Yeah. In retrospect, the "black face" was inappropriate. One could excuse it, slightly, as being a sign of the times but I supposed it's a nod to vaudeville, where Fred honed his craft.
I hadn't thought about the vaudeville connection; that's a good point. Most critics handwave it as an homage to Bill Robinson, and some of them really try hard--"Look, he didn't accentuate the lips like the bad kind of blackface! It's totally honoring Robinson!" I call bullshit on that; you can be a white guy honoring a black guy without painting your face black, my god.
Different times, I guess. It basically ruined the number for me, though.
Interestingly, "black face" seems to be making a little resurgence overseas, from what I understand. Odd.
Really? Wow. That's...wow. Where overseas?
I love your observations on the economic comments in the movie on the times.
Thanks. I got most of it from that book I linked to. The Astaire/Rogers chapter is really quite interesting; if it's all up on GoogleBooks, I'd recommend reading it. The book basically falls into the gender studies category--and she does a good analysis of Carefree from that perspective--but also talks a lot about class issues in this movie and Shall We Dance?.
I swear I've learned more about the political/economic/social/slang aspects during WW2 from old movies (heck, even Bugs Bunny cartoons!) than I learned in school.
Bugs Bunny cartoons are great resources for info on life during WW2! :)
And how about that feathered gown Ginger wore during Top Hat? Fred hated that gown cause it lost feathers as she twirled, but Ginger fought to keep it. I have to agree with him. It was a bit of a mess.
I've read that story about the feathery mess, but man, I love that gown. It moves so beautifully; perfect for the "Cheek to Cheek" dance and all its backbends.
My favorite is probably the "Never Gonna Dance" gown from this film, although like I said above, it needed some kind of built-in bra, or at least another couple layers in the bodice. Let's just say that apparently the studio was cold when they were filming the scene in Lucky's hotel room. ;) I'm also partial to the Piccolino dress from Top Hat. Between that, the feather dress, and the jodhpurs, Ginger got the best clothes in that movie, IMO. (Oooh, I almost forgot the "Let's Face the Music and Dance" dress from Follow the Fleet. It's so beautiful, although apparently the heavy, beaded sleeve hit Fred in the face on the first take and about knocked him out. It was the take they used, though, because even though they filmed like twenty more, it was still the best. You can see where the sleeve hits him; it's right at the beginning, where they first start dancing in a partner hold.)
When I stop and think about it, Fred & Ginger movies may have had a big influence on Bollywood/Indian films, even today. A lot of them have paper-thin, very worn plots, yet the public still eats them up for the dancing, "boy meets girl" romance.
...Oooh. Any recommendations? (That I could get via Netflix?)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-11-20 02:08 am (UTC)I hadn't thought about the vaudeville connection; that's a good point. Most critics handwave it as an homage to Bill Robinson, and some of them really try hard--"Look, he didn't accentuate the lips like the bad kind of blackface! It's totally honoring Robinson!" I call bullshit on that; you can be a white guy honoring a black guy without painting your face black, my god.
Different times, I guess. It basically ruined the number for me, though.
Interestingly, "black face" seems to be making a little resurgence overseas, from what I understand. Odd.
Really? Wow. That's...wow. Where overseas?
I love your observations on the economic comments in the movie on the times.
Thanks. I got most of it from that book I linked to. The Astaire/Rogers chapter is really quite interesting; if it's all up on GoogleBooks, I'd recommend reading it. The book basically falls into the gender studies category--and she does a good analysis of Carefree from that perspective--but also talks a lot about class issues in this movie and Shall We Dance?.
I swear I've learned more about the political/economic/social/slang aspects during WW2 from old movies (heck, even Bugs Bunny cartoons!) than I learned in school.
Bugs Bunny cartoons are great resources for info on life during WW2! :)
And how about that feathered gown Ginger wore during Top Hat? Fred hated that gown cause it lost feathers as she twirled, but Ginger fought to keep it. I have to agree with him. It was a bit of a mess.
I've read that story about the feathery mess, but man, I love that gown. It moves so beautifully; perfect for the "Cheek to Cheek" dance and all its backbends.
My favorite is probably the "Never Gonna Dance" gown from this film, although like I said above, it needed some kind of built-in bra, or at least another couple layers in the bodice. Let's just say that apparently the studio was cold when they were filming the scene in Lucky's hotel room. ;) I'm also partial to the Piccolino dress from Top Hat. Between that, the feather dress, and the jodhpurs, Ginger got the best clothes in that movie, IMO. (Oooh, I almost forgot the "Let's Face the Music and Dance" dress from Follow the Fleet. It's so beautiful, although apparently the heavy, beaded sleeve hit Fred in the face on the first take and about knocked him out. It was the take they used, though, because even though they filmed like twenty more, it was still the best. You can see where the sleeve hits him; it's right at the beginning, where they first start dancing in a partner hold.)
When I stop and think about it, Fred & Ginger movies may have had a big influence on Bollywood/Indian films, even today. A lot of them have paper-thin, very worn plots, yet the public still eats them up for the dancing, "boy meets girl" romance.
...Oooh. Any recommendations? (That I could get via Netflix?)