Both fed them on lynching, murder, sex crimes, explosions, wrecks, love nests, fires, miracles, revolutions, wars." ... When the movies began, it was clear that the new form of entertainment would be very different from theater. ... A "star" is someone who is recognized and admired by "everybody," and people of a certain type have this as a psychological need. ... They would become the new gods. ... To move from the metaphorical to the literal, West's novel identifies some of the constituents of this unstable soil and I hope that in this essay I have identified some more. ...

• Word Count: 1177
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School