Teaching Stars and Performance

Stars fascinate and engage students, so studying them provides an effective means of exploring a range of issues and theories in Film and Media Studies. Teaching Stars and Performance examines what makes and defines a star and how a star is constructed through both a film text and associated fragmentary texts of publicity, promotion, criticism and gossip – a very useful area for cross-media investigation.

Contents include:
• Introduction: Assessment contexts; Why teach about stars and performance?; Schemes of work
• Background: Timeline; Hollywood, studios and stars; British cinema; Critical approaches; Performance
• Case studies: Stardom and celebrity – Jennifer Aniston; A particular tradition of Britishness – Hugh Grant; Stars and representation – Will Smith; Directing actors – Mike Leigh