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Description
During the heyday of Hollywood’s studio system, stars were carefully cultivated and promoted, but at the price of their independence. This familiar narrative of Hollywood stardom receives a long-overdue shakeup in Emily Carman’s new book. Far from passive victims of coercive seven-year contracts, a number of classic Hollywood’s best-known actresses worked on a freelance basis within the restrictive studio system. In leveraging their stardom to play an active role in shaping their careers, female stars including Irene Dunne, Janet Gaynor, Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard, and Barbara Stanwyck challenged Hollywood’s patriarchal structure.
Through extensive, original archival research, Independent Stardom uncovers this hidden history of women’s labor and celebrity in studio-era Hollywood. Carman weaves a compelling narrative that reveals the risks these women took in deciding to work autonomously. Additionally, she looks at actresses of color, such as Anna May Wong and Lupe Vélez, whose careers suffered from the enforced independence that resulted from being denied long-term studio contracts. Tracing the freelance phenomenon among American motion picture talent in the 1930s, Independent Stardom rethinks standard histories of Hollywood to recognize female stars as creative artists, sophisticated businesswomen, and active players in the then (as now) male-dominated film industry.
ISBN
978-1-4773-0731-1
Publication Date
1-2016
Publisher
University of Texas Press
City
Austin, TX
Keywords
Hollywood, studio system, women, actresses, freelance actresses, female movie stars
Disciplines
Cultural History | Film Production | History of Gender | Other Film and Media Studies | Other History | Social History | United States History | Women's History | Women's Studies
Recommended Citation
Carman, E. (2016). Independent stardom: Freelance women in the Hollywood studio system. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. doi: 10.7560/307328
Copyright
University of Texas Press
Included in
Cultural History Commons, Film Production Commons, History of Gender Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Other History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
The download link above includes only the introduction to Dr. Carman's book. Please visit your local library or purchase the book through the "Buy This Book" link above to read the full text.