Marc Siegel
Assistant Professor, Department of Theater, Film and Media Studies
Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

“Lensable Belief”

In this talk, I analyze an important factor in the mobilization of star images within the  queer New York underground film scene of the 1960s, namely belief. My argument hinges on the term “lensable belief” introduced by Ronald Tavel, the screenwriter for numerous Andy Warhol films and co-founder of Theater of the Ridiculous, in his own fascinating writings about fellow artist Jack Smith’s obsession with the star of 1940s Hollywood escapist fantasy films, Maria Montez.