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 You will use this site to post your reading responses. Please include your name and include "core" in the title for your five core posts.




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Megan Sullivan-- Core Response #4

  In chapter Star Bodies and Performance, Dyer calls to attention Dryan S. Turner’s concept of a ‘somatic society’ as a lens for understanding how the body is connected with modern social and political issues. This concept allows us to consider bodies as not simply an individual being, but a part of a larger and interconnected society. Specifically, Dyer uses action films as a way of exemplifying this idea, as action heroes often exhibit their large muscles and strength which in some way serves as a main point in the story. However, Dyer maintains that this is one type of body represented in one type of film, and other types of bodies represent different cultural complexities in other genres.  When looking at star bodies, Dyer suggests that you also have to look at their performance to understand how subtle bodily actions have a significant impact on broader themes and messages in the film regarding the body and sexuality. The small, minute actions such as mannerisms, facial e...
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Megan O’Brien — Core Response #5

As we have studied in this class, female gender expectations have historically been created and maintained through film stars, characters, and troupes. However, this line becomes blurred as everyday people are entering the limelight by portraying their daily life. Influential figures are no longer distant people in the world, but people that audiences can directly compare themselves to without the excuse that they’re just staged or scripted. This can be especially harmful when the expectations that are being set are warped by influencers trying to avoid outside harassment and prioritize staying relevant. Their expression of their body image, gender, and racial identity are molded to appease audiences opposed to convey the raw truth.  Defining concepts of “gender double-blind” or “authenticity bind,” these articles distinguish the immense pressure from society and individuals to balance not being too real and not real enough. Their idea defines weighing vulnerability and visibility ...
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Megan O’Brien — Core Response #2

  This week's readings thoroughly deepened my inner conversations about what determines a star and the lifespan of celebrity. With social media allowing fans to get a closer look at their favorite stars than ever before, it is no surprise that the terms of stardom have evolved with it. It has always been curious to me why people want to know every little detail about celebrities. In my opinion, that is not what a star is for. Like this weeks readings mention, star’s are spectacles that allow fans to admire the essence of who or what they want the star to be. The more fans know about the star, the more they will discover that disappoints their expectations. Dyer states, “we may read stars in a camp way, enjoying them not for any supposed inner essence revealed but for the way they jump through the hoops of social convention.(Dyer 14)” We should let stars be figments of our imagination, because discovering information on their personalities, political views, and humanistic qualities,...
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