Lana Turner as Star (Discussion)
From Screenpedia
- Group 3: Dyer contends that "Turner illustrates three of the ways that stars function cinematically (that is, within the total signifying practice of the cinema industry situated within society as a whole)".
- What does Dyer mean by "signifying practice"?
- List those three ways that stars function.
- Group 4: What, according to Dyer, is the relationship between glamor and ordinariness?
- How does the photograph of Ava Gardener and Turner "embracing" illustrate this contrast?
- How is it expressed in The Bad and the Beautiful?
- Group 1: In general terms, what does haute couture (pronounce "oht koo-toor") connote? How is this specifically embodied in Turner's image—as Dyer argues regarding the Imitation of Life scene in which she meets David Edwards (Dan O'Herlihy)?
- Group 2: How was Turner’s sexy-ordinary contradiction "crystallized" in four "moments" in her early career?
- All Groups: What characterizes Turner’s acting style? How is it disrupted by emotions presented as more "authentic" in Imitation of Life and The B & the B?
- How does Dyer make the case for the "hysterics in the car" scene as "authentic"?
- All Groups: What role does the father play in The B & the B, according to Dyer? How does this relate to the off-screen representation of Turner and her father?
Bibliography
- Richard Dyer, "Four Films of Lana Turner," Movie 25: 30-52.