Chrishandra Sebastiampillai is Lecturer in Film, Television and Screen Studies at Monash University Malaysia. Her research interests include film stardom and celebrity, representations of race and identity in cinema, Philippine cinema and Southeast Asian cinema.

In this wonderfully researched and illustrated exploration of Philippine star-crossed ‘Love Teams’ we get to fully comprehend how fictional film couples come to complexly embody and represent the ideologies of the nation state. Chrishandra’s very well-chosen case studies on such love couples as Aunor and Cruz, and Santos and Mortiz, enables the book to traverse historical and political contexts, from the 1950s to the present. As it does so, it maps and marks shifts in the appeal of idealised star images, the operations of the screen industries, and in the fervour of the fans who worship these wholesome, unifying figures of romantic love. This is a book that not only centres Philippine cinema into the heart of the global cultural imagination but re-imagines the way star studies should assess its famed film couples. As such, it is a must read addition to the literature on celebritised love and romance.

• Table of Figures;Introduction;1. Theorizing the Couple: What is a Love Team?;2. Building the Couple: Industry, Society and Politics in 1970s Philippines;3. Producing the Couple: Individual Star Images;4. Reading the Couple: Joint Star Images;5. Filming the Couple: The Teenage Jukebox Musical Genre;6. Becoming the Couple;Conclusion;Bibliography;Filmography;Index

Chrishandra Sebastiampillai is Lecturer in Film, Television and Screen Studies at Monash University Malaysia. Her research interests include film stardom and celebrity, representations of race and identity in cinema, Philippine cinema and Southeast Asian cinema.

In this wonderfully researched and illustrated exploration of Philippine star-crossed ‘Love Teams’ we get to fully comprehend how fictional film couples come to complexly embody and represent the ideologies of the nation state. Chrishandra’s very well-chosen case studies on such love couples as Aunor and Cruz, and Santos and Mortiz, enables the book to traverse historical and political contexts, from the 1950s to the present. As it does so, it maps and marks shifts in the appeal of idealised star images, the operations of the screen industries, and in the fervour of the fans who worship these wholesome, unifying figures of romantic love. This is a book that not only centres Philippine cinema into the heart of the global cultural imagination but re-imagines the way star studies should assess its famed film couples. As such, it is a must read addition to the literature on celebritised love and romance.

• Table of Figures;Introduction;1. Theorizing the Couple: What is a Love Team?;2. Building the Couple: Industry, Society and Politics in 1970s Philippines;3. Producing the Couple: Individual Star Images;4. Reading the Couple: Joint Star Images;5. Filming the Couple: The Teenage Jukebox Musical Genre;6. Becoming the Couple;Conclusion;Bibliography;Filmography;Index

Chrishandra Sebastiampillai is Lecturer in Film, Television and Screen Studies at Monash University Malaysia. Her research interests include film stardom and celebrity, representations of race and identity in cinema, Philippine cinema and Southeast Asian cinema.

In this wonderfully researched and illustrated exploration of Philippine star-crossed ‘Love Teams’ we get to fully comprehend how fictional film couples come to complexly embody and represent the ideologies of the nation state. Chrishandra’s very well-chosen case studies on such love couples as Aunor and Cruz, and Santos and Mortiz, enables the book to traverse historical and political contexts, from the 1950s to the present. As it does so, it maps and marks shifts in the appeal of idealised star images, the operations of the screen industries, and in the fervour of the fans who worship these wholesome, unifying figures of romantic love. This is a book that not only centres Philippine cinema into the heart of the global cultural imagination but re-imagines the way star studies should assess its famed film couples. As such, it is a must read addition to the literature on celebritised love and romance.

• Table of Figures;Introduction;1. Theorizing the Couple: What is a Love Team?;2. Building the Couple: Industry, Society and Politics in 1970s Philippines;3. Producing the Couple: Individual Star Images;4. Reading the Couple: Joint Star Images;5. Filming the Couple: The Teenage Jukebox Musical Genre;6. Becoming the Couple;Conclusion;Bibliography;Filmography;Index