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 The Pennsylvania State University

The Graduate School

Department of Speech Communication

RE-FOCUSING THE CRITICAL LENS:

READING CINEMATIC SINGLE MOTHERHOOD AGAINST THE FRAME

A Thesis in

Speech Communication

by

Lisa Renee Barry

© 1999 Lisa Renee Barry

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

o f the Requirements
for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

December 1999

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 UMI Number: 9960544

UMI*
UMI Microform9960544
Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company.
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Beil & Howell Information and Learning Company

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 We approve the thesis of Lisa Renee Barry.

Date of Signature

W/n/11
Stephen H. Browne
Associate Professor of Speech
Communication
Thesis Advisor
Jhair of Committee

Olficfafel Hogan
Professor o f Speech Communication
Graduate Officer for Department of Speech
Communication

{jYY]iduJLL~ cton<JUL~''T} nU o/?9

Michelle Miller-Day
Assistant Professor of Speech
Communication

JU L -------- II
\teai ne L. Hall 1
ASs xiate Professor of Media Studies

Thomas W. Benson
Edwin Erie Sparks Professor of Rhetoric

//A c /i
Michael L. Hecht
Professor o f Speech Communication
Head of the Department o f Speech
Communication

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 ABSTRACT

Single mothers have been treated cinematically since the era of silent movies.
Feminist film critics have begun to direct attention to the cinematic depiction of
motherhood, but they have devoted little attention to the depiction of single mothers
or to the rhetorical power of films in which single mothers are the central character or
heroine. This study offers interpretations of four cinematic texts: Applause (1929),
Blonde Venus (1932), Imitation o f Life ( 1934) and Baby Boom (1987), and suggests
that they can be read not only as reinforcing traditional societal expectations and
assumptions, but also as challenging them. This study therefore challenges traditional
societal values and expectations by reading these films "against the frame." That is,
the interpretations offered subvert the dominant narratives by ascribing power and
agency to the films' single mothers. Joan Radner and Susan Lanser offer a means by
which to identify and interpret textual codes that-intentional or otherwise-offer
messages counter to the dominant narrative. This study refashions their approach to
textual analysis in a way that should prove useful to film critics, in hopes of offering
alternative interpretations o f films that are generally thought to reinforce traditional
beliefs about women's—in this case, single mothers'-personal and social shortcomings.
Much feminist film criticism seeks to demonstrate women's oppression. The
approach offered in this study is different Feminism, as it has existed since the 19th
century, focuses on women's rights, women's liberation, equality, and empowerment.
This study seeks to fulfill certain goals of the women's movement by reading films
resistively, and by offering a strategy for recognizing resistance in cinematic form.

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 IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures__________________________________________________ vii

Acknowledgments_____________________________________________ ix

Chapter 1: Introduction__________________________________________ 1

Rationale_________________________________________________ 5

Literature Review___________________________________________ 9

Rhetoric of Film & Television___________________________ 9

Feminist Film Theory & Criticism_______________________ 17
Resistance T heory____________________________________ 30

Feminist Coding as a Critical L ens_____________________________ 35

The Critical Lens: A Typology of Feminist Coding_______________ 38

Outline o f Chapters_________________________________________ 44

Conclusion________________________________________________ 49

References________________________________________________ 53

PART ONE: SACRIFICE IS POW ER............................................................... 57

Chapter 2: Sacrifice is Power Reading/l/jp/ouse Through the Lenses of

Distraction and Juxtaposition_________________________________ 58

Reviews & Criticism _____________________ 60

Applause_________________________________________________ 67

Reading Power Through the Lens of Distraction___________________ 68

Reading Power Through the Lens of Juxtaposition_________________ 81

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 Conclusion 90

References________________________________________________ 95

Chapter 3: Sacrifice is Power II: Reading Imitation o f Life Through the Lenses
of Trivialization and Appropriation____________________________ 97

Reviews and Criticism_______________________________________ 100

Imitation o f L ife ______________________________________________106

Reading Power Through the Lens of Trivial ization_________________ 108

Reading Power Through the Lens of Appropriation_______________ 116

Conclusion________________________________________________ 135

References________________________________________________ 140

PART TWO: MOTHERHOOD IS POWER ................ 142

Chapter 4: Motherhood is Power Reading Blonde Venus Through the

Lenses of Distraction and Appropriation________________________ 143

Reviews and Criticism_______________________________________ 145

Blonde V enus_______ 148

The Fairy Tale: Origins of the Patriarchal Status Q u o ________________149

Reading Power Through the Lens of Distraction____________________ 156

Reading the Visual Through the Lens of Appropriation_____________ 169

Reading the Aural Through the Lens of Appropriation_____________ 177

Conclusion________________________________________________ 183

References 187

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 C h a pt e r 5: Motherhood is Power II: Reading Baby Boom Through the Lenses
of Appropriation and Distraction________________________________ 190

