Social Justice

Deconstructing the “Wacky Hollywood Types” Trope

What if painting actors as loons is not just about selling tabloids?

In light of the Writer’s & Actors’ strike, I was thinking about this stereotype (more prevalent in the 1980s and 90s) of the Hollywood star as a vapid, dumb, psychologically unstable human being. I remember The National Enquirer and The Star exploiting this trope for all it was worth, at the checkout stand lines. This star is so silly, she believes in crystals. This starlet slept with…