In the first of this term’s FilmBites talks Dr Tamar Jeffers McDonald, Head of Film in the School of Arts, talks about Doris Day, her film roles and performances and explores the source of the enduring virgin myth which persists to this day.

Doris Day Confidential: Hollywood Sex and Stardom (2013)

Dr Tamar Jeffers McDonald commented , ‘I’ve been fascinated by the clashes between the way Day is commonly remembered, her star persona, and her actual work in films. When I set out to write this book I wanted to work out why people always say “Doris Day always plays a virgin”. What does it mean to “play a virgin”? What is it in her roles or performances that makes the automatic response? In exploring these questions I found that very little the actor herself did accounted for this myth about her. I discovered instead that the movie magazines – cheap, colourful, numerous publications that swamped American news stands from 1911 to the early 1970s – were responsible for creating and eventually punishing Doris Day for the virgin myth.’

The FilmBites talks will showcase academic book publications by film lecturers at the University of Kent.

The talk will take place in the Templeman Library:

13:00 – 13:20 Thursday 11 October next to the DVD Collection in Block B, Ground Floor.