Reviews and Criticism_______________________________________ 193

Baby B oom _________________________________________________ 200

Reading Power Through the Lens of Appropriation_______________ 201

Reading Language Through the Lens of Appropriation_______________ 206

Reading Motherhood Through the Lens o f Appropriation____________ 213

Reading Maternal Power Through the Lens of Distraction____________ 216

Conclusion________________________________________________ 231

References________________________________________________ 235

C h a pt e r 6: E p i l o g u e ___________________________________________________________ 23 7

References________________________________________________ 255

B i b l i o g r a p h y __________________________________________________ 256

A p p e n d ix A: Filmography__________________________________________ 264

A p pe n d ix B: Lists of Scenes 267

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 vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Applause 69

Figure 2.2 Applause 69
Figure 2.3 Applause 71
Figure 2.4 Applause 72
Figure 2.5 Applause 72
Figure 2.6 Applause 73
Figure 2.7 Applause 77
Figure 2.8 Applause 78
Figure 2.9 Applause 78
Figure 2.10 Applause 80
Figure 2.11 Applause 82
Figure 2.12 Applause 85
Figure 2.13 Applause 86
Figure 2.14 Applause 87
Figure 2.15 Applause 87
Figure 2.16 Applause 89
Figure 2.17 Applause 89
Figure 3.1 Imitation o f Life 114
Figure 3.2 Imitation o f Life 117
Figure 3.3 Imitation o f Life 118
Figure 3.4 Imitation o f Life 123
Figure 3.5 Imitation o f Life 123
Figure 3.6 Imitation o f Life 123
Figure 3.7 Imitation o f Life 124
Figure 3.8 Imitation o f Life 125
Figure 3.9 Imitation o f Life 126
Figure 3.10 Imitation o f Life 127
Figure 3.11 Imitation o f Life 130
Figure3.12 Imitation o f Life 131
Figure 3.13 Imitation o f Life 131
Figure 3.14 Imitation o f Life 134
Figure 4.1 Blonde Venus 158
Figure 4.2 Blonde Venus 159
Figure 4.3 Blonde Venus 165
Figure 4.4 Blonde Venus 166

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 viii

Figure 4.5 Blonde Venus 172

Figure 4.6 Blonde Venus 172
Figure 4.7 Blonde Venus 176
Figure 4.8 Blonde Venus 180
Figure 5.1 Baby Boom 203
Figure 5.2 Baby Boom 204
Figure 5.3 Baby Boom 206
Figure 5.4 Baby Boom 209
Figure 5.5 Baby Boom 212
Figure 5.6 Baby Boom 215
Figure 5.7 Baby Boom 215
Figure 5.8 Baby Boom 217
Figure 5.9 Baby Boom 219
Figure 5.10 Baby Boom 227
Figure 5.11 Baby Boom 227
Figure5.l2 Baby Boom 227
Figure 5.13 Baby Boom 229
Figure 5.14 Baby Boom 230

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project is not just a scholarly endeavor, it is the result of a personal

journey that began almost eight years ago. It would likely not exist if it weren’t for

my son, Darrin Barry, whose insights and observations spawned the project that

became my Master’s Thesis, and that motivated me to pursue the research that drives

this project. Darrin has been my inspiration, my joy, my biggest supporter, my best

fhend. I owe everything to him. He is living proof that single mothers aren’t as bad

as the media makes us out to be. He makes single motherhood doable. And although

we have had to struggle -emotionally, financially, socially—we have always had each

other. Who could possibly need anything else? Darrin, I love you with all my heart.

My mother, Peggy Barry, has been especially important to me and to this

project Throughout my childhood I remember her saying that if she had it to do over

again, she would have pursued her dreams. Although she may not realize it, those

comments gave me the courage and strength to pursue my own dreams. She, too, has

been one of my biggest supporters and, although she often couldn’t tell her friends

about my research (how could I expect her to remember that I’m a “feminist rhetorical

media critic?”), she regularly told them about my accomplishments-however great or

small. She also regularly tells me how proud she is of me. Mom, I, too, am proud of

you—you are my hero.

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 X

Benita Dilley deserves a great deal of credit. I never intended to pursue my

Ph.D., but Benita once told me that I had the potential to be a great doctoral student.

