Aspirante a estrella. Industria del espectáculo, celebridades y muchachas modernas en la España del primer tercio del siglo XX

Abstract

This doctoral thesis focuses on the analysis of stars and celebrities as phenomena in mass society. It is based on the hypothesis that the study of celebrity cannot be separated from the production, distribution and reception of messages related to it. In order to carry out this research, various sources have been used, including visual materials of the period, material culture housed in cultural institutions and libraries, newspaper sources, documents from state archives and self-documents. This multidisciplinary approach draws on the literature of celebrity studies, gender studies, theatre and film studies and visual culture studies. The research is structured around four main axes. An introduction corresponding to Part 1 shows the conceptual framework and an overview of the first third of the 20th century. Part 2 starts with the entertainment industry at the beginning of the 20th century, which people, entrepreneurs, legal forms and companies were involved and how they developed into the modern celebrity industry. The third axis analyses how some actresses and artists managed to become public figures recognised by a broad section of early 20th century society. In order to analyse this, the starting point is the difference between the work carried out (their theatrical or cinematographic performances) and the category achieved (emergence from anonymity, popularity, celebrity, stars), as well as how they managed their presence in the public space. Finally, the fourth part of the thesis examines how the proliferation of public figures associated with show business, theatre and film affected the aspirations and desire to emulate the actresses, through the industry's creations and the promotion of the artists themselves