Difference between revisions of "Lana Turner as Star (Discussion)"

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[[Image:BadAndBeautiful57 jpg.jpg|none|thumb|320px|"Authentic" emotion in ''The Bad and the Beautiful''.]]
 
[[Image:BadAndBeautiful57 jpg.jpg|none|thumb|320px|"Authentic" emotion in ''The Bad and the Beautiful''.]]
 
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[[Image:LanaIoL.JPG|left|thumb|300px|A production still of Turner wearing ''haute couture'' in ''Imitation of Life''.]]
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[[Image:LanaIoL.JPG|left|thumb|300px|A production still of Turner wearing ''haute couture'' in ''Imitation of Life'' — in a scene in which Lora meets David Edwards (Dan O'Herlihy).]]
 
[[Image:IoL1959-01.jpg|none|thumb|400px|Frame grab from ''Imitation of Life'', in color.]]
 
[[Image:IoL1959-01.jpg|none|thumb|400px|Frame grab from ''Imitation of Life'', in color.]]
 
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#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)".
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#'''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"?
 
#*What does Dyer mean by "signifying practice"?
 
#*List those three ways that stars function.
 
#*List those three ways that stars function.
#What, according to Dyer, is the relationship between glamor and ordinariness?
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#'''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 does the photograph of Ava Gardener and Turner "embracing" illustrate this contrast?
 
#*How is it expressed in ''The Bad and the Beautiful''?
 
#*How is it expressed in ''The Bad and the Beautiful''?
#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?
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#'''Grad Group:''' 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?
#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)?
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#'''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)?
#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''?
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#'''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"?
 
#*How does Dyer make the case for the "hysterics in the car" scene as "authentic"?
#How was Turner’s sexy-ordinary contradiction "crystallized" in four "moments" in her early career?
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#'''Group 2:''' How was Turner’s sexy-ordinary contradiction "crystallized" in four "moments" in her early career?
  
 
==Bibliography==
 
==Bibliography==

Revision as of 15:05, 28 April 2008

"Four Films of Lana Turner"

Ava Gardner and Lana Turner "embrace".
"Authentic" emotion in The Bad and the Beautiful.


A production still of Turner wearing haute couture in Imitation of Life — in a scene in which Lora meets David Edwards (Dan O'Herlihy).
Frame grab from Imitation of Life, in color.


  1. 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.
  2. 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?
  3. Grad Group: 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?
  4. 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)?
  5. 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"?
  6. Group 2: How was Turner’s sexy-ordinary contradiction "crystallized" in four "moments" in her early career?

Bibliography

  1. Richard Dyer, "Four Films of Lana Turner," Movie 25: 30-52.