Description
| Product ID: | 9781350242852 |
| Product Form: | Paperback / softback |
| Country of Manufacture: | GB |
| Series: | Cinema and Society |
| Title: | Acting for the Silent Screen |
| Subtitle: | Film Actors and Aspiration between the Wars |
| Authors: | Author: Chris O'Rourke |
| Page Count: | 224 |
| Subjects: | Acting techniques, Acting techniques, Individual actors and performers, Films, cinema, Film: styles and genres, History, Social and cultural history, Cultural studies, Gender studies, gender groups, Individual actors & performers, Films, cinema, Film: styles & genres, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, Social & cultural history, Cultural studies, Gender studies, gender groups, 20th century |
| Description: | Select Guide Rating A shop girl wins a newspaper competition and is transformed overnight into a transatlantic celebrity. An aristocrat swaps high society for the film studio when she 'consents' to perform in a series of films, thus legitimising acting for what some might have considered a 'low' art. Stories like these were the stuff of newspaper headlines in 1920s and reflected a 'craze' for the cinema. They also demonstrated radical changes in attitudes and values within society in the wake of World War I. Chris O'Rourke investigates the myths and material practices that grew up around film actors during the silent era. The book sheds light on issues such as the social and cultural reception of cinema, the participatory film culture expressed through fan magazines, instructional booklets and movie star competitions, and the working conditions encountered by actors behind-the-scenes of silent films. Drawing on extensive research and a wealth of archival materials, O'Rourke examines how dreams of stardom were fuelled and exploited in the interwar period, and reconstructs the personal narratives and experiences of the first generation to imagine making a living on screen.In doing so, he reveals a missing - and much sought after - piece of cinematic history to bring to life the developing industries, social attitudes and norms of a period of enormous change. A shop girl wins a newspaper competition and is transformed overnight into a transatlantic celebrity. An aristocrat swaps high society for the film studio when she ''consents'' to perform in a series of films, thus legitimising acting for what some might have considered a ''low'' art. Stories like these were the stuff of newspaper headlines in 1920s and reflected a ''craze'' for the cinema. They also demonstrated radical changes in attitudes and values within society in the wake of World War I. Chris O''Rourke investigates the myths and material practices that grew up around film actors during the silent era. The book sheds light on issues such as the social and cultural reception of cinema, the participatory film culture expressed through fan magazines, instructional booklets and movie star competitions, and the working conditions encountered by actors behind-the-scenes of silent films. Drawing on extensive research and a wealth of archival materials, O''Rourke examines how dreams of stardom were fuelled and exploited in the interwar period, and reconstructs the personal narratives and experiences of the first generation to imagine making a living on screen.In doing so, he reveals a missing - and much sought after - piece of cinematic history to bring to life the developing industries, social attitudes and norms of a period of enormous change. |
| Imprint Name: | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Publisher Name: | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Country of Publication: | GB |
| Publishing Date: | 2021-07-29 |
