Description: Examines how psychological and physical suffering, as portrayed on screen and experienced in personal lives, has affected the images, performances, and fortunes of stars from the 1940s to the present.
Brief description: Rebecca Bell-Metereau is professor and director of media studies in the English department at Texas State University. She is author of Hollywood Androgyny and Simone Weil on Politics, Religion and Society, along with numerous articles and chapters on gender, acting, stardom and society.
Review Quotes: In this illuminating and challenging collection of essays, Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Colleen Glenn have created a one-stop source on the politics of star 'martyrdom' and public representation, covering Mickey Rourke, Michael Jackson, Charlize Theron, Daniel Day-Lewis, and numerous other iconic figures in crisis, examining how these stars negotiate their public presence through corporeal transitions. This is an utterly unique, absolutely original book, brimming with new insights, and new ways of looking at stars and stardom-a real contribution to the ever expanding field of star studies.--Wheeler Winston Dixon "author of Streaming: Movies, Media and Instant Access "