SSC Film Studies

Neither audiences, nor producers need film stars anymore?

 I agree with this statement to a certain point. Film stars used to be one of the most essential parts of the film making industry; they gave film studios a sense of security because of how they guarantee an established audience. Recently they have been proved to not be as successful due to more sophisticated media productions such as franchises. Franchises have recently been proven to be a hit at the box office overriding movies with “film stars", an example of this would be in 2013 when the avengers was the highest grossing movie of the year earning over $1 billion at the box office worldwide. That same year oblivion was released starring tom cruise and Morgan freeman, that film only made just over 200 million at the worldwide box office.

It is clear that film franchise and re makes are more appealing to audiences then the stars who appear in the films. Films are no longer self contained entitled but instead can be apart of an expanded universe. Films now offer an ongoing narrative that requires more attention and commitment from there audiences, the narrative is more engaging and becomes a rewarding experience. An example of this is the Harry Potter franchise, this franchise carried on for ten years, a whole generation grew up alongside the films and as a result it became more than just a film to them it became a life. Recently after the last Harry Potter film was made Warner bros created Harry Potter world, and also opened up the sets in London the film used. This helped create a Harry Potter universe.

The flaws to this statement are how most people rely on film stars. To be a film star actors have to fit into a certain critera, Christine gledhill was fundamental in the development of star theory. She claims that film stars can be defined in four main points. I will be using Jennifer Lawrence To explain.

Jennifer has a sense of cultural value which leads the audience to respect and idolise her, In countless interviews she has spoken up about the pressure to stay skinny in Hollywood and how if you're not Hollywood's perspective of 'skinny' you will be labelled obese. An example for this would be when she was asked about how she stayed in shape for her role of Katniss Everdeen in the hunger games franchise, quite recently before this the internet had labelled her too fat to play this character, and she replied with, “I'm never going to starve myself for a part. I don't want little girls to be like, 'Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I'm going to skip dinner!' I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong, not thin and underfed."

As well as being a perfect role model for young girls Jennifer has an edge of danger and realism as she has been represented to be deviant. This reinforces to her fans she is just like them. This year Jennifer was a part of the latest I cloud hacking scandal which most young female celerity's have dealt with in the past. Nude photos of her were posted on the internet. Instead of writing an apology she released a statement instead. She said rightly   “every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry. I started to write an apology, but I don’t have anything to say I’m sorry for. I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he’s going to look at you.” This shows courage, although she was rebellion and refused to take any blame.

Jennifer Lawrence is conventionally a successful female 23-year-old Academy Award-winning actress. Jennifer has a net worth of $40million and is one of the richest celebrities under 25. Jennifer is most famous for her role as Katniss Everdeen in the hunger games franchise. Her central role in the Sci-fi film challenges the stereotypical ideology of this genre, a women being the central protagonist of such a huge film has never happened before and draws more female audiences to the cinema.

Jennifer Lawrence is a versatile actress and has played various different characters in her acting career. She has played mentally unstable Tiffany in Silver linings playbook, mystique in X-men, Katniss Everdeen a teenager who is forced to fight to the death in a arena for a annual game (the hunger Games) and a a mountain girl named Ree who hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact as well as various other roles. Jen has also has been nominated for two academy award for best actress (and various others) for two of these role and won one in 2013 making her the third youngest actress in history to win.

Film stars add monetary value to films and reduce the risk of money loss, the make more money then fikms

 There is also the sleeper curve which is used to explain our contemporary perception of the deteriorating standards of pop culture. Although by no means does the Sleeper Curve imply that popular culture has become superior to traditional culture.