A tribute to Yvonne Craig

Source

I don't know if I can express how much Batgirl means to me.  (I've been stuck in the planning stages of a Batgirl cosplay for months now.)  Batgirl is strong, beautiful, and kicks butt.  We talk a lot about the pressure on women to be everything but there is something to be said for the idea that a woman doesn't have to give up girly and pretty to follow her dreams.  Or to fight crime.  Batgirl was Nancy Drew in a cape and you know how much I love Nancy Drew.  My first experience with the character was through Yvonne Craig's portrayal of her in the 1960's Batman series.   Okay, the show was outright nuts and very sexist but Batgirl!  Plus there's something to be said for a "spinster" librarian who can solve crimes, kick ass, and keep Batman/Bruce completely in the dark about her secret identity.

Of course there have been other Batgirls in both the comics and movies but Craig was my first.  Her Batgirl gave me something to aspire to.  Someone to look up to.  Sure, she's fiction - but everything is fiction until it's fact.  Craig did her own stunts and gave young girls a role model for almost 50 years now.  Craig may be gone but her legacy will continue with all the women who, thanks to her, grew up knowing they could be their own heroes.

Here's to Craig.  May she and her Batgirl be an inspiration forever.

The Shallow end of the Lipstick*

Source

I was reading this post (do read it, it's very good) the other day and while I know better, I still scrolled down and read the comments.  Some were actually quite nice, others reminded me of something that seems to keep popping up in my life lately: negative attitudes about women who wear makeup.

First, a confession:

In my younger days I did have a negative view of makeup.  No doubt part of it was because I didn't want to be thought of as "vain" or "shallow" - two of the most common words used to describe women who wear makeup.

I’m sure my thoughts were media influenced.  How often do we hear that truly beautiful people don’t care about looks?   How many times have we seen the deep, smart girl who doesn’t wear makeup pitted against the shallow, vapid girl who wears too much.  (Of course in the entertainment industry even “natural” beauties have to wear makeup.)  Then there’s the old classic of the insecure girl who wears “too much makeup” becoming prettier by taking it off - usually at the behest of her beloved who likes her better without. I know it's usually presented as a "He loves me just as I am" but if he truly loved you just as you are he wouldn't be telling you to change.* 

All this got into my head.  I had no desire to flaunt my insecurities or give people the impression that I was shallow enough as to care about my looks.  I’m not going to lie, I do I want to be pretty - but intelligent and talented has always out ranked that. And, of course, this was at a time when I still cared about how other people saw me. 

Now I wear makeup all the time.  Nearly every day.  I think the shift began when I started hunting for the perfect vintage red lipstick.  As part of my hunt I did a lot of research on both historical and modern makeup.  I also started trying different brands and got more savvy at application.  I found I enjoyed the creative aspect. As it became more a part of my everyday life I began to reevaluate my views on makeup.  I realized that wearing makeup cannot make a person "vain" or "shallow" anymore than not wearing makeup can make them deep. 

Back to the article:

When I read about women who went through years of deprivation, worked hard (and sometimes dangerous) manual labor, were bombed out of their homes, volunteered for the war effort, kept families fed, clothed, and alive as best they could while missing family that was either dead or far off and in serious danger the last word I think of is “shallow.”  These women gave up so much that it probably was a relief to know that their country wasn’t going to judge them if they still cared about their looks.  In fact, their country wanted them to go on as they always had and to maintain as much normalcy as possible.

Anyone who considers a woman shallow for putting on lipstick during wartime is probably either an idiot or has absolutely no concept of what World War II was like. I’m not saying I truly do know, nor that I would have been capable of half the amazing things these women did.   What I do know is that the war went on for years.  Despite missing family members and bombings and shortages - people still had to live their lives.  Do the people who consider the women of World War II shallow think that every single person gave up all joy and creature comforts for the duration?  People still made art, sang, danced, fell in love, dressed up to go out, and laughed.  Everyone does all these things in wartime - they have to do them to remind themselves why they are fighting and sacrificing. 

You might as well say the men of World War II were shallow and vain for still shaving.

We all have our morale boosters.  The little things that make us feel better when we are down.  The things that help us maintain our dignity when someone else is trying to chip away at it.  For some of us it may be music or poetry.  For others it just might happen to be putting on makeup. 

And if a little lipstick and rouge is all it took to keep the women of WWII going, I kind of think that makes them superheroes. 

*Yeah the title doesn't really make sense but I thought it sounded cool.
* Using heteronormative language here as I haven't seen such things portrayed about same sex couples.

Then and Now: Cover Girl

source

What I remember:

I honestly completely forgot I saw this movie at all until I watched it recently.  Bits of it were vaguely familiar:  The "Poor John" number and the dancing in general.  The only thing that made me realize I had seen it was the bit about how they kept buying oysters they didn't like or eat to look for pearls.

