Detailed Information on Publication Record

GMITERKOVÁ, Šárka. Remembering the Devil’s Mistress. Lída Baarová’s Contemporary Star Image. In konference NECS. Transitions: Moving Images and Bodies. 2021.

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Basic information
Original name	Remembering the Devil’s Mistress. Lída Baarová’s Contemporary Star Image
Authors	GMITERKOVÁ, Šárka.
Edition	konference NECS. Transitions: Moving Images and Bodies. 2021.

Other information
Original language	English
Type of outcome	Presentations at conferences
Field of Study	60405 Studies on Film, Radio and Television
Country of publisher	Czech Republic
Confidentiality degree	is not subject to a state or trade secret
Organization unit	Faculty of Arts
Keywords in English	stardom, post-image, memory, star studies
Tags	International impact
Changed by	Changed by: Mgr. Michal Večeřa, Ph.D., učo 261655. Changed: 17/1/2022 00:28.

Abstract
Czech stars of 1930s and early-to-mid 1940s are still fondly remembered by various generations of filmgoers and general public as well. Their work, biographies and images are still circulating in the public space through frequent reruns of their films on televisions and site-specific screenings, numerous books dedicated to their lasting star personas and through various audiovisual content retelling their moving life stories. However, there is one infamous star, whom the public perceives as the locus for critical debates concerning major historical events vis-à-vis personal accountability – Lída Baarová. Due to her much publicized and reflected love affair with Joseph Goebbels she is frequently nicknamed “the devil’s mistress”, and her films are sidelined in favor of her much more compelling biography. Therefore, in my article I would like to reconstruct contemporary discourse surrounding Baarová, arguing that it is precisely this amalgam of melodrama and past reality that keeps her image so enduring and relevant. While cultural elites bemoan the existing interest and affection for the fallen star, low-brow authors keep exploiting the story and heat up discussions focusing on historical guilt or lack thereof. Analyzing our lingering memory of Lída Baarová will shed new light on stardom as a tool for explaining the past, the art and the emotion.

Abstract

Czech stars of 1930s and early-to-mid 1940s are still fondly remembered by various generations of filmgoers and general public as well. Their work, biographies and images are still circulating in the public space through frequent reruns of their films on televisions and site-specific screenings, numerous books dedicated to their lasting star personas and through various audiovisual content retelling their moving life stories. However, there is one infamous star, whom the public perceives as the locus for critical debates concerning major historical events vis-à-vis personal accountability – Lída Baarová. Due to her much publicized and reflected love affair with Joseph Goebbels she is frequently nicknamed “the devil’s mistress”, and her films are sidelined in favor of her much more compelling biography. Therefore, in my article I would like to reconstruct contemporary discourse surrounding Baarová, arguing that it is precisely this amalgam of melodrama and past reality that keeps her image so enduring and relevant. While cultural elites bemoan the existing interest and affection for the fallen star, low-brow authors keep exploiting the story and heat up discussions focusing on historical guilt or lack thereof. Analyzing our lingering memory of Lída Baarová will shed new light on stardom as a tool for explaining the past, the art and the emotion.

Links
MUNI/A/1333/2020, interní kód MU	Name: Česká kinematografie jako kinematografie malého národa (Acronym: Kinematografie malého národa)
MUNI/A/1333/2020, interní kód MU	Investor: Masaryk University