Animal stars: a critical view of creaturely celebrity

Star studies has focused primarily on human stars and the systems and conditions by and in which human stardom and celebrity are produced. Although animal stars have cultural, symbolic and economic value, scholarly work in star studies has, with few exceptions, largely ignored animals. This article addresses star studies through a critical lens that attends to the symbolic and economic dimensions of animal stardom. It argues that acknowledgement of the importance of both realms within star studies generally, draws attention to the ethical dimension of animal stardom specifically. It further proposes that alternative histories of film are revealed by situating animals at the centre of scholarly enquiry and discusses how this puts focus on previously obscured dynamics of stardom, particularly in relation to industrial conditions and systems.