Moseley, Rachel (2000) Trousers and tiaras : growing up with Audrey Hepburn. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis considers the construction and circulation of the image-text 'Audrey
Hepburn', and its reception by young British women across two moments: the
1950s and 1960s, and the 1990s. The project uses a tripartite methodology: close
analysis of film texts, press and publicity relating to Hepburn; archival research
using sources including women's and film fan magazines, and interviews with
women who admire and have admired Audrey Hepburn. The thesis argues that
Hepburn can be understood as a star who offers an address to a feminine
audience, and goes on to explore the taking up of that address through analysis of
the data gathered in the interviews, paying particular attention to questions of
class, generation and socio-historical moment. The research presents a number of
different kinds of material: it considers Hepburn as a star and the reasons for her
enduring popularity; it suggests the flexibility of her image as key in
understanding this longevity and in enabling her to appeal to women across lines
of class and generation. The thesis argues that it is this flexibility, and the ways in
which Hepburn's image manages social contradictions, which have been key to
the way consent has been secured from women around her as a star. It
investigates the nature of the relationship between Hepburn and the women who
admire her, and also, through their detailed talk, offers insight into the social
history of femininity. In attending to both text and audience, the thesis attempts
to think the relationship between them outside psychoanalytically informed
theories of identification which have been hegemonic in film theory, offering
instead the terms resonance and recognition as ways of understanding that
relationship. An interdisciplinary project, the thesis represents a 'cultural studies
of film' which extends existing work on stars such as Dyer (1979,1982,1986,
1991) and Stacey (1994).

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Hepburn, Audrey, 1929-1993 -- Criticism and interpretation, Hepburn, Audrey, 1929-1993 -- Influence, Motion picture actors and actresses -- Biography, Feminism
Official Date:	March 2000
Dates:	Date Event March 2000 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Film and Television Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Brunsdon, Charlotte
Sponsors:	Arts and Humanities Research Board (Great Britain) (AHRB)
Extent:	380 leaves
Language:	eng

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