Shadows of stardom: Latina actresses in the 1930's Hollywood produced Spanish language films

Shadows of Stardom: Latina Actresses in the 1930's Hollywood Produced Spanish Language Films focuses on the actresses and Latina representation in the Spanish language films Hollywood produced in the 1930's. This project explores the unexpected opportunity that the short-lived production of Spanish language films created for Latina actresses struggling to overcome marginalized, stereotyped roles offered them by mainstream English language films of the era and the impact the films and actresses may have had on early Latina moviegoers, fan culture and consumption in Los Angeles. ❧ In 1928, as the movies were learning to talk, the Hollywood film industry became fearful of losing its dominance in international markets. Among the studios' responses to the challenge of sound was producing multiple-language films. Originally intended to be shown outside the United States, the Spanish language films also found an audience at home, particularly with immigrants in Los Angeles, exemplifying one of the earlier moments of globalization. ❧ These films and their female stars have largely been forgotten as most scholars have written off as aesthetically worthless. Yet, an appraisal of some of these films begins to tell a different story. The predominant screen role models for Latinas during this period had been primarily Anglo actresses while Latina roles have largely followed stereotypes. Two exceptions were Dolores Del Rio who was at the height of her Hollywood career and Lupe Velez who was set up somewhat in opposition to Del Rio. There is more to this story. ❧ These Hollywood produced Spanish language films used Mexican, Spanish and Latin American actresses in a positive context. They were the stars and heroines of the films. This study argues for their inclusion in the Hollywood story which in turn will expand this area of film scholarship. ❧ This dissertation is an historical reconstruction of the Hollywood Spanish language film experiment starting with an overview and covering the business practices of the studios, publicity and fan culture, the actresses and the films themselves. The project is woven together with primary sources, archival materials and textual analysis of the films. The goal of this project, which intersects the fields of film history, Latino/a Studies and Visual Culture, is to ""reanimate"" these actresses and bring them out of the shadows.《星光之影：1930年代好莱坞西班牙语电影中的拉丁裔（Latina）女演员》聚焦于1930年代好莱坞出品的西班牙语电影中的女演员群体与拉丁裔形象表征。本研究探讨了彼时好莱坞主流英语电影为拉丁裔女演员设置的边缘化、刻板化角色，而昙花一现的西班牙语电影制作，为这些深陷困境的女演员提供了突围的意外机遇；同时还分析了这类影片与女演员对洛杉矶早期拉丁裔观影群体、粉丝文化及观影消费产生的影响。 ❧ 1928年，电影行业迈入有声时代，好莱坞影业唯恐丧失其国际市场主导地位。面对有声化带来的挑战，制片厂的应对策略之一便是制作多语言影片。这些西班牙语电影最初计划在美国以外地区放映，却意外在本土收获了观众群体，尤以洛杉矶的移民群体为甚，这亦是全球化早期的典型案例之一。 ❧ 这类影片及其女星大多已被世人遗忘——大多数学者曾将其贬斥为毫无美学价值的作品。然而，对部分影片的重新审视却揭开了截然不同的面貌。彼时，拉丁裔银幕形象的主流模板多为盎格鲁裔女演员，而拉丁裔角色大多难逃刻板印象的窠臼。多洛雷斯·德尔·里奥（Dolores del Río）与卢佩·贝莱斯（Lupe Vélez）是其中的例外：前者正处于好莱坞事业的巅峰期，后者则在某种程度上与德尔·里奥形成了鲜明反差。这一议题尚有更多值得挖掘的内容。 ❧ 这些好莱坞出品的西班牙语电影，以正向视角塑造了墨西哥、西班牙及拉丁美洲女演员的形象，她们正是影片中的主角与女主人公。本研究主张将这些女演员纳入好莱坞电影史的叙事脉络之中，这一举措亦将拓展电影研究的相关领域。 ❧ 本博士论文旨在对好莱坞西班牙语电影实验展开历史重构，内容涵盖该类影片的概述、制片厂商业运作模式、宣传与粉丝文化、女演员群体及影片本身。研究依托一手史料、档案材料与影片文本分析完成。本研究横跨电影史、拉丁裔研究（Latino/a Studies）与视觉文化三大领域，其核心目标是"reanimate"这些女演员，将她们从历史的阴影中重新带出。