Mary R. Desjardins, Recycled Stars: Female Film Stardom in the Age of Television and Video

Abstract

Recycled Stars: Female Film Stardom in the Age of Television and Video is the culmination of Mary R. Desjardins’s years of study and work on stars, fandom, and the film industry. Desjardins’s book bridges the gap from film to television stardom in two different time periods: from 1948 to 1960 and then through the 1980s and 1990s. This focus through time is to show how these stars are “recycled” or “to expose who is invested in and who profits from the reemergence or sustained popularity of particular stars” (p. 3). Emphasizing female stars in particular is reflective of the fact that women were under particular scrutiny to maintain a certain identity both onand off-screen. A handful of stars—Gloria Swanson, Loretta Young, Mary Astor, Ida Lupino, Lucille Ball, and Maureen O’Hara—are examined more closely because of their experience transitioning to new media while attempting to maintain a certain image. In this way, this book is not just another biographical star study or historical piece. Rather, Desjardins uses a multidisciplinary approach to discuss the recycling of stars. Although film and television studies play a prominent role throughout the piece, there are also significant elements of critical cultural and feminist theories.