Stars

This chapter introduces the major terminology and methodological considerations in feminist approaches to star studies. Looking at stars as texts that circulate both nationally and transnationally, we examine the ways that stars negotiate cultural contradictions around class, gender, sexuality, and other categories and how they embody ideological notions of identity and selfhood in society. Attention is paid to Latin American actresses in the American industry, Bollywood stardom, transnational Asian masculinities, and race and gender in Hollywood from the studio era to the present.

Chapter 4 objectives

Explain why stars are important objects of feminist cultural study

Identify the ways in which movie stars negotiate cultural contradictions around class, gender, sexuality, and other categories and how they embody ideological notions of identity and selfhood in society

Explore the parallels between star texts and larger geopolitical discourses and migration patterns

Chart how stardom has changed across time, how it differs in various national cinemas, and how these differences intersect with issues of gender, ethnicity, class, and sexuality

Understand the particular issues that forms of transnational stardom raise for feminist scholars