Core Response #1 (Jan 24th Reading) – KC Chow

In her piece relating Rudolph Valentino and female spectatorship in Stardom: Industry of Desire, Miriam Hansen brings up the fact that films during Valentino’s heyday were targeted towards the female spectator, adding that women‘s “increased social and economic significance [were] acknowledged in whatever distorted manner” (262-263). With the aforementioned, I find it interesting how there is a stark discourse between the orientation of these cultural products and the execution. From its conception in the late 19^th century to its evolution into present day, females continue to be the biggest movie-going audiences. Despite this, film is often tauted as the media medium where women have the least desirable roles with many known film actresses running to television to play a more well-written character, such as Viola Davis (HTGAWM) and Thandie Newton (Westworld). With The Sheik, I found that, yes, the film does gear towards female fantasy (and generally the female consumer) with its exotic location and exotic male heartthrob; but as Hansen points out, it’s in a “distorted manner.” Throughout the story, Valentino’s Ahmed is visually what romance novels are made of but continually forcibly kisses Agnes Ayres’ Diana and tries to control her, even considering forcing himself on her. To Hollywood, at least with The Sheik, nightmares I guess are fantasies, too. To me, in seeking to progress by addressing the female spectator, they regress through their execution by reinforcing recessive behavior and societal ideas; even on television (which also caters towards the female), one of its biggest shows Big Little Lies known for its female cast centers is centered on domestic abuse by a handsome male.

Another interesting point Hansen delves into is the extent that Valentino occupies a space between masculine and feminine, holding a masculine gaze towards his female costars on film but also being a visual spectacle himself (262-265). This was very noticeable to me throughout The Sheik as Ahmed was definitely flashier costume-wise than his leading lady, whereas, tradition emphasizes female costumes on film more and celebrates them in awards shows. Think Keira Knightley’s green dress in Atonement or any of Audrey Hepburn’s lavish get-ups in My Fair Lady compared to their male costars’ wardrobe. Additionally, Ahmed’s eye expressions were often exaggerated towards Diana while he simultaneously physically dominated the spaces he was in with her; while Diana is still, he’d often walk around the area in strides. This reminded me of Bette Davis’ character in All About Eve (and Bette Davis’ close public persona) who, like Valentino, also resides between the masculine and feminine, albeit in a different manner. She has a rough deep voice and is assertive and power-hungry, but she still dresses in female silhouettes although more structured and less girly than her counterparts. Like with Valentino in The Sheik, Davis mediates that gender line. This can be seen most notably in the scene where she argues with Bill on the lower level of their home; as Bill stays constant in the space, Davis’ Margo physically walks around him – boxing him in, showing her dominance (like the traditional male), holding the gaze of her romantic interest, but still being the spectacle.