Reading Post 2

Garry Willis, in his article “John Wayne’s America,” argues that “Wayne was not born Wayne. He had to be invented” (15). It is interesting that so many elements of Wayne’s persona as a Western film star were things that he created for his on screen image. However, I feel like many of the pieces of Wayne’s character were extensions of himself that he simply extended on in order to make a more concrete star image; Wayne wasn’t so much invented as he was an exaggerated version of himself. The added elements of horses, costume, and Western lingo are just added concepts of his character and not Wayne’s persona.
The main example of his natural personality translating into his “John Wayne persona” is his presence and walk. The article states that he was aware just how powerful his on screen presence was and used it towards his own benefit. Willis states that his “air of invincibility gave Wayne his special status in Westerns” (17). Wayne used his ability to command a crowd and focused it towards commanding others in a Western setting. It is not an invented characteristic; it is one of his talents as an actor that he used to better his characters. His body language and walk are other ways that he utilized natural abilities in his filmic persona. With a large, commanding body, it is easy to see Wayne as a Western cowboy caught in a shoot out.
Another iconic star that I feel exaggerated his own personality traits in order to create a cohesive on screen persona is Elvis Presley. Elvis’ persona can be best summed up by his sexuality and bad boy appeal, but these characteristics did not just come out of nowhere. Like Wayne, Elvis used his attractive features and body in the best ways that he could—by dancing and making woman across the world swoon. Perhaps he was not quite the delinquent that he portrayed in the majority of his early films, but his every day demeanor certainly made the characters believable. Similarly to the way that audiences focus on Wayne’s walk, people are reminded of Elvis’ lip curl while he spoke. Although his slight curl of the lip was most likely exaggerated for the screen, the root of it is based on who he is. In these ways, Elvis also is not so much invented but added onto his own personality.
Some questions to consider are: How much of a star’s persona rely on aspects of their characters? (Like how dependent is John Wayne’s persona is a horse.) Also, the opposite—how dependent is a star’s character on aspects of the star himself?