Movie actors as "signs"

Hi guys,

I'm at a seminar on Cyberbullying and the media. The presenter just put forward something you might be interested in (see what I'm doing? Learning stuff and passing it on - this is what you should be doing).

She is talking about stars versus movie actors.
There are actors who are just actors. And then there are actors that are stars.
A star is an actor who has become an icon, a symbol that represents something beyond their character. They might represent a set of actors. Or they might represent a certain genre.

So if I say Western, who are the actors you think of?
Horror?
Action?

Conversely, if I say Bruce Willis, what genre do you immediately leap to?
Robert Englund?
Brad Pitt?
George Clooney?
Angeline Jolie?
George Lucas?
Quentin Tarantino?

This is why i asked you to add in people into your genre presentation.

and changing conventions. Someone from twenty years ago would freak out

Fade out. Fade in.
Now:
Then: time has passed.