FI334-15 Film and Television Stardom

Department: SCAPVC - Film & Television Studies
Level: Undergraduate Level 3
Module leader: Julie Lobalzo Wright
Credit value: 15
Module duration: 9 weeks
Assessment: 100% coursework
Study location: University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

Introductory description

Star studies is a thriving field within film and television studies and one that is central to all areas of the cinema and television- industrial, cultural, sociological and spectatorial. This module considers the historical, theoretical, and social-cultural paradigms that have informed the study of stars from the beginning of cinema and television through to today. After outlining basic theories and concepts in star studies, the module will examine how stardom has changed in Hollywood, the contrasting nature of stardom in other contexts, including European stardom, and the complimentary and distinct functions of television stardom.

Module web page

Module aims

To provide an appreciation of stardom and performance within film and television
To understand how to critically analyse stars
To provide the means for students to engage with key theorists and key texts in relation to stardom and performance
To access the ways that stars are cultural figures while also considering how they fit within broader cinematic and television histories

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Week 1: Why Study Stars?
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953)

Week 2: National Identity and British Stardom
Darling (John Schlesinger, 1965)

Week 3: Transnational/European Stardom
Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006)

Week 4: Popular Indian/Bollywood Stardom
Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)

Week 5: Television Stardom
Sex And The City (HBO, 1998-2004)

Season 2, Episode 4 ‘They Shoot Single People, Don’t They?
Season 4, Episode 18 “I Love New York”

Week 6: Reading Week

Week 7: The Television Personality
The Naked Chef, Season 1, Episode 3 ‘Babysitting’
Jaime’s Quick and Easy Food (TBD)

Week 8: Crossover Stardom
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (NBC, 1990-1996)

Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Pilot (The Fresh Prince Project)’
Season 6, Episode 8 ‘Viva Lost Wages’

Week 9: Stars and Politics
Coming Home (Hal Ashby, 1978)

Week 10: Mixed Race Hollywood Stardom
Moana (Ron Clements and John Musker, 2016)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of the development of stardom in cinema and television
Identify key stars in the history of cinema and television and understand how they fit into a broader cinematic and television history
Consider stars in relation to representation and ideology
Assess stars in terms of the key theoretical debates about stardom and performance
Understand how stars are cultural products

Indicative reading list

Thomas Austin and Martin Barker (eds.) (2003) Contemporary Hollywood Stardom (London and New York: Arnold)

Bruce Babington (ed.) (2001) British Stars and Stardom (Manchester: Manchester University Press)

James Bennett (2011) Television Personalities: Stardom and the Small Screen (London and New York: Routledge)

Michael DeAngelis (2001) Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom: James Dean, Mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves (Durham and London: Duke University Press)

Richard Dyer (1998) Stars, 2nd Edition (London: BFI Publishing)

___ (2004) Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, 2nd Edition (London and New York: Routledge)

Kate Egan and Sarah Thomas (2013) Cult Film Stardom: Offbeat Attractions and Processes of Cultification (Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan)

Christine Geraghty (2000) ‘Re-examing Stardom: Questions of Texts, Bodies and Performance’ in Christine Geldhill and Linda Williams (eds.) Reinventing Film Studies (London: Arnold): 183-201.

Christine Gledhill (eds.) (1991) Stardom: An Industry of Desire (London and New York: Routledge)

Neepa Majumdar (2009) Wanted Cultured Ladies Only! Female Stardom and Cinema in India, 1930s-1950s (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press)

James Naremore (1988) Acting in the Cinema (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press)

Paul McDonald (2000) The Star System: Hollywood’s Production of Popular Identities (London: Wallflower Press)

___. (2013) Hollywood Stardom (Malden, MA and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell)

Russell Meeuf and Raphael and Raphael (eds.) Transnational Stardom: International Celebrity in Film and Popular Culture (London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan).

Alastair Phillips and Ginette Vincendeau (eds.) (2006) Journeys of Desire: European Actors in Hollywood (London: BFI Publishing)

Martin Shingler (2012) Star Studies: A Critical Guide (London: BFI Publishing)

___. (2006) ‘Breathtaking: Bette Davis’ Performance at the End of Now, Voyager’, Journal of Film and Video 58:1-2, pp. 46-58.

Jackie Stacey (1994) Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship (London: Routledge)

Sabrina Qiong Yu (2012) Jet Li: Chinese Masculinity and Transnational Film Stardom (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press)

Jim Whalley (2010) Saturday Night Live, Hollywood Comedy, and American Culture: From Chevy Chase to Tina Fey (Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan)

Pamela Roberton Wojcik (ed.) (2004) Movie Acting, The Film Reader (New York and London: Routledge)

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

This module develops skills of audio-visual literacy, through close textual and/or contextual analysis in relation to the moving image and sound. It may also develops understandings of historical, theoretical and conceptual frameworks relevant to screen arts and cultures.

Transferable skills

critical and analytical thinking in relation
independent research skills
team work
clarity and effectiveness of communication, oral and written
accurate, concise and persuasive writing
audio-visual literacy

Study time

Type	Required
Lectures	9 sessions of 1 hour (6%)
Seminars	9 sessions of 1 hour (6%)
Other activity	18 hours (12%)
Private study	14 hours (9%)
Assessment	100 hours (67%)
Total	150 hours

Private study description

wider viewing and reading, and research in preparation for assessment

Other activity description

1-2 x 2 hour screenings per week

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A2

	Weighting	Study time	Eligible for self-certification
Assessment component
Presentation (10 minute)	10%	30 hours	No
Presentations will start in week 2 and will be done individually (in some weeks there will be more than one presentation). You will choose another star than the one discussed in the lecture but one which relates to the period and topic being studied that week. Stars must be approved by me before you begin to research for your presentation. Presentations should last between 10 and 12 minutes long – including a short clip. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY FOR A 10 – 12 MINUTE PRESENTATION (for example, 3 clips is probably too much for a presentation of this length). The presentation should contain brief basic information about the star’s biography, and discuss the core of the star’s persona and one or two aspects of his or her importance and relevance (industrial, cultural, ideological, psychological, aesthetic, etc.). You must include a visual presentation (a powerpoint or prezi presentation). This will be uploaded to Moodle. You must also include a handout with some relevant information. This could be a short biography, a brief filmography, some quotes from the star or readings that discuss the star, images, etc. What is most important is that the handout assists your presentation, but doesn’t take the place of the presentation (a handout should not summerise everything you will say in your presentation). This will be uploaded to moodle. Your presentation must include/conclude with questions for the group, ideally relating the star focused on to the topic of the week and/or the reading. Written feedback with an indication of the grade will be emailed to you shortly after the presentation – no later than a week after your presentation.
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
4000 word essay	90%	70 hours	No
Reassessment component is the same

Feedback on assessment

Students will be given written feedback for their presentations. They will be give a clear indication as to what is expected of them from their presentation in a handout at the beginning of term (especially the areas where marks will be focused on, such as, research, clarity of presentation, facilitation of discussion for the group, etc.).

Students will also receive written feedback on their essay, using the department feedback sheet, and following the marking criteria set out by the department.

Pre-requisites

To take this module, you must have passed:

All of

Courses

This module is Core optional for:

Year 4 of UHPA-RP43 Undergraduate Hispanic Studies with Film Studies

This module is Optional for:

Year 2 of UFIA-W620 Undergraduate Film Studies
UFIA-QW25 Undergraduate Film and Literature
- Year 2 of QW25 Film and Literature
- Year 4 of QW25 Film and Literature

This module is Option list A for:

Year 4 of UFRA-R1WA Undergraduate French with Film Studies