Superheroes Movie Stars Written Response

Prompt

Evaluate the validity of Bastien's argument regarding superheroes and movie stars. Where do you agree with her and where you disagree with her? (5-7 sentence paragraph)

Then write a second paragraph (8-10 sentences), where you argue for either the supercessionism of superheroes over movie stars, the neutral and profiting co-existence between the two, or about the continued prominence of movie stars in Hollywood.

Response

Bastien has many valid points within her argument of Hollywood needing to expand on what stardom specifically entails. She provides many examples of the current situation of Hollywood, such as mentioning how the Marvel Chrises are popular but “are unable to translate their visibility their characters bring them into success elsewhere.” Bastien emphasizes the role of a star throughout the piece: the fact that stars bring something more to the film and can shape their own image. She supports with juxtaposition and analysis between Ryan Reynold’s role in Deadpool and Margot Robbie in Suicide with true stars such as Will Smith and Ben Affleck, which do sound pretty reasonable. However, some things I did notice in Bastien’s argument and disagree with is her use of incorrect generalizations. Bastien claims that “An actress can’t become a star if she has no meaty leading roles, a truth that Hollywood seems to have forgotten.” I disagree as I have seen television shows where the side roles played by actors/actresses where they become stars - however, most of the shows I do watch are Chinese dramas, so my opinion on this may not be accurate when it comes to Hollywood. Additionally, I would not agree with her opinion,

“I’m not worried about the white male actors — like the Marvel Chrises — when it comes to the changing and charged landscape of modern Hollywood. They will get chance after chance to prove their worth as stars even if they can barely inhabit the superhero roles they play, let alone figure out and craft their own public images.”

Personally, I do not think that it brings any valuable to her argument with her pointed generalization towards white male actors, as her argument does not apply exclusively to white male actors to my knowledge. Racial generalizations do not serve a purpose to convince her audience of why Hollywood needs to expand on what stardom means.

I would argue for the neutral and profiting co-existence between the two. My opinion is that whatever method that brings Hollywood the most money and attention should be used, whether that be the superheroes over movie stars or movie stars in Hollywood. The two sides of the argument do both have their valid points: superheroes over movie stars brings in what some of the audience are looking for - it’s the formula of success for Hollywood. But, true movie stars in Hollywood bring advice and direction, ultimately affecting and shaping the nature of the film, the very reason of why the audience love these stars. Thus, I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to decide to have both of the described models in Hollywood. It should be our choice, as the audience, to see fit what we want to watch and what we like. As Bastien mentions, the audiences today having changing tastes, from true movie stars having qualities such as “sex appeal, mystery and relatability: to the stars themselves being unimportant. An industry that depends on the audience should attempt to appeal to all of it, and thus the neutral and profiting co-existence between the two would be the most suitable method.