Beatty's creation of the stud.

In "Studs Have Feelings Too", Lucia Bozzola writes that Warren Beatty offers a subjectivity that can only cause unease for the male spectator. This is especially interesting to me because I felt incredibly uncomfortable while watching Shampoo. I didn't think that his acting in the film was anything spectacular and found it equally interesting to learn that he produced the film to further his image as a sex icon. "The most critical reference is Jay Cock's assertion in Time that the film, produced and co-writen by Beatty as well, could have been called 'Advertisements for Myself.'" Besides Beatty's narcissism, this highlights the control that Beatty exercised over the film and his representation in it.

Rather than mastering a craft of acting, Beatty seemed to understand how he could use his physical appearance to become a "man for woman's eyes." In the article, "Articulating Stardom", King states that naturalism defines the way that an actor represents himself (utterances, behavior and appearance) in the everyday world - or in other words - without acting. Beatty's construction of himself (his persona), therefore, seems to be built on an effort to emphasize his naturalism rather than playing parts that he has to transform into.

His sexual identity, however, was not only created by the obvious use of his body, behavior, etc, but also by the way that the other character in the film interact with him. He doesn't work hard at attracting women - they just come - and other men idolize him ("Now that's what I call fucking...") It seems like a casting director who casts an actor (or model?) to play a specific role because they naturally fit the character's attributes is far more common than in the 70s. While I am trying to examine both Beatty as an actor and actors for the sake of acting, I cannot help but to come to conclusion that his art comes from utilizing what he already has (his image) and his ability to take that and create a film that revolves around it and emphasizes it.

It is Beatty's use of himself as the male gaze that makes it so uneasy for men to watch. At the same time, this is the very thing that made his movies sell. "The person who wants to know if this film is Beatty advertising himself would have to see the film, read the articles and decide, since Beatty has not denied that reading." His ability to create himself into a playboy is exactly that of which makes him marketable - and so intelligent.

While it seems so common for the playboy to exist in many films nowadays, it is particularly interesting that he created this himself - rather than a corporate formula. Have we seen anything like this in recent times? If Beatty did not utilize his sex appeal, would he still be considered an "actor"? Maybe I don't see what the women see while watching the film, but I wouldn't see him as such a lady's man if he wasn't constructed ("I fuck them all...I listen to them.") to be one in the film.