The Star System

In the classic Hollywood era, a star was born through the star system. Film studios used the star system in order to turn an ordinary actor or actress into a powerful star they could use as subliminal advertisement.

Through the star system, a Hollywood star became his or her own genre. By signing a classic Hollywood contract, the studios chose which movie the star would be in. Usually, the studio would determine a film genre, e.g. musical, for a specific star. Audiences would soon associate a specific star with a specific genre and see the film as that peculiar star's genre. Classic Hollywood capitalized on the star system because it knew that audiences would know what kind of film they are watching by solely knowing who starred in the film.

Famously known as Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland's films span mostly in the musical film genre. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film company used the star system to cast Judy Garland in film musicals. MGM used Garland's voice to target audiences by associating it with the musical genre. Audiences knew that a film with Judy Garland meant that there was going to be some singing involved, therefore attracting them go go watch the film for her singing.

Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz

Video courtesy of Youtube.com