Below the Stars: How the Labor of Working Actors and Extras Shapes Media Production

Below the Stars examines the contributions of extras and working actors to the history of Hollywood, highlighting their precarious labor as freelancers and their role in shaping the entertainment industry. It proposes a media industry history that positions underrepresented and quotidian experiences as the structural elements of Hollywood, and explores the wrangling of labor unions and guilds that advocated for collective action for everyday actors.

Format: Hardback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2021
Publisher: University of Texas Press

Despite their significant presence in Hollywood, extras and working actors have received scant attention within film and media studies as significant contributors to the history of the industry. Looking not to the stars but to these supporting players in film, television, and, recently, streaming programming, Below the Stars shines a light on such actors as precarious laborers whose work as freelancers has critically shaped the entertainment industry throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. By addressing ordinary actors as a labor force, Kate Fortmueller proposes a media industry history that positions underrepresented and quotidian experiences as the structural elements of the culture and business of Hollywood.

Resisting a top-down assessment, Fortmueller explores the wrangling of labor unions and guilds that advocated for collective action for everyday actors and helped shape professional norms. She pulls from archival research, in-person interviews, and firsthand observation to examine a history that cuts across industry boundaries and situates actors as a labor group at the center of industrial and technological upheavals, with lasting implications for race, gender, and labor relations in Hollywood.

The book's significance lies in its ability to challenge prevailing narratives about the entertainment industry and shed light on the often overlooked contributions of extras and working actors. By highlighting their experiences as laborers, Fortmueller challenges the notion that actors are solely entertainers and emphasizes their role as workers who have contributed to the industry's growth and evolution.

Moreover, Below the Stars offers a valuable perspective on the historical and social factors that have shaped the entertainment industry, including race, gender, and labor relations. By examining the experiences of ordinary actors, the book sheds light on the ways in which these factors have impacted the opportunities and challenges faced by actors throughout history.

In conclusion, Below the Stars is a groundbreaking book that offers a fresh and insightful perspective on the history of the entertainment industry. By focusing on the experiences of extras and working actors, the book challenges prevailing narratives and sheds light on the often overlooked contributions of these actors to the industry's growth and evolution. Through its exploration of labor unions.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781477323076