Autobiographies of Movie Stars: Presentation of Self and Its Strategies

Abstract

The autobiography of movie stars is part of an abundant production centered on the presentation of self. It pertains not so much to a literary genre as to a specific cultural domain endowed with a logic and regulation of its own. The media now devote a considerable space to the spectacular presentation of an individual by himself. This performance can take the most varied forms: celebrity interviews, autobiographical writings of all kinds, memoirs of political personalities, appearances of candidates on TV during electoral campaigns, matrimonial ads, erotic confessions in feminist magazines, etc. One can truly speak of a new culture of the presentation of self, invading even the most unexpected fields, expressing itself equally through written and oral texts, verbal and visual means. This formal diversity often conceals the homogeneity of a cultural practice pertaining to a specific domain.