@inbook{726cbc06ac2641a99866982b4c0f168b,
title = "Margherita Buy.: Accounting the Career of an Ageing (Anti-)Diva",
abstract = "On 15 January 2022, Margherita Buy turned 60. This celebration often entails an evaluation of ageing stars{\textquoteright} past and present career in the media. By looking at accounts of Buy{\textquoteright}s 60th birthday in Italian online periodicals, I argue that her prestige is validated by referring to both extraordinary – Buy{\textquoteright}s status as one of the most award-winning Italian screen performers – and ordinary – her {\textquoteleft}antidiva{\textquoteright} and demure attitude – aspects of her on- and off-screen persona, in line with Richard Dyer{\textquoteright}s theories on the presentation of stars in the media (1998). This prestige, together with Buy{\textquoteright}s longevity in the Italian star system, sometimes allows a destabilisation of the stereotypical power dynamics between (male) directors and (female) actresses, as she is not only passively described as her directors{\textquoteright} {\textquoteleft}muse{\textquoteright}, but also commended for having actively helped emerging directors become affirmed. Media accounts of Buy{\textquoteright}s career ultimately reveal the impact of ideas around ordinariness, femininity, and age on Italian cinema stars{\textquoteright} perceived prestige.",
author = "Cecilia Brioni",
year = "2023",
month = dec,
day = "30",
language = "English",
isbn = "9783031673092",
series = "Screen Industries and Performers",
publisher = "Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.",
editor = "Luca Barra and Cristina Formenti and Mariapaola Pierini and Francesco Pitassio",
booktitle = "Italian Contemporary Screen Performers. Training, Production, Prestige",
address = "United Kingdom",
}