It was my first time watching “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows as well as laugh throughout the film at Monroe’s lines, like “Don’t you know a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You may not marry a girl just because she’s pretty, but my goodness, doesn’t it help?”
Watching a movie like this, one cannot ignore the ethically wrong elements around which the whole film empathizes. The stereotypical stupid blonde gold-digger, the smart patronizing brunette, and the entire film is shot in a way to emphasize the sexuality of the two beautiful female leads. However, something that made me truly see this as true celebration women, in a way, was the well-developed and profound friendship between Lorelei and Dorothy. These two are loyal and protective to one another despite their disagreement on relationship. In every scene, one can see how they put each other before men, always. In addition, I love how both of them were living a “reckless” life for a woman of that time and, despite being judged, they are simply unapologetic about it. Them together forms an invincible duo, they may play the game and act dumb, but that seems like only a tool to get what they want (especially at that time).
In the reading for today, I focused on Brown; who discusses femininity specifically in relation to Audrey Hepburn. He mentions Marjorie Rose and her theory that the “mammary women” dominated the 1950s, such as Marilyn Monroe or Jane Russell. However, she pointed out that in opposition to the so-called “mammarians” another type of woman was rising. Rebecca Bell-Metereau identified these types of female, called “waif” by Rose, as “alternative” type of star seen as “continental”. This category included stars like Audrey Hepburn. Barry King himself stated that for actresses of this time, “the ideal ingénue should be aged between 18-22 , 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, possess a well-proportioned body and exceptionally beautiful and interesting face.” This type is clearly very different from Monroe’s characterization. Therefore, suggesting that there was an undeniable shift in American’s taste seeking a more “European” look. However, men, on the other hand, didn’t change. Thus, formulating the impression that, in films, American men were conquering the European women. This concept was fed by the time period Audrey raised to fame. It was post-Marshall Plan, a time where America was seen as the savior of Europe; as well as a time of true hope and prosperity. Audrey Hepburn represented the perfect fiction but also the truthful reality, she was both. She was funny as well as sexy, innocent as well as confident.
It seems to me that the concept of femininity keeps changing over and over throughout the years. From Marilyn Monroe, to Audrey Hepburn, and nowadays to social media star Kim Kardashian. Each body type is very different from one another and, to a certain extent, reflects the society of that given period.
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