While thinking of a piece with images of and narratives about women, I first thing of songs and movies that have women overcoming some sort of abuse or something very intense. After thinking longer about it however, I thought of the movie Hairspray. Hairspray is about a young girl, high-school age, that is considered overweight. She wants more than anything in the world to be on this dance show called The Corny Collins show. However, everyone in society, school, and even in her family tell her that there is no way that she will ever be on the show. Her own mother does not even think she has a chance because of her weight. Her father is the only one that tells her to go for it and try out. I think this movie stuck out to me because of the image of an ideal woman. The perfect slender body, long legs, pale, and long blonde hair- one which was brought up from the very beginning of class. This calls for action by not only the young girl in doing what she wants no matter what others say about her, but also for people in her family and the rest of society to accept her for who she is. She is a spunky, creative, fun girl and should be accepted for the kind of person she is.
I have attached the link to the trailer:
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I think you chose a great movie for this assignment. Tracy is not the stereotypical image of "beauty" and therefore she is initially rejected by many people. However, her persistence and positive attitude help her to gain confidence and overcome these obstacles. People begin to view her from the inside out rather than judge her based on her weight. I wish there were more people in these roles, which people admire, that go against the perfect-looking image of beauty. It is nice to look at something other than a tall, skinny, fit woman with flawless hair and perfect features. That is just NOT reality and it is frustrating that people try to make other believe that it is!
ReplyDeleteI thought this went great with the piece by Harriet Jacobs. Both pieces look at the narratives of women and African Americans. I thought that was a really cool connection. So many narratives are being challenged by both of these pieces.
ReplyDeleteI think Hairspray was an awesome choice because it really takes a hit at our social norms and what we consider as a society to be beautiful. I never saw the movie but i can somewhat understand the story line, very cool. Good Choice!
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