Garland's Star is Reborn (Reading Post 5)

The Dyer reading for this week discusses the importance of authenticity in looking at a star text. In the days of the studio system when star images were completely constructed, authenticity was more difficult to find as even when audiences were given a glimpse into a star's 'private' life, there was never any guarantee that the image was truthful. What was true was that it was in fact the star in the picture, thus guaranteeing at least some form of authenticity. Today, we probably get closer to seeing a star's authentic self because of the amount of paparazzi and the intense use of social media. However, just because a star is doing something a in picture does not guarantee that they are really acting their true self.

Perhaps the best asset of the film A Star is Born is in the casting of Judy Garland. Far enough removed from her heyday as an MGM princess, Garland was perhaps one of the most talked about stars of her era and thus the perfect star to be in a film commenting on the construction of stars in the industry. Garland's presence in the film guarantees a sense of authenticity because audiences know that she essentially had already lived the part. They thus feel like they are seeing a certain part of her life never before known. Dyer focuses on the scene in which Garland sings with her band with Norman Maine watching without their knowledge. The scene is pivotal as it must convince the audience of Esther's authenticity as a singer. Here, she is not being played by Garland as just a representation of herself, but as a separate character who needs to justify her place in the film. However, as Dyer points out, the fact that Garland is consistently in the center of the frame throughout the sequence drives the point that Garland does know what she is doing and she is talented, that she is only playing a character.

It is nearly impossible to ever determine the true authenticity of a star or their role. However in casting Garland as Esther, it gives the film, and thus the character, authenticity and justification of depicting a star essentially being created. Garland herself went through it and her later problems later on in life are also in a way portrayed through the downfall of the Norman Maine character. This role is in a sense Garland's comeback to show the world how far she has come and to prove her authentic self as a true star. While it may have worked for the time being, the fact that Garland's early and tragic death happened a few years after this film was released proves how constructed her image was and always remained to the end.