Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom
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Michael Williams
Abstract
From its emergence in the early 1910s, film stardom in Hollywood and Europe has been influenced by the myth and art of the ancient past. To look upon the discourse of screen stardom is to apprehend a palimpsestic history of cultural reception. The likes of Apollo and Venus dominate this history as idols that flatter their cinematic pretenders as established ideals of beauty. However, this chapter examines less frequently evoked classical figures in film publications from the early-mid twentieth century. Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa are thus also aligned to contemporary conceptions of beauty, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, but often in a delightfully ambiguous and subversive way. This chapter presents archival research into the role of film trade papers and fan-magazines in engaging audiences in the active reception and construction of stars. I foreground the research methods available to uncover these classical receptions, including the possibilities enabled by the digital archive.
Abstract
From its emergence in the early 1910s, film stardom in Hollywood and Europe has been influenced by the myth and art of the ancient past. To look upon the discourse of screen stardom is to apprehend a palimpsestic history of cultural reception. The likes of Apollo and Venus dominate this history as idols that flatter their cinematic pretenders as established ideals of beauty. However, this chapter examines less frequently evoked classical figures in film publications from the early-mid twentieth century. Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa are thus also aligned to contemporary conceptions of beauty, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, but often in a delightfully ambiguous and subversive way. This chapter presents archival research into the role of film trade papers and fan-magazines in engaging audiences in the active reception and construction of stars. I foreground the research methods available to uncover these classical receptions, including the possibilities enabled by the digital archive.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments VII
- Contents IX
- List of Figures XIII
- Introduction: Classical Reception in the Early 2020s, Critical Times and Where to Next? 1
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Part I: Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception
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Section 1: Re-Thinking Classical Reception
- The Master’s Tools?: Towards a Politics of Reception 23
- Classics on the Surface: Classical Reception as an Emergent Process 41
- Masked Celluloid Classics? Shadows of Clytemnestra in Film Noir 61
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Section 2: Working with Archives
- The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia 87
- Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre, the Greek Dictatorship, and the Ford Foundation: From Handout to Handshake 119
- Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom 139
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Section 3: Cultural Intersections
- Mocking the Hollywood Epic Canon: Parodies of the Classical World from Latin American Cinema’s Studio Era 169
- Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon 193
- Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions 215
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Part II: Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges
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Section 4: Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities
- Cripping Venus: Intersections of Classics and Disability Studies in Contemporary Receptions of the Venus de Milo 239
- Social Justice-Engaged Reception Pedagogy at Wake Forest University 265
- Classics on the Italian Stage: Old Habits and ‘New Deals’ 279
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Section 5: Greek Tragedy in a Time of Pandemic
- Tragedy as an Open Network: Antigone in Ferguson (2016–) and The Nurse Antigone (2022–2023) 307
- “Where’s the Body?”: Performing Iphigenia at Aulis in New Zealand during the Pandemic (2020) 329
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Section 6: Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public
- Escaping Hades: Playing with Classical Reception 357
- Classical Reception Meets Pedagogy: The Creation and Uses of the Panoply Vase Animation Project's Our Mythical Childhood and Locus Ludi Animations 383
- List of Contributors 409
- Index 415
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments VII
- Contents IX
- List of Figures XIII
- Introduction: Classical Reception in the Early 2020s, Critical Times and Where to Next? 1
-
Part I: Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception
-
Section 1: Re-Thinking Classical Reception
- The Master’s Tools?: Towards a Politics of Reception 23
- Classics on the Surface: Classical Reception as an Emergent Process 41
- Masked Celluloid Classics? Shadows of Clytemnestra in Film Noir 61
-
Section 2: Working with Archives
- The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia 87
- Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre, the Greek Dictatorship, and the Ford Foundation: From Handout to Handshake 119
- Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom 139
-
Section 3: Cultural Intersections
- Mocking the Hollywood Epic Canon: Parodies of the Classical World from Latin American Cinema’s Studio Era 169
- Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon 193
- Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions 215
-
Part II: Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges
-
Section 4: Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities
- Cripping Venus: Intersections of Classics and Disability Studies in Contemporary Receptions of the Venus de Milo 239
- Social Justice-Engaged Reception Pedagogy at Wake Forest University 265
- Classics on the Italian Stage: Old Habits and ‘New Deals’ 279
-
Section 5: Greek Tragedy in a Time of Pandemic
- Tragedy as an Open Network: Antigone in Ferguson (2016–) and The Nurse Antigone (2022–2023) 307
- “Where’s the Body?”: Performing Iphigenia at Aulis in New Zealand during the Pandemic (2020) 329
-
Section 6: Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public
- Escaping Hades: Playing with Classical Reception 357
- Classical Reception Meets Pedagogy: The Creation and Uses of the Panoply Vase Animation Project's Our Mythical Childhood and Locus Ludi Animations 383
- List of Contributors 409
- Index 415