As one of my instructors during my Master’s program she turned me on to this thing

called rhetoric, and then turned me loose in the academy. She only allowed me to

apply to the top programs despite the fact that my Master’s program wasn’t ranked.

And she has proven an effective sounding board, mentor, liaison and, most important,

a wonderful fhend. When I grow up I want to be just like her. . . well, almost just

like her.

Stephen Browne, my advisor, has proven to be a wonderful mentor and friend.

Steve was available to me whether I wanted to bounce ideas off him, or whether I

wanted to whine about the trials and tribulations of combining graduate studies and

single parenthood. He and his wife Margaret opened their house to us, and often

invited Darrin over to play with their girls: Jessica, Maria, Emily and Elizabeth.

Steve also helped me to refine my thinking; he once told me that my problem wasn’t

my writing, it was my thinking. I believe my thinking has changed dramatically during

my tenure as a doctoral student, and I believe Steve is largely responsible. He believes

in the value of my project and although we don’t always see eye-to-eye, he believes in

my potential as a scholar. I thank God every day that Steve is my advisor.

J. Michael Hogan was a late addition to my committee. Although I will never

be able to accuse him of being the nurturing type (not publicly, anyway), I believe

that he has proven to be one of my strongest supporters. His comments are

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 sometimes difficult to accept (like his comment that a paper I had written didn’t

“suck nearly as bad as last semester’s paper”), but they are always meaningful and

worthwhile. 1 understand him. He understands me. And he lets Darrin beat him up.

What more could I ask? Seriously, though, he enabled me to grow as a writer, and

helped me to grasp what Steve meant when he said that my problem was my thinking.

If you ask Mike, though, he’ll probably say my problem is also with my writing. At

least I finally understand “passive voice.”

Thomas Benson opened me up to the world of film in a way I had not

previously encountered. Discussions in his Rhetoric of Narrative Film class gave

birth to the research paper that launched my dissertation; the paper I wrote for his

class received First Place honors at the 13th annual Penn State Graduate Research

Exhibition. He challenged me to look at film differently than I had previously. And

he introduced me to the technology that allowed me to isolate still frames from the

films I examine in this dissertation in order to offer them as evidence, as discrete

textual cues, that support my claims. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to

work with a scholar as prominent and respected as Dr. Benson.

Michelle Miller-Day was also a late addition to my committee (it’s a long

story). Her academic and personal background is similar, in many ways, to mine. We

first worked together as lecturers for the basic course’s large lectures. I have never felt

as comfortable and as compatible with a colleague as I do with Michelle. Her

research, although different in many ways from mine, nevertheless compliments and

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 informs my own. Her insights have proven invaluable. Having her on my committee

has made me work to ensure that my writing is accessible not only to rhetorical

scholars, but also to those whose research is not informed by rhetorical studies.

Michelle has proven to be a friend, somebody I could call and ask the “stupid”

questions (like, “what’s the difference between a dean and a provost?”).

Jeanne Lynn Hall, my committee member from outside the Department of

Speech Communication, is one of my most valuable committee members. She

encouraged me to look at film differently, seeing film as potentially empowering

women rather than victimizing them. She recognized in me the desire not to be a

victim, and helped me to channel that desire into my scholarship. She also introduced

me to the literature that examines film from a feminist perspective. Through class

discussions, personal conversations, and the independent study she directed, I was

able not only to discover and understand the different approaches to feminist film

theory and criticism, but to situate myself both within and against those scholarly

conversations. Jeanne willingly accepted membership on my committee without ever

having worked with me, based solely on my Master’s Thesis and my desire to pursue

a similar line of inquiry for my dissertation. I would like to thank Jeanne for taking a

chance with me. 1 truly appreciate i t

There are a host of others I would like to mention. Anne Demo was a

godsend. She was a dear friend during my stay in State College; she read essays, took

me to lunch, shared ideas and syllabi, and always had a smile on her face. Ellen

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 xiii

Gorsevski, too, was a godsend. She and I were two of the few thirtysomethings in the

Department. We both had life experiences that others in the Department did not

have. We also shared scholarly perspectives that aren’t always popular with the

mainstream. Michelle Mattrey ensured that I wasn’t a complete hermit. She

regularly made Darrin and me go out to lunch or dinner with her. At the very least, it

got us out of the house (even though it did drain the pocketbook). And we both

regularly took the opportunity to bitch about our respective graduate school lives (or

lack thereof) to each other. Misery loves company. I could name everybody else in

the Department, but I won’t. I must mention Rita Munchinski, though, who is the

one person I could ALWAYS talk to about hockey. She just needs to stay off those

snowboards. . . And Bruce Heilman, who allowed Darrin to sleep over at his house

two nights per week (in a trade-off that also allowed his son to sleep over at our

house two nights per week) so 1 could finish writing my dissertation. He had been

through it himself, and he was very receptive to helping me. Thanks, Bruce!

