Introduction

Abstract

The book’s introduction first discusses why looking back at cinematic rock stars is useful for understanding a present context in which stardom seems to matter little to the industrial work of Hollywood. It then provides a summary of the industrial and media context in which rock stardom became significant for commercial filmmaking, distinguishes the category of “rock stars” from prior popular music stars who transitioned to screen, and articulates a theory of media power with regard to rock stardom that explains how such stars produce commercially valuable performances of difference and protest (particularly through performances of race and gender). The introduction ends with a methodological overview that explains how the book’s select case studies indicate different arrangements of power in rock musicians’ relationships to changing media contexts over their extensive onscreen careers.