Flickers of Desire: Movie Stars of the 1910s

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No book is written on a tabula rasa, and no author is alone with her obsessions . This feeling of community is particularly acute when one shares the company of contributors such as these, each of whom I thank for their respective wisdom, their unwavering diligence, their shrewd thinking—and our shared passion. This book would not exist without the fierce encouragement of the series editors, Adrienne L. McLean and Murray Pomerance, nor would it have a home without Leslie Mitchner, the visionary at Rutgers University Press, whose patient support has enabled more than a few words of thanks can convey. At the University of Washington, Megan Bertelsen offered foundational research and a keen eye for copy, while Anagha Kulkarni’s tireless and exacting assistance in the final stage of production demands an equal note of gratitude. I owe far more than just gratitude to Tom Gunning, who reminded me (among so many other things) that early cinema gained the name “flickers” from its association with the rapid motion of light and the “flickering” effect previously associated with the behavior of flames. Light’s ability not only to reveal, illuminate, and enlighten but also to conceal, cast shadows, and create illusion underlies the tense dance between truth and doubt that every moving image brings. A similarly strange dance surely defines our fascination with film stars, that luminous species whose appearances enchant and deceive even as they clarify what we otherwise might not recognize—or remember—as desired ideals. Although this collection is highly specialized in the sense that it scrutinizes many figures and films buried by time, negligence, or habit, and although it attempts to cover ground that remains terra incognito even for other specialists, it is also meant for readers who care about the past out of intellectual curiosity rather than solely for professional reasons. I have been blessed these past few years with a special group of friends whose intelligence reminds me that technical jargon and academic snootiness can hinder real learning. To Ernie Andres, Graeme Atkey, Chuck Burgess, Steve Davies, Gary Kratt, David Stob, and, especially, John O’Neal, I offer a reverent nod of praise, accompanied by heartfelt thanks for not only keeping me sane, but for teaching me to dodge the wickedest balls life can throw at you with an aggressive courage tempered by grace. I am indebted to my sister , Stephanie Bean, and to Michael Gundle for discussing the issues ix ★★★★★★★★★★ ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩ debated here in a different context. It is in the context of the classroom, however, where my aims for this collection have taken particular shape, often angling against prevailing trends in history textbooks and developing alongside what my students were willing—or determined—to think about. I dedicate this collection to them, and to the brilliant light their every question has cast. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Flickers of Desire ...