| This dissertation examines "Mae West" (a sign of a film actress and celebrity but also of an enduring cultural icon) as a case study of how star images function and as a unique phenomenon of significance to further development of feminist perspectives in media studies. The central argument of the study is that both the challenge and the persistent appeal of West's image lie in the complex ways it represents sexual difference as social construction.;The dissertation traces the key elements of the sign "Mae West"--sex, power, ambiguous gender, humor, and narcissism--to sources in the star's stage, film, radio, and television appearances, as well as in critical response to these and in extensive publicity surrounding her persona. Together with close readings of her performances in the twelve feature films she made from 1932-78 and in other media, this overview of West's star image provides the basis for an analysis of how "Mae West" has served at once to confirm and to contravene conventional representations of gender.;The study draws on original research in documents of industry censorship of West's films in the 1930s and on evidence of the films' reception to evaluate the effects and implications of Mae West's image in historical context. The approach yields an understanding of West's image as a sign of social and economic threat within the moral reform discourse during the Depression that centered on the representation of female sexuality and from 1933-37 focussed on "Mae West.";In discussing the star's reception since 1970, the study considers West's status as a female female impersonator and her reception as "camp," to argue that contemporary gay and feminist readings of West's image are not antithetical, as previous feminist evaluations of West have maintained, but rather profoundly complementary. West's use of exaggerated gesture, excessive spectacle, and ironic humor in performance, the star's dominance of her film narratives, and the composite image contemporary viewers have of West combine to invite a reading of this star as a source of feminist and other pleasures that operate in opposition to dominant ideological constructions of sexual difference. |
