ABSTRACT

Mae West was one of the biggest stars of early Hollywood, and her influence can still be felt in the work of many contemporary performers. While numerous scholarly accounts have examined West and her star persona, few have considered the creative practices and labour that went into the creation of that persona. This essay explores the construction of Mae West’s star persona by examining West’s strategic use of secondary and background characters in her films, along with advertisements, reviews, and other press coverage that accompanied the release of those films. I argue that Mae West, along with the studios that employed her and the press that covered her, shaped her particular star image in part by offering carefully crafted representations of imagined audiences. This example reveals broader institutionalised practices used by those in power in early Hollywood to influence how the public thought about stars during the studio era. My analysis includes films released between 1933 and 1940 with West in a starring role. The analysis also examines discourse surrounding West by way of promotional images, paid advertisements, articles, and reviews in periodicals such as Time, Motion Picture Herald, and The Educational Screen.

摘要

梅·韦斯特是早期好莱坞最伟大的明星之一，在许多当代演员的作品中仍然可以感受到她的影响。虽然许多学术文献都研究过韦斯特和她的明星形象，但很少有人考虑到创造该形象的创造性实践和劳动。本文通过考察梅·韦斯特在电影中对次要人物和背景人物的战略运用，以及伴随这些电影发行的广告、评论和其他新闻报道，探讨了梅·韦斯特明星形象的构建。我认为，梅·韦斯特以及雇用她的工作室和报道她的媒体，在一定程度上是通过精心制作的想象观众形象来塑造她独特的明星形象的。这个例子揭示了好莱坞早期掌权者在制片厂时代影响公众对明星看法的更广泛的制度化做法。我的分析包括 1933 年至 1940 年间上映的由韦斯特主演的电影。该分析还通过宣传图片、付费广告、文章和期刊评论等方式审视了围绕西方的话语。《时代》、《电影先驱报》和《教育屏幕》。