Title:	Hollywoods Pygmalion-Zeitalter: Konstruktion von weiblicher Identität im Starsystem (1914-1944)
Authors:	Ott, Bastian
Thesis advisor:	Prof. Dr. Schneck, Peter
Thesis referee:	Prof. Dr. Poole, Ralph
Abstract:	The aim of this dissertation is the analysis of images from specific female stars. An image is the result of both, performances in movies and its construction through publicity. A variety of methods is required for an appropriate analysis of these issues. Both, the cinema and psychoanalysis were developed at the end of the 19th century. Both realms share a historical, social and cultural background, which was formed by the forces of the modern era. By using psychoanalytical theories, it is possible to explore psychological proceedings in the characters in the movies and to make a statement for their motivations. With its emphasis of desire in the life of an individual, the approach is helpful to show gender-specific paradigms in narrations. Especially the feminist film theory uses psychoanalysis to apprehend the relation between the female body and the audience. The sociological approach is one of the first methods, which was used by early feminist critics. It relates to a study of people in a society. It employs a terminology of gender-roles, for example the labelling 'virgin' or 'vamp' as a categorization for women, who are similar to the specific notions of these types. Presented in this dissertation are the actresses, who can be seen as representative for the most common types. The selection depended on the question, why precisely these actresses have been appropriate to incarnate these types. The Victorian Woman, the Vamp and the Flapper are types, which are subjects to be spoken from. All the three of them have been exploited in silent movies and have been decisive for the image of women in that era. Lillian Gish, Theda Bara and Clara Bow are quintessential examples for incarnating the types in both, performances on the screen and in the star discourse. Claudette Colbert was successful in gaining a rare diversity of roles, which was the result of a resistance against the typecasting of her first studio. It was possible for her to obtain semi-independent stardom in the 1930s at Paramount. Her contractual re-negotiations included creative arrangements, the right to appear in movies of other studios and deals about percentage. The choice to integrate this star in the study helps to get the opportunity for examining three characters, who are very different from each other, all of whom performed by her on the screen in only one year, namely 1934. In "It Happend One Night" she was the heiress who escaped the paternalism of her father and she was the successor of vamps like Theda Bara and Greta Garbo - another star included in this dissertation - as and in "Cleopatra". Fruitfully results are to be expected in respect to the issue of identity construction from the analysis of "Imitation of Life". It is not only because of the fact, that Colbert plays a mother, who comes from an insecure financial situation and rises to fortune, but for the opportunity to examine stereotypical representations of black women. The 'mammy' and the 'tragic mulatto' will be explored in some detail. Such movies like "Blonde Venus" and "Rebecca" are almost iconic for feminist film theory. The plot of "Blonde Venus" is a quest for finding an appropriate role for the female protagonist, - played by Marlene Dietrich - which takes place in an evolutionary process of self-discovery and cultural definition. Hitchcock's first American work was establishing what was his preoccupation for the next decades, namely the relation of a woman - played by Joan Fontaine - to patriarchy and the question, how her identity was formed by this. Billy Wilder's film noir "Double Indemnity" provides with Barbara Stanwyck in the role of Phyllis Dietrichson a character, who can be labelled as an example of the quintessential Femme fatale. The conclusion of this dissertation is constituted as a prospect, which gives the opportunity to look back to some of the key aspects and to establish some examples of outstanding stars and their movies in the following decades.
URL:	https://doi.org/10.48693/605 https://osnadocs.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de/handle/ds-2024112611818
Subject Keywords:	Identity; Gender; Woman; Femininity; Typology; Virgin; Vamp; Flapper; Femme fragile; Femme fatale; Gender; Man; Masculinity; Identity; Race; Whiteness; Whiteface; Blackness; Blackface; Passing; Identity; Class; Identity; Intersectionality; United States; Hollywood; Starsystem; Stardom; Actresses; Stars; Movies; Lillian Gish; The Birth of a Nation; Broken Blossoms; True Heart Susie; Theda Bara; A Fool There Was; Clara Bow; It; Greta Garbo; The Torrent; Marlene Dietrich; Blonde Venus; Claudette Colbert; Cleopatra; It Happened One Night; Imitation of Life; Joan Fontaine; Rebecca; Barbara Stanwyck; Double Indemnity; Genres; Melodrama; Romantic Comedy; Gothic Melodrama; Film noir
Issue Date:	26-Nov-2024
License name:	Attribution 3.0 Germany
License url:	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/
Type of publication:	Dissertation oder Habilitation [doctoralThesis]
Appears in Collections:	FB01 - E-Dissertationen

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