continued to be type-casted into these “blonde” stereotype characters. In the reading of ‘Monroe and Sexuality,’ it talks about how Marilyn was sexualized in her films. When watching these movies from this time period, you expect to see a lot of misogynistic comments from the male characters. It is interesting to see how the male characters would treat Marilyn. Marilyn made comments about how she is stereotyped as being what men desire and how she tries to then come off as being more vulnerable and desirable. I believe that Marilyn Monroe was such a talented actress and deserved a lot more respect and credit in her film career.