What are the stars really like? Ty Burr, film critic for the Boston Globe, has heard that question a thousand times. But he addresses far more interesting questions in Gods Like Us: Why do we want to know about celebrities or seek stardom for ourselves? Why do so many people have a need for stars?
Burr traces the history of fame in the U.S., from remotely glamorous actors of the silent film era to more accessible "talkie" stars, up to the Internet and its obsessive celebrity culture. He shares anecdotes about studios and stars past and present, from Charlie Chaplin's spontaneous invention of his "Little Tramp" persona to the way Harrison Ford's impish self-awareness saved Star Wars.
Each decade has its game-changers, legends who transform the future face of stardom. Burr highlights them all, from cultural icons (Bette Davis, Marlon Brando) to stars (like Florence Lawrence) now lost to history. He detours briefly from the movies to discuss Elvis, the Beatles and 1960s rock-and-roll culture, which expanded stardom into a new realm. But most of his luminaries appear on screens, either the large, glamorous silver one or the smaller one that brings stars into viewers' homes.
Burr also examines the business of stardom, from the machinations of movie studios to the rise of self-created celebrity and the lucrative paparazzi industry. Gods Like Us is more than a history lesson: it's an exploration of why we need stars, how we treat them and what they tell us about ourselves. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams