Stars were a cornerstone in the creation of genres and films. At first, certain characteristics of films were very much tied to the stars' characters, and therefore to the star. Stars would often play characters with similar personalities or circumstances even in completely unrelated films. Characters were very much defined by the stars who would eventually play them, because previous characters' characteristics became stigmatic for many stars. The adherence to star conventionality was so strong that it sometimes even created discrepancies in films. Characters played by stars who often appeared in musicals would sing in the middle of films that were anything but musicals. It also affected the films made by studios. Since these stars were tied to a specific archetypical character, all the movies with this star would follow the plot or setting that fit with the archetype. So, the studios with stars that played musicals' characters would produce musicals.
This is true for stars such as Judy Garland. Judy Garland started her career extremely young, and as a young girl in films, she often sang and performed. Many roles were playful or meant to be entertaining, and this became true of most of her younger years. Signed by MGM, many of her films were turned into semi-musicals. For example, The Wizard of Oz, where characters often performed throughout the film. Later, her roles became increasingly dramatic, and so did the films, like Meet Me in St. Louis. This example shows how films, studios, and genres accompanied conventions created for stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment