KEYS TO THE CHARACTER (the star)

To be a great star according to Robert Greene in his book The Concise Art of Seduction; First, you must have such a large presence that you can fill your target's mind the way a close-up fills the screen. You must have a style or presence that makes you stand out from everyone else. Be vague and dreamlike, yet not distant or absent- you don't want people to be unable to focus on or remember you. They have to be seeing you while you're not there. Second, cultivate a blank, mysterious face, the center that radiates sternness. This allows people to read into you whatever they want to. Instead of signaling moods and emotions, instead of emoting or over emoting, the star draws in interpretations.


A star must stand out, and this may involve a certain dramatic flair. It is often little things that get under people's skin and make them imitate you. Although, this nuances may barely register to the conscious mind, subliminally they can be as attractive as an object with a Striking shape or odd color. Unconsciously, we are strangely drawn to things that have no meaning beyond their fascinating appearance. Stars make us want to know more about them. You must learn to stir peoples curiosity by letting them glimpse something in your private life- the causes you fight for, the person you are in love with (for the moment)- something that seems to reveal an element of your personality. Let them fantasize and imagine.


Another way stars seduce is by making us identify with them, giving us a vicarious thrill. The key is to represent a type, as Jimmy Stewart represented the quintessential middle-American, Cary Grant the smooth Aristocrat. People of your type will gravitate to you, identify you, share your joy or pain. The attraction must be unconscious, conveyed not in your words but in your pose, your attitude. You are an actor. And the most effective actors have an inner distance: they can mold their physical presence as if they perceived it from the outside. This inner distance fascinates us. Stars are playful about themselves, always adjusting their image, adapting it to the times. Nothing is more laughable than an image that was fashionable ten years ago but isn't any more. Stars must always renew their luster or face the worst possible fate: oblivion.



SYMBOL: THE IDOL. A piece of stone carved into the shape of a God, perhaps glittering with gold and jewels. The eye of the worshipers fill the stone with life, imagining it to have real powers. Its shape allows them to see what they want to see... a god- but it is actually just a piece of stone. The god lives in their imaginations.