This research presents the processes and findings of an interdisciplinary study of mothers’ and daughters’ shared relations to film stars. Principally grounded within the cultural studies tradition of investigating the role of media in everyday life, the research explores the intergenerational transmission of film star tastes and preferences between mothers and daughters, building upon existing literature from the fields of star studies, family sociology, memory studies and audience research. It also takes a new perspective on the study of audiences for stars from the work of art anthropologist Alfred Gell, who posited the notion that the study of art should concern its ‘practical mediatory role’ within social interactions. The research was conducted by means of an empirical audience study of paired mother-daughter dyads of varying ages, class backgrounds and social circumstances, and was carried out in two phases: a preliminary online survey which recruited 92 mother-daughter pairs; and 16 follow-up telephone interviews with selected mothers and daughters. The first phase utilized quali-quantitative methods of analysis to explore various models of mother-daughter-star relations, while the second phase used a combined analytical approach that coupled an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach with elements of memory studies to further investigate those identified dyadic models. An overarching finding of the thesis is that film stars perform varying, but also evolving, functions within mother-daughter relationships depending upon the socio-demographic make-up of the dyad. Other more specific findings include: that class identifications are a key determinant in mother-daughter shared gender preferences in regard of admired stars, and that in mother-daughter relationships where there is a greater distance in their age gap, mothers specifically carve out shared times between the pair, using film stars as a common resource which provides a communicative coinage within their relations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:530513 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Ralph, Sarah |
| Contributors | Barker, Martin ; Egan, Kate |
| Publisher | Aberystwyth University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/2160/ab08f6c8-5961-44ce-b454-14cb40fdce49 |
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