One Dress a Day Challenge
February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks
Casablanca / Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund
What a timeless classic look! You could pull this off today and no one would bat an eye. It looks cool and comfortable for a warm climate and would probably even pack well.
(Note: I found the bottom photo on Pinterest. I think the left-hand shot is a cosplayer, but it's a very good recreation of the costume. The right-hand picture shows the length of the original dress.)
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Random Barbie thoughts:
Seeing people say that Ken represented women in Barbie but IMO while the KenS represent how women are treated (explicitly stated, I can't believe how many people somehow miss it), Ken himself represent men. Men who can't really take no for an answer even though you make it clear you won't date them. Men insecure and vulnerable who end up falling into incel/right-wing ideology. Men performing what they think is expected of them and suffering because of it.
And, you know, even though Ken suffers in Barbieland, he's still treated better than Barbie was in the real world. He suffers, he struggles, he's unhappy. And that's shown. That's integral to the story. But guess what? Barbie's own suffering is also shown. Even though it's the focus, it doesn't take away from Ken's. Both men's and women's sufferings are shown at the same time, none of them negate the other. There's not one greater than the other. It's just that the main focus is on Barbie's, and thus women's, suffering. We don't forget about Ken's, about men's, of course but it's not Ken The Movie. He's not the main topic. The movie is about the place of women in society, Barbie discovering herself and her place in it, what being human is.
And that's why people calling him the main character is so deeply gross. Ignoring completely EVERYTHING in the movie to focus on the man and his struggles. Ken was the antagonist. He wasn't the villain, but his actions were antagonistic. (Yes, the overall bad guy is the patriarchy and toxic masculinity but Ken was used to represent them, even though he didn't like it). That's why people like him, we usually gravitate towards the antagonists, especially now that they're more sympathetic and understandable.
We saw him fall into that rabbithole. So we feel attached. But also he didn't have the most development like some people say. Even after losing, he still wanted to be with Barbie and confessed he did all that because of her. He was at the same point as the beginning of the movie, only more open about it. Barbie is the one telling him that he needs to learn to be himself and that he shouldn't live only for her. She's sharing what she learned with him and telling him he needs to be his own person. And THAT is when he will develop as a character. THAT is Barbie's own development shining.
(It's a bit ironic IMO because even his growth is caused by Barbie and not by himself. However they've been established as dolls and have a weird way of thinking. Barbie only deviated because of the person playing with her. Not many people play with Ken dolls so it would be difficult for him to realize he can be his own person too. My own personal interpretation is that because he couldn't achieve this realization on his own, he did everything he did in the movie instead of questioning everything like Barbie did. Anyway!)
Ken was hilarious. He's the comic relief. He was the goofy antagonist. The fact so many people adore him shows that the movie worked at least partly. The jokes landed. But he's not the whole movie. If you stop thinking, if you don't bother seeing beyond the jokes, then you're stupid. I'm sorry but it's true. Critical thinking is a thing. The movie was crystal clear about its themes, its messages, its metaphors. You have to be purposefully obtuse to ignore everything but the funny man on screen in such a movie. I guess some men related to Ken, what he represented, and his struggles more so that's why they ignore everything else?
Anyways, I'm leaving it there because it's messy and ramble-y. Originally, I was only going to talk about what was in the first paragraph. I think it's really fun and incredible what the Barbie team managed to do! They put in so many things in a simple-to-understand movie. One character can represent so many things all at once! Thinking about it scratches an itch in my overthinking brain.
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One Dress a Day Challenge
Anything Goes December
Holiday Inn / Marjorie Reynolds as Linda Mason
Another Edith Head design. I always knew this dress just had to be gold! The colorized version of this film is honestly not bad, and they took the trouble to research the actual color of the dress. As you can see in the bottom photo, they faithfully reproduced the color. It also has a slit down the back for easy movement. The silver strip creates an interesting effect like a yoked collar, and it also offsets the deepness of the V-neck so that it is less noticeable.
I'm sure Fred Astaire was glad that, unlike the most famous beaded dress on one of his dancing partners, this one didn't have wide sleeves to smack him in the face!
It's also too bad Marjorie Reynolds didn't have more of a film career, because I do find her enjoyable in this.
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Is it a little unreasonable for me to be upset that my family won’t watch A Very Supernatural Christmas with me? Probably. They didn’t all have to pointedly leave the room as soon as I put it on, though.
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i watched these 22 movies this month and i had a great time. anyway here are some recs:
- watch rothaniel !!!! watch rothaniel. it’s a comedy special like you’ve never seen before. very meditative & reflective, at times uncomfortable to watch. a truly daring take on the form and it really works. watch rothaniel.
- comfy, feel good vibes: you’ve got mail, fire island
- classics you Should check out: steel magnolias, boogie nights
- top spot easily goes to howl’s moving castle. masterpiece
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