Then and Now: The Glass Slipper

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The Glass Slipper  was the Cinderella  of my childhood.  I was sick a couple weeks ago and found it on the DVR, so I watched it with hopes it would live up to my memories.

Then:
I remember the dancing.  I love dancing and always have - so the ballets were stuck in my memory.  Especially the one in the kitchen.  I remembered an odd fairy godmother.  Lots of pretty dresses and those ridiculous hoop skirts.  I also didn't like Leslie Caron's hair - it was so short and back then I was all about long hair.  Probably because I never managed to grow it long - gum, snarls, and mats having to be cut out before I got it past my shoulders.

Now:
Didn't catch that bit in the narration about the prince being educated in "boudoirs" before.  Snicker.

My first thought upon seeing the prince was "The Prince is forty!"  Which, when combined with the fact that Caron plays Cinderella like a child, is a little creepy.  There's an almost twenty year age gap between Caron and Michael Wilding. To be totally fair though, Caron was often paired with much older men.

Hey, Cinderella's stepmother is the Bride of Frankenstein.  Cool.

I can see why little me liked this movie so much.  It wasn't just the dancing, which was even better than remembered, but Caron's Cinderella is angry, rebellious, wild, awkward,  and a dreamer.  I can't see little me relating to the sweet, kind, and saintlike Cinderella that is often shown in other versions.  But dang, if Caron wasn't me all over the place. Of course, minus being a servant in my own home and she's a much better dancer than me.  I'm sure she still is.

As an adult I appreciate that there is an established relationship between the prince and Cinderella that occurs outside of the ball.  I don't like that he lies to her but I also understand why.

I guess I didn't understand/remember, that Cinderella's hair isn't meant to be pretty.  She chopped it off in a fit of anger and despair.

I think I kind of like it better when the "ugly" stepsisters are pretty on the outside.

The end is kind of strange, no wedding (though it's implied), just a walk towards the castle.  Not even a final dance?

A tribute to Yvonne Craig

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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*

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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

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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.