Amelie Hastie – Louise Brooks, Star Witness

It’s interesting to think of “the star” as both the character and the actor. When one is taken by a character, one imposes their attributes on the star who is portraying them. This makes the star more attainable to the fan: when they are connected with a character that is not physically there, they have an air of attainability in reality. “The star is at once ordinary and extraordinary, available for desire and unattainable.” We see them on the screen and can relate with them, but we will never be able to actually have them in our arms. We can fall for a character and a movie star, and we can dream about them, but the chances of ending up with one are extremely slim.

People can assume what they want about Hollywood stars, and this is somewhat attributed to the fact that the stars can choose to omit what they want from their real life persona, or how they portray themselves. In some cases, stars sometimes associate themselves with characters they play, particularly in fan fiction. Louise Brooks blurred the line between her character, Lulu, and her real self. We have talked about the ability to immerse oneself in a film or medium, and it is the same with actors who get extremely into their characters. For fans, the line gets blurred between character and real person, and they may think that their favorite movie stars are more like their favorite characters than is the case.