Gods Like Us: On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame

Ty Burr is the movie critic for the Boston Globe. Burr has watched thousands of movies over his long career. He writes with entertainiing insight on the popular genres of film, music and home entertainment in the 21st century. The book:a. Burr gives us a mini-history of the birth of the movies and stars who emerged int he silent era from Florence Lawrence in the very beginning of the industry to such silent icons as Charlie Chaplin; Gloria Swanson; Rudolph Valentino; Norma Talmadge and many more. The movies were begun by corporate executives who came from Central European backgrounds. They were mainly Jewish (with the exception of Zanuck) but created the studio systme. Major studios emerged in the golden age. MGM; Paramount:RKO; Twentieth Century Fox and Warners were the leaders.b. Burr examines several of the great films and stars of the early sound era such as Clark Gable, John Wayne, William Powell and such femme fatales as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Betty Davis.c. The most fascinating part of the book for this reviewer was Burr's study of post World War II film and music. He traces the emergence of Marlon Brando a more realistic actor and graduate of the Actors Studio. We see the rise of Elvis Presley and the impact of rock music on our culture. Television is explored with such early stars as Milton Berlie, Lucille Ball and the TV situation comedy.d. Burr describes the careers of such modern stars as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford. Our culture today is one in which we ourselves can become stars through the use of facebook, You Tube and other modern innovations. This is a fascinating book for movielovers which will both teach and entertain the reader1 Well done!

I love Ty Burr's writing and his deep insights. So when I learned that he had written "Gods Like Us: On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame" I immediately ordered the book. When it arrived, I placed it in the queue on my "To Be Read" shelf, and there it sat for far too long. Each time I would reach for it, another title near Burr's book would whisper to me: "Shouldn't you be reading something IMPORTANT - history, biography, a classic novel, a business book?"I finally pulled the book from it place on my shelf and dove in. I am sorry that I waited so long. This book is IMPORTANT. It is not a fluff piece about Hollywood, but a reasoned examination of the arc of stardom and fame from the Silent Film era to the era of Selfies and Twitter. It is also a very well thought-out philosophical examination of the nature of identity.As always, Mr. Burr writes with artistry and clarity. His prose is beautiful and provocative.Here is a sample to help to convince you of the truth of what I aver: "Here, in the end, is the revelation that all of stardom works to deny, the dirtiest and most unfathomable secret . . .It's that identity itself is the grandest illusion of all. What if the sum of who we are is not a magical inner seed that only fame or self-actualization can cause to bloom? What if we're not all the things we wish for or blog or project, but simply the actions we take for ourselves and for others - our marks upon the waking world? What if we are what we do, not the other way around? Stardom is the best dream we've yet invented, a luxurious fantasy of the fixed self. The question we need to ask ourselves is how long we want to keep sleeping, and what we'll dare to do when we finally wake up." (Page 352)

The first and major idea worth taking from this book is the concept of celebrities as personas. I thought this was very interesting, and it has completely changed the way I see not only famous people but even pairs who have received some kind of recognition.When developing this concept through history the book drags a bit, it could have been shorter. But the chapter on internet and the way it has allowed everyone to experience something similar to being a celebrity is so interesting it paid for the whole book. Someone said in another review that the question of why we care about celebrities is not explained, but I thought it was well explained in that chapter. "What draws us to other people's fame is the hope of discovering a self that never dies." (I don't think I'm spoiling anything by quoting that since you have to read what comes before and after to fully understand it.)A great read for people curious about the sociological aspect of fame and the way the concept is changing, even disappearing to leave place for something else.

A WORLD OF THEIR OWN HOLLYWOOD APPEAL.Ty Burr has captured the inner sactum of Hollywood. He is a delightful writer who has been close to reviews all of his writing life.I felt like I was holding Charlie Chaplins cane,Marlon Brando's shirt and Paul Newman'ssalad dressing.I do want more of Ty Burr.My own Father acted in Youngstown Ohio with the Warner Brothers in a community theatre called "The Strollers" Thank Goodness he never became apart of that inner sactum. He thought it was too insecure a world in the1930's. It was then and is now.

This review pertains to the hardbook binding, rather than the contents which I have not read. I purchased this item as a gift for someone and when I received the first copy, I discovered that the pages were very ragged at the right edge of the book (see images) and will inevitably fold over, perhaps tear and definitely become dirty. This isn't really acceptable. So I returned it and the replacement is the same. I went to a book store locally and their copies are the same too! Obviously the publisher is putting out substandard product and this is a shame. I want to give this book to someone as a gift but in this condition, I'm not so sure.

I'm obsessed with film and film history but have trouble finding books on the topic that aren't either textbooks or complete snoozers. Burr gives a wonderful overview of what stars in the movies represented for us, starting at the beginning of film history and continuing up until today. I learned some really interesting stuff about some of my favorite actors! It's also great to trace the line to how we got to where we are today. Great, though a little lengthy, read.

There is much more stuff about the Old Hollywood here than about recent times but it's still a riveting read. It's written with such depth and eloquence that I couldn't put it down and I really wished it could go on and on. It's a magical book, the author clearly knows what he's talking about and even if you don't have a particular interest in the Old Hollywood, it's totally worth reading because it's so captivating. I can't recommend it enough.

Quite interesting.