Pretty people : movie stars of the 1990s / edited by Anna Everett.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Everett, Anna, 1954-

Series:

Star decades: American culture/American cinema.

Star decades: American culture/American cinema

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion picture actors and actresses--United States--Biography.

Motion picture actors and actresses.

Motion picture actors and actresses--Biography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the 1990's, American civil society got upended and reordered as many social, cultural, political, and economic institutions were changed forever. Pretty People examines a wide range of Hollywood icons who reflect how stardom in that decade was transformed as the nation itself was signaling significant changes to familiar ideas about gender, race, ethnicity, age, class, sexuality, and nationality. Such actors as Denzel Washington, Andy Garcia, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and Antonio Banderas became bona fide movie stars who carried major films to amazing box-office success. Five of the decade’s top ten films were opened by three women—Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, and Whoopi Goldberg. “Chick flick” entered the lexicon as Leonardo DiCaprio became the “King of the World,” ushering in the cult of the mega celebrity. Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise defined screen masculinity as stark contrasts between “the regular guy” and “the intense guy” while the roles of Michael Douglas exemplified the endangered “Average White Male.” A fascinating composite portrait of 1990's Hollywood and its stars, this collection marks the changes to stardom and society at century’s end.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Stardom in the 1990's

1 Arnold Schwarzenegger: Corporeal Charisma

2 Jodie Foster: Feminist Hero?

3 Denzel Washington: A Revisionist Black Masculinity

4 Julia Roberts: Cultural Phenomenon

5 Leonardo DiCaprio: King of the “World”

6 Antonio Banderas, Andy Garcia, and Edward James Olmos: Stardom, Masculinity, and “Latinidades”

7 Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise: The Box Office and “True Masculinity”

8 Angela Bassett and Halle Berry: African American Leading Ladies

9 Michael Douglas: An Ordinary Man

10 Pierce Brosnan: Licensed to Sell

11 Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves: Hollywood and the Iconoclasts

In the Wings

Works Cited

Contributors

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-78034-794-4

1-280-49244-9

9786613587671

0-8135-5325-3

OCLC:

784885426