What I realized:

The plot is dumb.  It's conflict isn't so much based on funny misunderstandings as serious communication issues.  It's best summarized as:  Boy loves girl, girl loves boy, girl wants fame but doesn't tell boy about her chance at fame, boy says he doesn't care if girl goes after fame, girl stands up boy, boy is offended, girl runs off to be famous and marry someone else, almost every other person in the movie conspires to get the two together, big dance and sing.  I'm sure if they do marry it will be awesome - because we all know how good communication screws up a marriage.

Dumb plot aside, the dancing is still top notch.  I could have used more Gene Kelly but I feel that way most of the time.

The costumes are so pretty.  Well the ones on the women.  Rita Hayworth's hair is amazing.  As for Gene Kelly, maybe they weren't sure how to dress him yet?  They put him in a dark brown suit with a dark tie that somehow made him look not nearly as attractive as he was.  I mean, this is a technicolor movie, why put your male lead in a dull brown suit?  He gets gray and blue suits too but everything is rather dull and doesn't really do anything for him.  The best outfit is a stage costume of green pants with a yellow stripe and a yellow and green striped vest.  Yes it's as hideous as it sounds but it's far better than those yawn inducing suits.

Hey, this movie took place during World War II.  Of course when I first saw it I probably didn't know all that much about WW II and the references are vague at times.

This must have been fussy to wear, but it's certainly amazing looking.

And, I totally love Eve Arden in here.  She's plays a no nonsense career woman who doesn't moan over her lack of beau and is just generally fabulous.  She's also hilariously funny and pretty much saves the day for the two leads.  I seriously covet her wardrobe, especially her hats.  Short of Gene Kelly she's pretty much the best thing about this movie.  How could I have totally forgotten this character?

As a final bonus, this film contains Phil Silvers.  I adore him in general but also because he was in one of my favorite musical comedies of all time: Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe.  That film is probably ripe for one of these posts as I have not seen it in at least a decade or more.

Checking In

Been a bit, hasn't it?  Since I have been too busy to put together new posts I thought I'd just do a little brief on what I'm enjoying right now.

Currently obsessed with this song:

Am quite impressed with "Astronaut Wives Club".   From the ads I expected it to be frothy fun but as a total space nerd I had to at least give it a try.  Sure it's pretty to look at but there is definitely more going on than pretty clothes and great makeup.  I'm quite excited that it looks like they will be dramatizing the hearings to allow women to be astronauts.  It's a bit of space race history that I'd never even heard of until I took a class in college on the history of space exploration.  A class in which I was, oddly enough, the only female student.  It was a small class, but still very strange that I would be the only female.

Anyway, if you aren't watching it I recommend popping in to give it a try tomorrow.

And while I'm promoting things I just saw these guys last week:

They are amazing.  I listen to a lot of "new stuff that sounds old" (you could even say it's my favorite genre of music) and it can be hard to come off as more than a novelty act.    Artists who are so heavily influenced by a much older style sometimes struggle to create a sound that walks the fine line between classic and fresh.  The Nightowls Seem to hit the sweet spot every single time.  They did some awesome covers in their set when I saw them - but I have to say I like their originals best.

Feel free to share anything you're currently digging in the comments.

Book Review: The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith

   

source

                                             

While I promise to steer away from major plot points and try to keep things vague in reviews some of what I write might be considered vaguely spolierish.  So if you prefer to read a book with no prior knowledge then I would advise not read my reviews.

The Last American Vampire  is the both the sequel and prequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer.   While it does pick up after the events of the first book it also goes back in history to explain the origins of Henry, the vampire protagonist.  We get both his human history and his vampire origins and their relation to one of the earliest European settlements in North America.  It also moves forward in time, giving an alternative history of the United States, with the occasional stopover in the UK and Europe.

The story is fast paced - I think I read it in less than a week.  There is lots of excitement and violence.  Henry also seems to have a habit of running into and either befriending or making an enemy of many historical figures through out the course of the book.  Well, white and male historical figures.

And here's where we come to what really bothered me about the book.  Now it has been years since I read Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer but I do recall that it had mainly white male characters and I wasn't too bothered.  The book was the story of the friendship between a man and a vampire.  However, this is the story of the United States.  Yes it's an alternate history, but it's still a history.  Where the hell were all the women and people of color who helped shape and build a nation?

There is literally only one female historical character who is a major player in the story.  And I am being really generous in saying so as she gets very little in the way of characterization.  What little we are given about her motivations makes her sound more like a one note stereotype of a traditional female character and less like a flesh and blood being.

And, okay, sure.  Henry is around four hundred years old.  His views on race and gender might be a bit antiquated.  And yet, he specifically mentions women's suffrage as something he supports and takes action to punish those who lynched an African American man.  So, if he believes women are good enough to vote and people of color deserve justice - well why are all his friends white males?

I am not kidding when I say over a dozen white and male historical figures are a part of this story.  But female and persons of color?  In some cases they only get a mention in the footnotes, if at all.

I know, I know, it's just a silly book.  And it is silly.  And I like silly.  I just think an "alternate history" where the white male vampire is the protector and savior of the United States is pretty much what we get when we whitewash history.  Except for the "vampire" part.  It's an okay read but I was really hoping for something more subversive.