Sandra Bullock

“Sandra Bullock honored by ‘People’s Choice Awards’ for her Warren Easton High work”. Photo provided by the Times Picayune.

Actress Sandra Bullock, a Virginia native, is one of the many Hollywood stars to have fallen in love with New Orleans and its rich culture. This love of and commitment to the city was demonstrated in her recent purchasing of a beautiful house on Coliseum St, in the Garden District. However, the star finds other ways to demonstrate her passion for New Orleans through her frequent efforts to rebuild the city, and its school system in particular.

This love for New Orleans that has often been displayed by Bullock could be said to be mutual, as local media sources often builds stories around sightings of the star. As opposed to the media’s past focus on other local stars’ acting careers, such as that of Leatrice Joy Zeidler’s, media attention dedicated to Bullock is much more concentrated on her personal life and charities regarding her efforts to rebuild the city. For example, New Orleans’ Times-Picayune newspaper titles include, “People’s Choice Awards to honor Sandra Bullock for Warren Easton High philanthropy,” “Sandra Bullock marks Hurricane Katrina anniversary at Warren Easton,” and “In ‘Be The One’ video, Sandra Bullock, Drew Brees, Lenny Kravitz come together for the Gulf” (The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). “Sandra Bullock marks Hurricane Katrina anniversary at Warren Easton.” August 29, 2010; The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). “In ‘Be The One’ video, Sandra Bullock, Drew Brees, Lenny Kravitz come together for the Gulf.” July 20, 2010;The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). “People’s Choice Awards to honor Sandra Bullock for Warren Easton High philanthropy.” January 8, 2013).

The modern film industry is much more familiar with and adept at creating film commodities, such as Sandra Bulluck. As outlined in Janet Wasko’s book How Hollywood Works, the significant growth of the talent management business has stimulated the act of objectifying and commodifying stars through their personas (Wasko, Janet. How Hollywood Works. SAGE Publications Ltd, 2003). Bullock’s persona then sells to the public through various media portrayals that extend beyond her film presence. Bullock is only one example of what Wasko calls a ‘cultural synergy’ that may restrict the meanings associated with the performer in order to sell another product.