I would briefly like to acknowledge my dearest friend and confidante Janice

DelCampo. Janice is the one person who knows me better than anybody else. She

knows all o f my deepest and darkest secrets. She is the best friend I’ve ever had.

Although we are now thousands of miles apart, she will always be my dearest and

closest friend. She has given me the strength and courage to trust God and to follow

His will for me. I believe that everything I’ve experienced has made me who I am

today, and that God has made this all possible. Janice made it possible for me to

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 xiv

believe that God doesn’t just work in others’ lives, but that He works in my life, too.

Janice, we truly are kindred spirits. Thank you for giving me my life (or, at least, the

willingness to live it).

Finally, I would like to acknowledge my father, Patrick Barty. He is a

scientist-he has a Master’s Degree in Chemistry. He always wanted me to be a

scientist, a doctor, a dentist. . . something that would use science and make lots of

money. Needless to say, I didn’t follow his dreams (although there was that brief

stint as an undergraduate during which I double majored in Astronomy/Astrophysics.

.. but then NASA experienced cutbacks and, well, you know the rest of the story).

We’ve had our ups and downs. He was disgusted that I was a Theatre major. What

can anybody do with a B.A. in Theatre? (I had plans, but they changed when Darrin

was bom. Go figure.) He was less disgusted when I started working on my Master’s

Degree. But still, communication? What is that? He was proud when I completed

my Master’s Degree. Finally, we were equals. And then I continued on to pursue

my Ph.D. He was pleased that I completed my coursework; he was extremely proud

when I successfully passed my written and oral comprehensive exams. And now I've

completed my dissertation. Finally, I can say with pride: Dad, I may not be a

scientist, but I’m more highly educated than you. Ha!

This dissertation represents years of blood, sweat and tears. . . lots of tears.

It has easily been the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. The past 8 years have not

been easy. In fact, they’ve been damned difficult. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

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 My committee seems to think that I am stubborn. I am stubborn. And although

some may consider this a fault, a character defect, I do not In feet it is my

stubbornness that got me through not only my coursework, but also through the

writing of this thesis. I know many graduate students who have fallen by the

wayside, whose lives have intervened in their education. I am proud to say that I

never lost focus and that my stubbornness and determination enabled me to reach my

goal despite the many obstacles I had to confront: single motherhood, loneliness,

poverty. This is my second greatest achievement. . . my son is my first. I am so

proud. . . I did it!

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 . a larger proportion of Ms. readers have preschool children than do the readers of

other women's magazines, but this [the toy] industry can't believe feminists have or

care about children."

-Gloria Steinem, "Sex, Lies and Advertising"

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 1

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Josef von Sternberg's Blonde Venus (1932) is a tale of maternal sacrifice and

mother love. It chronicles Helen Faraday's (Marlene Dietrich) struggles to keep her

son, Johnny (Dickie Moore), despite an illicit affair with Nick Townsend (Cary

Grant). In an attempt to retain custody o f her son, Helen takes him and runs from her

husband and the authorities, surviving on the kindness of the women she meets and

her talents as a cabaret performer. Helen reluctantly returns the child to her husband,

sinks into the depths of poverty and despair, rebuilds herself as a star performer in

Europe, and eventually returns to the nuclear family.

Much of the scholarly attention to this film focuses on censors' attempts to

ban the original ending in which Helen Faraday and Nick Townsend get married and

retain custody of the child,1on the Oedipal relationship between Helen and her son,2

1See Lea Jacobs, The Wages o f Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film. 192*-
1942. This text chronicles the efforts o f the Motion Picture Producers and
Distributors Association (MPPDA) and its president Will Hays, and the Catholic
Legion of Decency, as well as the Production Code and other such forms of
censorship that sought to limit tales that might encourage immorality or sin.
2 See Gaylyn Studlar, In the Realm o f Pleasure: Von Sternberg, Dietrich, and the
MasochisticAesthetic. Studlar examines all films that were directed by von Sternberg
and in which Dietrich was the star. Much o f her discussion throughout the text

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 on the audience's masochistic identification with the mother’s victimization and the

repressive dominant (read patriarchal) discourse with which she is constructed,3 on

lesbians' ability to identify with Helen Faraday's/Marlene Dietrich's male attire, or on

rumors that Dietrich was, herself, a lesbian.4 Although Molly Haskell argues that the

film portrays Dietrich as a sensualist without guilt,5 she nevertheless claims that

