000 02434cam a2200253 i 4500
008 131121s2014 njua b 001 0 eng
020 _a9780813562650
020 _a9780813562643
040 _aSDU
050 0 0 _aPN1995
_bP982 L2014
100 1 _aPullen, Kirsten.
_9208970
245 1 0 _aLike a natural woman :
_bspectacular female performance in classical Hollywood /
_cKirsten Pullen.
260 _aLondon :
_bRutgers University Press,
_c2014
300 _a 245 p. :
_bill.
505 _aHKBU library
518 _aYT2025 M09
520 _a" Bathing beauty Esther Williams, bombshell Jane Russell, exotic Carmen Miranda, chanteuse Lena Horne, and talk-show fixture Zsa Zsa Gabor are rarely hailed as great actors or as naturalistic performers. Those terms of praise are given to male stars like Marlon Brando and James Dean, whose gritty dramas are seen as a departure from the glossy spectacles in which these stars appeared. Like a Natural Woman challenges those assumptions, revealing the skill and training that went into the work of these five actresses, who employed naturalistic performance techniques, both onscreen and off. Bringing a fresh perspective to film history through the lens of performance studies, Kirsten Pullen explores the ways in which these actresses, who always appeared to be "playing themselves," responded to the naturalist notion that actors should create authentic characters by drawing from their own lives. At the same time, she examines how Hollywood presented these female stars as sex objects, focusing on their spectacular bodies at the expense of believable characterization or narratives.Pullen not only helps us appreciate what talented actresses these five women actually were, but also reveals how they sought to express themselves and maintain agency, even while meeting the demands of their directors, studios, families, and fans to perform certain feminine roles. Drawing from a rich collection of classic films, publicity materials, and studio archives, Like a Natural Woman lets us take a new look at both Hollywood acting techniques and the performance of femininity itself"--
650 0 _aWomen in motion pictures.
650 0 _aMotion picture actors and actresses
_zCalifornia
_zLos Angeles.
_9208971
650 7 _aPERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / History & Criticism.
650 7 _aSOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies.
_9126932
900 _a= C.1 SDU
942 _cGBE
_2lcc
999 _c108604
_d108604