Garbo
may be a great star,a
great star actress because
of what we bring to each
of us is a projector, and she is a scream.
We watch our dreams, upon her.
(Robert
TAYLOR)
Film
historians and scholars have agreed that the 1930s decade was the most
significant period in which Hollywood adopted its most recognised industrial
features. Among these features, it can be said that Hollywood movies
were identified because of a unique visual style, a paradigmatic and
standard narrative, an "invisible" cinematic signature, strong
marketing strategies and commercial formulas in the media. The decade
of the 1930s was the time of the Musical, Screwball, Comedies, Westerns,
Melodramas, and Horror movies among other genres. However, Hollywood
movies of the 1930s are often remembered because of the stars' appeal
to the audiences.
One
of the explanations behind this cultural phenomenon relies upon the
interaction of many factors related with the social context of that
particular decade. The effects of the economic Depression that took
place in 1929 defined the thirties, and its impact within America's
population created a new social energy. This new configuration was expressed
into a search for desires, collective and individual dreams, and the
reflection of national values and goals. In other words, the 1930s decade
was a time to define ideology. The concepts of "ideology"
and "dominant ideology" imply many considerations to be taken
in account. It would be fair to say that ideology is an inherent feature
of any society, and thus, each society creates its own distinctive ways
and resources to establish, represent and consolidate any ideological
system. At the same time, it is argued that cinema function as an ideological
vehicle and film stars represent ideological values; taking in account
this main ideas, film criticism have created an extensive academic body
work regarding this line of study.
This
essay will explore the relations between ideology and cinema by analysing
the role played by film stars within this process. Stars studies work
with four basic approaches: semiotics, intertextuality, psychoanalysis
and audience studies. The essay's aim will be to apply the theoretical
framework in order to explore the ideological meaning of Greta Garbo,
one of the most recognised film stars of the Hollywood of the 1930s,
through making reference to the films Camille (1936) and Ninotchka
(1939).