Faraday must sacrifice herself for her child and her lover for marriage.6 These critics

examines Blonde Venus, and she utilizes Freudian and Lacanian theories to support
her arguments.
3 See E. Ann Kaplan, "Fetishism and the Repression of Motherhood in Von
Sternberg's Blonde Venus (1932).
4 See, for instance, Studlar who states," ... Dietrich's presence in the films articulates
. . . an androgynous eroticism highly charged by sexual ambiguity." Studlar continues
by quoting Julia Lesage as saying, "She seems to represent for some women a kind of
subculture icon.. . . Dietrich fascinates women as a lesbian figure with whom they
identify" (49). See also Lucie Arbuthnot and Gail Seneca who state, "When she wears
a tux, and kisses a female patron of the club, in Blonde Venus, we can fantasize that
behind the tux there might be a lesbian" (113). Andrea Weiss also claims, "Because
she has been portrayed as an unfit mother, and is now without husband or child, her
status as an unnatural woman is confirmed by her cross-dressing" (338).
5 Haskell claims that the period between 1930-1933 was "one of the few truly
'liberated' periods of cinema," including many films depicting women as heroines
whose sexuality was neither cunning nor destructive, and who were not stigmatized
as a result of their sexuality. Instead," ... it was unabashedly front and center, and if
a man allowed himself to be victimized by a woman's sex, it was probably through
some long-standing misapprehension of his own nature" (90).
6 Haskell claims:
The themes of the woman's film can themselves be reduced to four
categories, often found overlapping or in combination: sacrifice,
affliction, choice, competition. In the first, die woman must "sacrifice"
(1) herself for her children. . . ; (2) her children for their own welfare..
.; (3) marriage for her lover. . . ; (4) her lover for marriage or for his
own welfare. . . ; (5) her career for love. . . ; or (6) love for her career.
The sacrifice film may end happily, with die wife/mother reclaiming

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 3

assume that women are victimized or oppressed via the cinematic apparatus; that is,

the depiction of women (their characters and the larger cinematic narrative), as well as

the means by which they are depicted (the camera's gaze), victimizes them.

What if we read this film differently, in opposition to or against the dominant

narrative? The interpretation might appear as follows: Because the law pursues

Helen Faraday, she acts in such a way that she can evade her captors. Rather than

find a place where she and her son can settle, she must constantly move. Within these

constraints, however, Helen manages to maintain some semblance o f normalcy with

her son—they are always clothed, fed, sheltered, and they love each other deeply.

Home is where the heart is, regardless of where that may be. She is a devoted mother

who cares deeply for her child, and who ensures that he is taken care of. She thus

challenges a worldview that resists single motherhood by adopting a decidedly

masculine role when she becomes the primary parent in her son's life. In fact, even

before her excursion into masculinity, Helen becomes the financial provider for the

traditional family by returning to her career as a cabaret perfoimer to provide a means

for her husband to receive medical treatment Helen's appropriation of this masculine

role inverts the patriarchal norm o f the traditional family; her ability to care for her

child despite repeated attempts to thwart her efforts and verbal denigration from the

her husband/child when her rival dies, or tragically, as mother watches

daughter's happiness from afar, or sees son or lover only to lose him

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 4

men she encounters violates social expectations. When she appears in a top hat and

tails during her Paris performance, her appropriation of masculine power is depicted

visually. Helen has taken charge of her life, never again to suffer male domination.

Finally, Helen transgresses expectations of motherhood when, at film's end, she

bathes Johnny while wearing a black satin evening gown. To be sure, this is not

typical maternal or domestic attire. Instead, Helen is a glamorous woman befitting the

role of the princess that she depicts in this fairy tale, the princess who rises above her

meager domestic existence. Helen returns to the traditional family, but we suspect

things will be different, for within this traditional family she does not appear

traditional. Despite her non-traditional attire, however, Helen's maternal love shines

through. Cinematically she claims a position of power when the camera depicts her

with a low angle shot. Helen is not a victim. Rather, she controls her choices, her

actions, and her destiny.

I invoke this reading of Blonde Venus here because it demonstrates an

important perspective that will drive this project. Clearly, Blonde Venus is

polysemic; that is, it is open to multiple and diverse interpretations. My

interpretation of this cinematic text suggests that it can be read not only as reinforcing

traditional societal expectations, but also as challenging them. This project will

challenge traditional societal values and expectations by reading several films "against

once again. In either case, the purgative sensation-the joy of suffering,

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 the frame." That is, I will read several films, including Blonde Venus, in a way that

subverts the dominant narrative by ascribing power and agency to the films' single

mothers.

