Self-Reflexivity in Films Reinforcing Persona -Supplemental Post

I just got back from seeing the new romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" directed by Garry Marshall. The film features many well-known actors, most of whom are playing directly in line with their star personas. There are a few characters who do play drastically against type, but that would ruin it for those of you who haven't seen it yet and don't want to know.

However, one particular thing that stuck out to me in the film was how stars used self-reflexivity and references to their star-making roles to create humor. Julia Roberts, who rose to fame playing the All-American Girl everyone wanted to be best friends with in romantic comedies,is now starting to redefine herself as a mother (on and off screen) with roles like Captain Kate Hazeltine in this film. However, in the bloopers reel, she pokes fun at herself and the role that first shot her to stardom -- the hooker with the heart of gold in "Pretty Woman." As she sits in the back of a limo, the driver remarks, "There's Rodeo Drive. Have you ever shopped there?" Julia smiles knowingly and replies, "Actually, I have, but it was a bad idea." Though the moment comes in the blooper reel, a time when many audience members are starting to leave the theater, it acts as an intriguing reminder- it's as if Julia (and Garry Marshall the director on both films) is saying, "Hey remember, when you all fell in love with me and how that complements my shifting image now?" Additionally, not only does it help to reinforce Julia Robert's image and her iconic Rodeo Drive shopping sequence in "Pretty Woman," but it also helps to reinforce the image of Garry Marshall. This is the last piece of dialogue in the film, and its purpose really seems to be to remind audiences of "Pretty Woman" in comparison to this film and cement Garry Marshall as a great creator of romantic comedies in our minds.

Additionally, Taylor Lautner, a relatively new celebrity, most famous for making adolescents squeal while repeatedly removing his shirt in "New Moon," also pokes fun at his star-making role. Knowing full-well that his toned body sending audiences of teen girls into audible shrieks is what has merited him his current status in Hollywood and having already made fun of this in his opening monologue when he hosted SNL some months back, he takes it one step further in this film. Taylor Swift, who plays his girlfriend, asks him to change shirts into the new Valentine's Day gift she has given him. His reply is "I really don't feel comfortable taking off my shirt in public." With this tongue-in-cheek reply that is quite far from the truth, Taylor Lautner and Garry Marshall are illustrating that they understand the ridiculous factors that can contribute to making someone a star, and they rely on factors of a star persona to create humor.

While reinforcing star persona from film to film has been a component of the star system since the early days of film-making, I feel that this self-referential humor that simultaneously reinforces star persona while also highlighting the actual construction of the star is a hallmark of postmodern film-making. Why this is I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because our society has become more cynical and therefore better at recognizing the mechanics behind creating a star, thus requiring stars to poke fun at themselves and the roles that made them stars. While in the studio days, audiences were supposed to buy into a star image completely and their off-screen image was supposed to directly match that of the characters they played, much has shifted in a post-modern, media-frenzied world. Now,it seems necessary that stars construct an image for themselves, but that they also acknowledge this construction and poke holes in it/make fun of it to fully cement their status.

Ian Farwell (Misc Post #3)

This time we received a comedian who plays a serious character.

Jeff Garlin was our guest during my previous Television Symposium class. Ironically, and rather fitting to our class discussions, Jeff Garlin's character in Curb Your Enthusiasm is one of the less comedical characters in the series. However, in real life this guy was non stop jokes. He really seemed to carry a completely different personality than the character in-which he portrays. This duality of character representation versus realty is incredibly interesting to see first hand (Very much more than the traditional non-real re-representations portrayed in shows like TMZ). It has always been easy for me to say that I understand the concept that these actors are only playing their characters, but really seeing it first hand has proven to be a very different experience than just understanding the simple concept.

In other words, Even though I knew Jeff Garlin is not the same in real life as his character, it took me a minute to adjust to the fact that Jeff was different than his character portrayal. After a few minutes it was easy to make this adjustment, but all this still makes me think about all the other actors I have watched over the years. I guess this all means that Jeff Garlin, like many actors, is good at his profession because he is believable. Now, I can see why stars and studios alike pay big buck to maintain an actors image with cultural norms and ideals. It keeps is coming back for more.

Young Hollywood Moms (Supplemental Post#1)

After our discussion in class on Monday I started to think of moms in Hollywood and how their images change once they have a baby. One person in particular that has changed in my eyes dramatically is Nicole Richie; having a baby was the last thing that anyone would want for the party girl who’s been in and out of rehab, and was caught driving the wrong way on the freeway. When people first heard Nicole was going to have a baby there was a sense of concern and worry of whether or not her child would be raised properly. She’s proven everyone wrong and since having a baby she has dramatically changed her image by being done with partying, to focus on being a good mother, and is frequently photographed at various charity events. It seems like having a baby for her helped her to find that wake up call to get her life and priorities in order.

On the other hand celebrities obviously shouldn’t stand as a role model for everything they do in life, but they are obviously in the spotlight and people who admire them are going to watch and model their every move. Take for example Jamie Lynn Spears, the young sister of Britney Spears, she accidentally became pregnant at the age of 16. The unfortunate thing for her fans was that they were younger and much more impressionable so trying to help them understand that the Nickelodeon Zoey 101 star was going to have a baby and it wasn’t right was something that many parents were challenged with. The life that these celebrities live after having a baby make it look like it’s no big deal. On the celebrity blog site PopCrunch I came across, “Hollywood Mothers, Jamie Lynn Spears Inspired Massachusetts Teen Pregnancy Pact” and saw a quote from the National Enquire from a 16 year old girl saying that “Jamie Lynn has a baby, and all the magazines make it sound so easy and so much fun…Hollywood glamorizes having babies, and a lot of young girls get seduced by it.” And a few months later this 16 year old was pregnant.

I noticed that I slightly bounced around in between these two celebrities but I found it interesting how a socialite partygoer could completely transform her image to being a mother of two. And how people can be so blind as to think that Jamie Lynn would be a good role model to follow and base their life on.

Was Joan Crawford Good for America?

Joan Crawford obviously stands as one of the most important "independent" female stars that we've seen in Hollywood. However, the film "Mommie Dearest" exposes her meticulous ways of living and abuse toward her children. So what happens when an actress looks so strong and independent in her films (i.e. Mildred Pierce), in which she solely supports her rebellious and obnoxious daughter, but is actually quite disruptive and damaging to both her family and the industry?

It is interesting to watch the following two clips back to back. First watch her interview on "Mildred Pierce". Then watch the clip from "Mommie Dearest" as Faye Dunaway portrays the real-life Crawford.