In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

208 ARRAYS
20ff.). Consumers buy such products because they cannot resist the
desire to imitate the body stylizations of the stars they worship. Among
manufacturers, such mimetic behavior on the part of the consumer triggers
a two-pronged strategy: they strive to associate their merchandise
with famous names, and they thus build brand loyalty instead of product
appreciation. Especially in the film industry, this strategy ends up generating
"loyalty to a name, whether it be that of an actor, a studio, or a
theatre" (Valentine, 37). But although mimetic desire relating to stars'
bodies can be transferred to names (of, say, film studios or movie palaces),
it is unclear whether the suicide of some of Valentino's fans when
they learn of his death on Monday, August 23, is an emotional reaction
of despair or a completely automated form of imitation: "At the news
of Valentino's death, two women attempted suicide in front of Polyclinic
Hospital; in London a girl took poison before Rudy's inscribed photograph;
an elevator boy at the Ritz in Paris was found dead on a bed
covered with Valentino's photos" (Orbanz, 107). In any event, stars
inspire followings, and since followers are successfully persuaded that
they can fashion their own bodies according to the model of their heroes,
stars become icons of individuality as well as incarnations of collective
identity. [see Individuality = Collectivity (Leader)] But although the
status of the stars thus oscillates, during their lifetime, between extreme
closeness and extreme remoteness in relation to the fans' quotidian, their
death makes them part of a heavenly sphere that contains the primary
referent of the word "star." [see Immanence vs. Transcendence] Only a
few weeks after Valentino's death, a recording with the title "There's a
New Star in Heaven Tonight" comes on the market (Orbanz, 137). [see
Gramophone] Some of the people who took their own lives in his wake
may have done so in the hope of joining him in this strangely secular
sphere of eternity. [see Immanence = Transcendence (Death)]
Who can become a star? Certainly not the typical intellectual, as
Heinrich Mann notes with more frustration than irony, in analyzing the
current situation of the literary writer. Such an author "has no readers
who are sophisticated intellectuals and who thus would consider writing
as an endeavor far worthier than boxing. Certainly none of them would
think him a great figure. Does he wish to go his own way alone, or with
only a few followers? Often, he can't afford to do this, for purely
financial reasons" (320). In even stronger tones of protest, Heinrich's
brother Thomas points to a hierarchy of public roles which he identifies