Joan Radner and Susan Lanser offer a means by which to identify and

interpret textual codes that-wittingly or unwittingly-offer messages counter to the

dominant narrative. I will refashion their approach to textual analysis in a way that

should prove useful to film critics, in hopes of offering different interpretations of

films that are generally thought to reinforce traditional beliefs about women's—in this

case, single mothers'-personal and social shortcomings.

R a t io n a l e

Single mothers have been treated cinematically since the era of silent movies.

Feminist film critics have begun to direct attention to the cinematic depiction of

motherhood, but they have devoted little attention to the depiction of single mothers

or to the rhetorical power of films in which single mothers are the central character or

heroine. An examination of the rhetorical construction of single motherhood seems to

be a logical progression in the developing scholarly conversation concerning the

depiction of motherhood in Hollywood cinema.

the pain of joy-are very close. (163)

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 6

As Angharad Valdivia notes in "Clueless in Hollywood: Single Moms in

Contemporary Family Movies," few films depict economically disadvantaged or

ethnic single mothers. Valdivia examines how Hollywood constructs single mothers

as either "good" or "bad" based upon whether they were abandoned/widowed or

divorced. She also claims that mothers who are sexual or sexually frustrated are

depicted as "bad." She points to cultural background as an important factor, yet

Valdivia examines films in which all mothers are Caucasian, using for her study those

films chosen by her children and their friends. Thus, although Valdivia argues that

"we need to differentiate among the many types of single mothers: teenage never-

married mothers; older divorced mothers, both below and above the poverty line; and

economically secure single mothers by choice," she only examines films that depict

white, middle-class mothers. Clearly, there is a need to identify the experience of

those single mothers whose ethnic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds differ

from those of the white middle-class. Unfortunately, of the more than 100 Classical

Hollywood films that depict a single mother as the central character or heroine, none

are of a cultural or socio-economic background outside the white middle-class.

Much feminist film criticism seeks to demonstrate women's oppression. My

approach is different. Feminism, as it has existed since the 19th century, focuses on

women's rights, women's liberation, equality, and empowerment I seek to fulfill

certain goals o f the women's movement by reading films resistively, and by offering a

strategy for recognizing resistance in cinematic form. Many films can be

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 deconstructed to prove women's oppression. To do so is necessary and important.

Much o f the literature takes this approach and serves as the foundation from which

my own analysis will proceed. However, to identify textual codes that can be

interpreted resistively, to read the texts against the grain, so to speak, offers a new

direction for feminist criticism, and may also prove useful to scholars interested in

examining cinematic depictions of race and class.

In this study, I will offer an alternate way of reading and interpreting film

using principles outlined in the literature examining domination and resistance. This

project is different from traditional forms of rhetorical film criticism in that I am not

interested only in the dominant meanings that arise out of the text, nor am I solely

interested in how the film's dominant narrative invites audiences to understand the

film and, by extension, the world in which they live. Moreover, this project is

different from the work of many feminist film theorists and critics in that I do not

wish to identify how film oppresses women, either within or outside the text.

Instead, I offer a different way of seeing film, an alternative way of interpreting film; I

hope to provide a critical lens through which to examine film in order to uncover

resistance that—whether intentional or otherwise-emerges from the text if we look for

i t To accomplish this, I will utilize a typology outlined in Joan Radner and Susan'

Lanser's "Strategies of Coding in Women's Cultures." This typology illuminates

discrete codes that can be interpreted resistively, codes that-in this study-will be

refashioned to comprise a lens designed to enable the viewer to identify textual cues

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 8

(e.g., lighting, camera angle, costume, gesture). Like film, these textual cues are

polysemic in that they can be interpreted differently, but they are rhetorically forceful

because they are open to multiple interpretations. I will examine the films in this

study through lenses such as appropriation, juxtaposition, distraction, indirection,

trivialization and incompetence in order to offer interpretations that challenge what

the dominant narratives ask us to believe.

