Discussion for article #234765
What is this, an article or a novella? Bring back the Vegamatic and slice up The Slice!! And Nooo, I didn’t read it all. I may be dumb but I’m not stupid.
Hey Chloe, congrats on Princeton but four years to get a PhD in Arts and Media? WTF is dat! Feministing? Jeez. Please excuse my Old School mentality.
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I’ve never seen the film, because they lost me at the title. I’ve never found Julia Roberts to be particularly attractive.
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Good read!!
I didn’t know the jewelry box thing was a joke - and somehow that it was included in the final cut bothers me a bit. I had always thought it was slightly cruel. That thing snapped shut hard and fast and could have sliced up a finger and I think Roberts’ laugh was as much relief that she was not injured as from surprise. I wonder what the original scene was supposed to look like.
I also hadn’t considered the clothes and their color - or lack thereof - to be a character in the movie which reveals how little I pay attention or how very well the costume designer did his/her job. Like the music, the costumes and sets help paint the entire picture and if they are done well, they really disappear into the background and make you think the magic is all due to the actors. Which I’m sure they believe to be true as well!
The styles of the early 90’s leap out at me and take me out of the story a bit. I’ve been watching The X-Files on Netflix because when they first aired, I had very young children and bath/bedtime coincided with the broadcast. Watching them now, I laugh at the low tech phones and computers and have been struck by how much Gillian Anderson’s style as Dana Scully evolved and mirrored (or led?) Hilary Clinton’s hair and pantsuits.
I am not a fan of the fairy tale ending of Pretty Woman. I liked it just fine until I saw another movie called Whore which came out in 1991 and seems much more realistic about the life of a sex worker. It also has a bit of a fairy tale ending in that the protagonist is saved by someone other than herself.
Thanks for this!! I may be the only one to appreciate (or read) it, so far but it got me thinking.
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Haha, all the appreciative readers are commenting on Tom and Lorenzo’s blog: http://tomandlorenzo.com/2015/03/pretty-woman-style/
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The only thing I know about the movie is before Pretty Woman prostitution was not considered a particularly glamorous career choice.
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I can not disagree with this strongly enough. This demands the all-caps, shouting from the keyboard.
I DISAGREE WITH THE ABOVE POST WILL ALL THE STRENGHT I CAN MUSTER, AND ALL THE STRENGTH I CAN BORROW FROM OTHERS.
P.S.
And I must add…WTF!
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Oh, but the knee-high boots are SO HOT!
Why was/is Pretty Woman a hit/classic? It’s simple …
The woman depicted in it is what every woman wants to be and what every man wants to have; and she gets what every woman wants to get from a man and she gives what every man wants to get from a woman.
The man depicted in it is what every man wants to be and what every woman wants to have; and he gets what every man wants to get from a woman and he gives what every woman want to get from a man.
It’s a fairly tale, and probably a better Cinderella than Cinderella. Strict-minded people may point out that Pretty Woman was a whore whereas Cinderella was at least assumed to be a virgin maiden. I would respond that Pretty Woman wasn’t actually depicted in a whore-like fashion. They told us she was a whore but then didn’t actually show that. She was only with one man in the entire movie. Her character was more an innocent, fish-out-of-water.
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They both, as Edward puts it, “screw people for money.” But she literally screws people for money. He buys and dismantles companies.
You’re missing something really important here. Screwing in this context implies a screwer and a screwee. The absurdity of Edward’s attempt to find parity in their respective professional relationships isn’t that Vivian “literally screws people for money.” It’s that money isn’t the currency of the transaction - the currency is power. Edward wants you to play along so that you don’t notice you’re getting screwed coming and going. But look at the two professions through the lens of power, and Edward is clearly the screwer in both cases.
If you want to project this as a metaphor for the politics of the '80’s, wasn’t blurring the line between money (comfort) and power (self-determination) the primary ruse that paved the way for the most destructive policies of the Reagan administration and much Republican policy since? Isn’t it behind every policy that strips citizens and citizen groups of power under the ruse that it’s justified by the resulting economic benefit of all citizens (i.e., “all boats rise”)? Like decimating unions, reducing crime by restricting freedom (“stop and frisk”), and most importantly, the push to marginalize government and deregulate the economy, to the benefit of private institutions?
I don’t want to oversimplify, and clearly there is a bidirectional correlation between money and power, but the two are distinct, and it’s an important distinction to be aware of in a democracy. The obfuscation of that distinction pretty much defines the zeitgeist of '80’s politics for me.
Pretty Woman is insidious is all sorts of other ways. This one’s Pretty Easy.
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Wow, I thought Pretty Woman was just a movie about a couple of whores who fall in love. I see it now. Pretty Woman is much deeper than I thought.
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I deleted the post I was writing when yours came up on the screen.
I think you’ve covered all the bases.
I just want to add that I’ve always felt that Pretty Woman is what’s wrong with America.
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Agree. All the intellectualizing about – what? The Cinderella fairy tale re-told. That’s it. Nothing more. It does not have Great Social Significance and glamorizing a high-price courtesan doesn’t change that.
Like you, can’t believe they give PhDs for drivel like this.
I’m told “Dirty Dancing” is also a cult film. Of course, it too is a variation on the Cinderella plot.
All that said, I do believe it’s harmless entertainment. It’s a major chick flick to be sure and therein lies its popularity.
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The thing is, she sold her body for $3,000/week and he sold his soul for what, $3,000/hr? So why didn’t she just sell her soul? Way more profit.
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Hold on–how is Dirty Dancing a variation on the Cinderella plot? Equating these two makes no sense. Dirty Dancing had serious things to say about abortion, class, and sexual awakening. I will defend that movie to the death.
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Having only seen the movie once, my impression was that Julia Roberts’ roommate had to talk her into going on the street for the first time because she was dead flat broke and didn’t see any other options. Richard Gere was the first guy who lurched up to her and she went from being would-be prostitute to would-be chauffeur without ever turning a trick.
Am I misremembering?
This film goes south at the beginning when the rich guy has to troll for a hooker who doesn’t have clothing, class or cool. A rich guy might have called an escort service, asked for a woman who looked acceptable while acting trashy privately. But Julia smiled and we were told she was the next big thing. For me she only acted in The Normal Heart. and most of what came before was smiling.
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LOL hard at length and ridiculousness of article! plus Crackhead 3000 was a hotter prostitute anyway, interesting people have flaws
My friend used to call her “Sharkwoman” Im like whats wrong bro? Afraid to get bit?? Girl you can try but I brought my harpoon gun said to someone offstage
That’s from the old joke about everry man’s dream - to marry a virgin prostitute.