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CALL FOR PAPERS
The Movie Star
An area of multiple panels for the 2014 Film & History Conference on Golden Ages
October 29 - November 2, 2014
Madison Concourse Hotel
Madison, WI USA
DEADLINE for abstracts: July 1, 2014
AREA: The Movie Star
The face of Greta Garbo. The charisma of Cary Grant. The charm of Jimmy Stewart. These are not just regular people. They are gods in the cinematic pantheon. The Hollywood star system during the studio era created stars to be admired, molded to fit the style of the studio. Stardom did not happen on its own, but it was carefully manufactured and presented by the studios for public consumption. Names were changed. Beauty was enhanced. Images were created. Still, stardom is hard to define. Who is a star and who is just another actor? Why does the public care so much about the personal lives of stars? Why do we want to be like our favorite stars? What role does stardom play in box office success? How were individual stars constructed by the studios? What role did network television have in the evolution of stardom?
This panel invites papers on a wide range of topics related to the Movie Star during the Golden Ages including (but not limited to):
Gossip: What was said and written about the public and private lives of stars?
Transitions: Film stars who transitioned from and to different media including radio and television (Lucille Ball, Fred MacMurray)
Non-Hollywood: Golden Ages stars of other film industries around the world (India, France, Japan, etc.)
Publicity and promotion: How did Hollywood studios promote stars and what was written about them?
Labor: The role of stars in labor unions and as workers in the industry
Industry: Box office successes and failures of stars
Fandom: Fan clubs, pin-ups, merchandise, autograph seekers
Political activism: Republicans and Democrats, war efforts, pet causes (Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Stewart)
Nostalgia: How are Golden Ages stars relevant today?
Advertising: What did they sell and how were they selling it?
Public and Private: On-screen and Off-screen representations and the star persona/image
Genre: Stars tied to a particular genre (John Wayne, Bob Hope)
Proposals for complete panels (three related presentations) are also welcome, but they must include an abstract and contact information, including an e-mail address, for each presenter. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (www.filmandhistory.org).
Please e-mail your 200-word proposal by 1 July 2014, to the area chair:
Amit Patel
The University of Kansas
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CALL FOR PAPERS
CFP: The Studio System
An area of multiple panels for the 2014 Film & History Conference:
Golden Ages: Styles and Personalities, Genres and Histories
October 29-November 2, 2014
The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governors Club
Madison, WI (USA)
DEADLINE for abstracts: July 1, 2014
AREA: The Studio System
The Hollywood Studio System was a well-oiled machine that produced some of the most important films in history, creating big business out of popular culture. Decades after its collapse, film historians and movie buffs are still fascinated with this period of Hollywood history. The System was incredibly dynamic, regularly sparked creativity and ingenuity, was often times oppressive, and always widely influential. From the 1920s until their gradual demise in the late 1950s, the Hollywood Studios were a major force in terms of entertainment, art, and mass communication.
What can be said today about Hollywood Studios as agents of innovation and change, on screen and in society? In what ways did the Studio System place limits on creativity and vision, even as its vast resources made anything seem possible? How do we understand the role of the Studio System in creating or inhibiting careers on both sides of the camera?
This area invites 20-minute papers offering unique perspectives that continue the discussion of the Studio System and further its academic study.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
*The production of popular genres of the Studio Era (Warner gangsters,
Universal monsters, MGM musicals, etc.)
*The evolution of film genre during the Studio Era, how did the Studio System
influence genre change?
*Examinations of how Hollywood studio films presented history (past or
contemporary to the time)
*Issues involving the battle between censorship and the studios
*Cultural history analyses of the studios (Universal of the 1930s, Postwar MGM,
etc.)
*The role of the producer during the Studio Era
*That Barton Fink Feeling: The plight of writers during the Studio Era
*Outside the Studio System the influence of Poverty Row companies on
evolving Hollywood production during this era
*Rise and Fall: The origins and/or decline of the Studio System
Proposals for complete panels (three related presentations) are also welcome, but they must include an abstract and contact information, including an e-mail address, for each presenter. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (www.filmandhistory.org).
Please e-mail your 200-word proposal by 1 July 2014, to the area chair:
Chris Yogerst
University of Wisconsin-Washington County
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