In what follows, I will first offer a review of the relevant literature that

informs this study. Next, I will discuss the methodology, the critical lenses that I

propose in this study, as well as a description of each lens. I will then use the lenses

to examine four films dating from 1929 to 1987 that depict single motherhood in order

to demonstrate how each can be read resistively. All films to be examined in this

study are maternal melodramas, and in each the single mother is the central character

or heroine. I have excluded films in which the mother is a secondary character. Most

important, I chose each film because it struck me, both as a critic and as a single

mother, as somehow different from other maternal melodramas that I have seen. My

search to uncover why these films affected me launched this project, and resistance

theory offers a way for me to illuminate what I believe to be the cause o f the films'

effects on me. The critical lens developed for this study will offer not only a different

way to examine film generally; my hope is that it will allow me to illuminate the

power that the single mothers in these films possess. I believe the result o f such an

analysis is to move closer to the general aims o f the women's movement

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L ite r a t u r e R e v ie w

This study draws from three distinct areas of scholarship: rhetorical criticism,

feminist film theory/criticism, and resistance theory. Each offers perspectives for

understanding films and their characters that might not otherwise be apparent, and

each will, in different ways, comprise the foundation upon which 1 will build my

analyses. In approaching the films for this study 1will take a critic-centered

approach, assuming as my task the explanation of these films in ways that may not be

initially apparent either to traditional audiences or to scholars. In so doing, I hope to

offer a different understanding of the age-old social issue: single motherhood.

RHETORIC OF FILM & TELEVISION

The rhetorical analysis of film developed out of the field of rhetorical criticism

generally and takes as its approach a message-centered analysis that seeks to

illuminate a text's messages and their meanings. Just as rhetorical analysis of oratory

seeks to examine the words of an address and the historical context surrounding it, so

too rhetorical film analysis seeks to examine the words and characters in a film, as well

as the historical context in which it was created. A rhetorical approach to film

analysis will enable me to identify the dominant or most easily identifiable messages

and meanings in this study’s films that I will then contrast with a resistive

interpretation.

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 Rhetorical film critics often examine the dominant message in a film to explain

how it invites audiences to understand the world of the film and, by extension, the

world in which they live. Benson and Anderson exemplify this approach in their

analyses of Frederick Wiseman’s documentaries. Reality Fictions: The Films o f

Frederick Wiseman examines how Wiseman sought to depict reality through his

documentaries, and argues that the act of constructing the documentary-filming,

editing, ordering the sequences, suturing shots-is itself an act of "creating1’ reality.

The result is a fiction of reality. That is, because the documentary is itself contrived,

because the camera is always present, documentaries are not, in fact, an unmediated

record of objective reality, but rather an interpretation of it. Benson and Anderson

engage in a close analysis of the films in order to discern how meaning is created in

these films, illustrate the directorial and editorial choices made, and offer conclusions

that speculate about how the film invites the audience to understand this "reality."

The films I will examine also construct reality. Their reality is fictional to be sure;

however, their version o f reality has shaped the way much of American society views

single motherhood. Thus, I will engage in close analysis to illuminate how the

dominant meaning is created in these films, but also to illuminate how the films can be

read resistively.

Mechling and Mechling seek to understand how Disney naturalized the atom

for Americans in "The Atom According to Disney." The Mechlings argue that this

project was significant in educating Americans about the power of the atom and

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 11

nuclear power during the Cold War. Through their examination of the film, its

historical contexts and its intertextual relations, the Mechlings argue that Disney

sought to "domesticate" and "naturalize" the atom for 1950s America. Specifically,

they examine the film's overarching metaphor, the genie who grants three wishes, to

illuminate Disney's utopian interpretation of the atom's magical powers. In addition,

they examine the use of descriptors designed to "naturalize" the atom, that is, to make

it appear nature-like. This film was not only part of family television (first aired on

the Disneyland television show-the precursor to the Magical World of Disney), but

also part of the school curriculum. The film helped to create a conversation about the

atom that, because of its occurrence at home and in school, became domesticated.

These critics and others demonstrate how cinematic audiences are invited to

understand events and issues relevant to their lives. I will examine the dominant

messages in this study's films in much the same way as these critics in hopes of

identifying how they create(d) a conversation about single motherhood. I will then re­

examine the films through the lens of rhetorical resistance and offer an interpretation

that challenges the films' dominant messages. This is not to say that the above

mentioned critics didn’t also seek interpretations that resisted or challenged existing

methodologies. Their interpretations sought to illuminate how the texts invited the

audiences to understand them in the context of their lives. I don’t disagree with their

approaches. My project is merely different in its approach, method and goal; I seek

to make and interpret meaning differently than these critics do.

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Importantly, not all rhetorical film critics approach their analyses as discussed

above. Some seek to identify implicit messages embedded in the text, while others

attempt to account for how and why films elicit certain responses. These critics

approach film analysis much the same way I will in that they point to coded messages

that are opaque to audiences not trained to recognize them.

