Books in the Star Decades: American Culture/American Cinema series

Offers a comprehensive view of the star system in 1950s Hollywood, the emergence of "method" acting, and in-depth discussions of the decade's major stars, including Montgomery Clift, Judy Holliday, Jerry Lewis, James Mason, Marilyn Monroe and Kim Novak.

Focuses on the way film icons have engaged in and defined some major issues of cultural and social concern to America during the 1980s. Sections explore how movie stars' films create increased audience awareness of advances in feminism, new ideas about masculinity, and the complex political atmosphere under Reagan.

The conjunction of the terms "movie" and "star" was inconceivable prior to the 1910s. Flickers of Desire explores the emergence of this mass cultural phenomenon, asking how and why a cinema that did not even run screen credits developed so quickly into a venue in which performers became the American film industry's most lucrative mode of product individuation. Contributors chart the rise of American cinema's first galaxy of stars through a variety of archival sources--newspaper columns, popular journals, fan magazines, cartoons, dolls, postcards, scrapbooks, personal letters, limericks, and dances.

Examines a wide range of Hollywood icons from a turbulent decade for the film industry and for America itself. Perhaps reflecting America's cultural fragmentation and uncertainty, Hollywood's star personas sent mixed messages about Americans' identities and ideals. With a multigenerational, international cast of stars, this collection presents a fascinating composite portrait of Hollywood stardom today.