Film Stardom and the Ancient Past : Idols, Artefacts and Epics

This book offers the first comprehensive exploration of how the ancient past has shaped screen stardom in Hollywood since the silent era. It engages with debates on historical reception, gender and sexuality, nostalgia, authenticity and the uses of the past. Michael Williams gives fresh insights into ‘divinized stardom’, a highly influential and yet understudied phenomenon that predates Hollywood and continues into the digital age. Case studies include Greta Garbo and __Mata Hari__ (1931); Buster Crabbe and the 1930s Olympian body; the marketing of Rita Hayworth as Venus in the 1940s; sculpture and star performance in Oliver Stone’s __Alexander__ (2004); landscape and sexuality in __Troy__ (2004); digital afterimages of stars such as Marilyn Monroe; and the classical body in the contemporary ancient epic genre. The author’s richly layered ‘archaeological’ approach uses detailed textual analysis and archival research to survey the use of the myth and iconography of ancient Greece and Rome in some of stardom’s most popular and fascinating incarnations. This interdisciplinary study will be significant for anyone interested in star studies, film and cultural history, and classical reception. This book offers the first comprehensive exploration of how the ancient past has shaped screen stardom in Hollywood since the silent era. It engages with debates on historical reception, gender and sexuality, nostalgia, authenticity and the uses of the past. Michael Williams gives fresh insights into ‘divinized stardom’, a highly influential and yet understudied phenomenon that predates Hollywood and continues into the digital age. Case studies include Greta Garbo and Mata Hari (1931); Buster Crabbe and the 1930s Olympian body; the marketing of Rita Hayworth as Venus in the 1940s; sculpture and star performance in Oliver Stone’s Alexander (2004); landscape and sexuality in Troy (2004); digital afterimages of stars such as Marilyn Monroe; and the classical body in the contemporary ancient genre. The author’s richly layered ‘archaeological’ approach uses detailed textual analysis and archival research to survey the use of the myth and iconogr aphy of ancient Greece and Rome in some of stardom’s most popular and fascinating incarnations. This interdisciplinary study will be significant for anyone interested in star studies, film and cultural history, and classical reception Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Introduction: An Archaeology of Stardom (Michael Williams)....Pages 1-22 Front Matter ....Pages 23-23 Idols and Idolatry: Greta Garbo and Ramón Novarro in Mata Hari (1931) (Michael Williams)....Pages 25-58 ‘The American Adonis’: Search for Beauty (1934) and the Hollywood Olympian Body (Michael Williams)....Pages 59-93 Front Matter ....Pages 95-95 Marketing the Post-War Goddess: Rita Hayworth and Down to Earth (1947) (Michael Williams)....Pages 97-130 Idols, Fragments and Afterlives: From Gloria Swanson to Beyoncé (Michael Williams)....Pages 131-166 Front Matter ....Pages 167-167 Nostalgic Impulses, Falling Idols and the Adoration of Achilles in Troy (2004) (Michael Williams)....Pages 169-202 Patinating the Past: Artefacts, Auratic Performance and Alexander (2004) (Michael Williams)....Pages 203-238 Titans and Immortals: Classicism in the Digital Age (Michael Williams)....Pages 239-267 The Contemporary Mythic Firmament (Michael Williams)....Pages 269-281 Back Matter ....Pages 283-311 Annotation This title offers a comprehensive exploration of how the ancient past has shaped screen stardom in Hollywood since the silent era. It engages with debates on historical reception, gender and sexuality, nostalgia, authenticity and the uses of the past. Michael Williams gives fresh insights into 'divinized stardom', a highly influential and yet understudied phenomenon that predates Hollywood and continues into the digital age. Case studies include Greta Garbo and Mata Hari (1931); Buster Crabbe and the 1930s Olympian body; the marketing of Rita Hayworth as Venus in the 1940s; sculpture and star performance in Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004); landscape and sexuality in Troy (2004); digital afterimages of stars such as Marilyn Monroe; and the classical body in the contemporary ancient genre