Star system, sexuality and female subjectivity in Hollywood cinema (1931-1934)

Authors

  • Ana Paula Spini
  • Carla Miucci Ferraresi Barros

Abstract

This article discusses some issues whose interpretive and epistemological limits are among the fields of history of culture, gender approach and film analysis. The idea is to reflect on controversial female images produced and designed by one of the most conservative Studios, the Metro Goldwin Mayer, in the period appointed by film historians as the Pre code era (1930-1934). From the two films analysis starring Greta Garbo, Mata Hari (1931) and Queen Christina (1933), we discuss the speeches which the movie stars were vectors in order to highlight the power lines between what was forbidden , which was negotiable and what was possible from the point of view of ideas and normative and transgressive practices about the role of women in modern society, in a context of deep economic and social crisis and intense disputes between civil society, state and movie studios around the divisive issues of family and morals conveyed by Hollywood in the period.

keywords: Hollywood; star system; sexuality.

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Author Biographies

Ana Paula Spini

Doutora em História pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). Professora do Instituto de História e do Programa de Pós-graduação em História da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU).

Carla Miucci Ferraresi Barros

Doutora em História pela Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Professora do Instituto de História da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU). Coorganizadora, entre outros livros, de História em projetos. Velhos mundos e mundos novos: encontros e desencontros

Published

2016-06-17

How to Cite

Spini, A. P., & Barros, C. M. F. (2016). Star system, sexuality and female subjectivity in Hollywood cinema (1931-1934). ArtCultura, 17(30). Retrieved from https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/artcultura/article/view/34758

Issue

Section

Dossiê: Relações de Gênero, Sexualidade & Cinema