Tuesday, September 7, 2010

In Which I Ramble on About Nothing in Particular

A few days ago, a friend of mine changed her MSN display picture to a photo of Grace Kelly. That was a good day. So I'm off on a little Grace Kelly kick, which has some how turned into a Catherine Deneuve kick, which has in turn convinced me they both have very similar noses. I don't know what to say about this fascinating discovery. Have a few pictures:

Putting aside the self-esteem aspects of the issue, I like it when people in the entertainment industry look perfect. Yes, I know that model's been airbrushed and she doesn't look that way in real life, I know they all have hairdressers and makeup artists working on them, I know a lot of it is unattainable for the average person...but that's why it's nice. "I don't want realism! I want magic!" I agree with that. Escapism is fascinating and alluring. That is one of the reasons old Hollywood has such appeal, because it certainly isn't real to us now, and it was perhaps even less real to people growing up in the Great Depression.

SPEAKING of escapism, it is part of Lady Gaga's philosophy to be escapist in the sense that she is always a star and would die before letting her fans see her without high heels. Actually, I'm a pretty big Lady Gaga fan, but the contrast between this form of escapism and classic film escapism is too striking not to be noted. The main difference is that Lady Gaga's world is not really one I'd like to escape to. From, maybe. As I've said, I really like her and all, but would you want to take up residence in one of her music videos? Alejandro, for example? Or no, Bad Romance, then we can burn people! And not wear clothes! Just the same, I admire her studio system-esque devotion to image. And her ability to totter around in six inch heels.
"Live your eyeliner, breathe your lipstick, and kill for each other."
"We are nothing without our image."
What do you think?

Movies, I think, have changed a lot. They have this peculiar brand of realism that is completely unrealistic, but not in a fun, "Oh please who wears an evening dress to do the gardening" way. I saw Inception recently. I liked it, but...things have changed a lot.

  • Action scenes these days are very fast and full of shots of people's feet. Yes, it feels action-packed, but it is also impossible to make out what is going on. This is an example of un-fun realism.

  • Movies these days are a lot less boring than they once were. Yes, I admit to being bored by second-rate classic films. Second-rate modern films are more "God this is so stupid" affairs. At least with today's movies, even if you have no clue what is happening and have to watch a film three times to get it (Inception! I didn't watch it three times, but I never said I got it either), you probably won't be bored.

  • The jokes. A lot of times I watch an old film billed as a comedy and think, "It was cute but it sure wasn't funny." Today I see comedies that are funnier...but the plots! This is unrealistic Hollywood at its best, or worst, or whatever.
Blogging friends, I really have no idea how to title this post. My mind has not been in order recently, because my sleep schedule...well, if you switched AM and PM, I might be doing okay. It's Ramadhan right now, and in the Arab world, that means "let's stay up all night and eat!" You think it's difficult to go from sunrise to sunset without food or water? Not if you're asleep it isn't. And night has turned into and MSN/Facebook fest full of jokes about devil worship and this persistent friend of mine who's trying to warp my taste in music. I am now a Britney Spears fan. He hasn't been so lucky with Madonna though.

Finish off with a few pictures:
(Anyone think Jean looks like a blonde Lucille Ball here?)

(We may be married, but yes, you have my permission to fall in love with that.)

8 comments:

Millie said...

MERRIAM! MERRIAM!

Fascinating post, as usual.

Realism is just utterly unnecessary. Give me gardening in evening clothes ANY DAY OF THE WEEK! ;-D

OH NO! NOT BRITNEY SPEARS?! SAY IT ISN'T SO! PLEASE!

I'm so glad to have you back! :-D

Merriam said...

hahahaha xD Thank you Millie. You're really sweet.

Yes, it is so. I'm a Britney Spears fan. I'm surprised you wouldn't be more appalled at the Gaga fan-ing.

Yes, realism deserves to die a painful death.

Anonymous said...

I have to disagree slightly. Look again, Grace's nose is much more delicate at the tip. The similarity between the two lies in the jawline and lower half of the face. Wonderful blog!

SabrinaFairchild said...

Hehe I'm a Lagy Gaga fan too. Although she can be a bit too outrageous for my prudish nature :p
And I never noticed the nose thing. There is a likeness :)

VP81955 said...

Apparently one reason Lady Gaga wouldn't be caught without six-inch heels is that without them, she's all of 4-foot-11 -- more in the neighborhood of Kristin Chenoweth than Madonna. (Though I can't ever imagine Kristin walking around in public wearing only pantyhose from the waist down.)

Millie said...

OH MERRRRRRRRIIIIIAAAAMMMMM....where are you?! ;-D

WE MISS YOU!

Millie said...

MERRRRRIAM. WAHHHH! We miss you ever so! You need to come back!

I've sent by Hana-bi to inform you that you should get Tumblr.

YOU NEED ONE.

Here am I:

http://stylepersonified.tumblr.com/

And this is Rose:

http://tess-durbeyfield.tumblr.com/

We miss your crazy, brilliant hilarity! :'(

Pinecone Stew said...

GREAT images !!!