Stanley Cavell examines what he calls "comedies of remarriage" from a literary

perspective in his Pursuits o f Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy o f Remarriage to

determine what these films say about society. He draws parallels between films and

their Shakespearean literary/dramatic counterparts (the connection is not always

obvious, even to those who have studied Shakespeare). He relies on the audience's

memory and understanding of Shakespeare to argue that they unconsciously accept

the film's narrative because it resonates with their memory (of Shakespeare). He

argues that the audience's film experience is familiar because they previously

experienced the narrative-its tensions and resolutions-when they first experienced

Shakespeare. Cavell readily notes that he may be reading too much into the films he

examines, yet his analysis is compelling and important in offering a new perspective

from which to examine film. His search to uncover implicit messages in films is

similar to my own goal. Our approaches may be different, but I also seek to uncover

implicit messages in films that resist what the dominant narrative asks us to believe.

Robert Ray also examines film from a literary perspective in his ^4 Certain

Tendency o f the Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1980. Ray claims that his approach seeks

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to detail "the formal and thematic paradigms that commercially successful films in this

country have consistently used" (21). In so doing, Ray describes "a process that has

had an enormous influence on what a nineteenth-century novelist once referred to as

'the way we live now”' (21). Ray divides his book into three parts categorized as

classical Hollywood, the postwar period, and the contemporary period. He only

examines popular films that he claims resonate with society and offer familiar themes,

myths and metaphors that drive an understanding of who we (as a society) are. He

thus engages in a close analysis of the films and demonstrates how these themes

manifest themselves visually--themes that conjure literary images of earlier times. At

times, Ray's claims appear forced, but his conclusions nevertheless account for these

films' popularity both at their time o f release and now. I am not convinced that

audiences experience dreamlike memories o f such literary outlaw heroes as Davy

Crockett, Jesse James or Huck Finn when they meet characters such as Rick Blaine

(played by Humphrey Bogart) in films like Casablanca, nor that they envision

George Washington when they see Victor Laszlo (played by Paul Henreid), the

official hero of Casablanca (98-99). Nevertheless, Ray’s historical discussion of

Casablanca does provide a compelling interpretation of the film as a metaphor for the

United States' transformation from isolationism to participation in World War II. At

the very least, his approach to film analysis lends itself to a deeper understanding of a

film's social relevance. My approach, too, lends itself to a deeper understanding of a

film's social relevance, even if it is by default Because the films included in this study

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depict single motherhood--a socially relevant topic-they are socially relevant. In

addition, the dominant narrative of each film presents a social ideology that my

analyses challenge. My perspective, like Ray's, offers a deeper understanding of the

films, thereby offering a deeper understanding of their social relevance by questioning

the dominant social ideology depicted in each.

Cavell and Ray approach film analysis somewhat differently than I will, but

each offers a new way to understand a cinematic text and audience response to it.

Their analyses suggest that a cinematic text is similar to a literary text, and each points

to discrete codes in the films that create meaning. Their approaches are innovative

and serve as the catalyst for my own motivation to offer an alternative lens through

which to interpret film. Theirs are not the only innovative approaches to the

rhetorical analysis of film, however. Different perspectives exist that also inform my

analyses.

The women's movements) sparked a feminist approach to rhetorical criticism

that sought to illuminate how texts reinforce or challenge dominant societal beliefs.

Much of the feminist rhetorical criticism of media focuses on television rather than

film, however, and argues that prime-time television is the primary source of

messages about, and directed to, women.

Bonnie Dow offers an examination of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and

demonstrates how it is constrained by patriarchal relationships and role definitions

that are developed within the narrative. That is, although Mary Richards is a single,

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 successful career woman, the narrative nevertheless focuses on her personal

relationships with the other characters. Even when the narrative is set in the news

room (her place of employment), the narrative focuses on her ability-or inability—to

maintain and nurture the relationships among her co-workers. Dow claims that this

show may appear to be feminist in its depiction of a single, independent, career

woman, but its progressiveness is constrained by a hegemonic practice that relegates

Mary's capabilities to those of a traditional woman. Importantly, The Mary Tyler

Moore Show was thought to be progressive given the era during which it was popular-

-a decade characterized by social upheaval (the Women’s Liberation and Civil Rights

movements)—but Dow argues that it was nevertheless constrained by the narrative's

focus on Mary's implicit role as nurturer. Thus, Dow claims that Mary Richards was

merely a token version of the successful, single woman.

Dow extends this discussion in her book, Prime Time Feminism: Television,

Media Culture and the Women’s Movement Since 1970. Here, Dow demonstrates the

continued simplification of feminist images, and situates the various prime-time

shows she examines within the different phases of the women's movement(s). Dow

claims that because the shows' feminism is confined and limited, their social

implications are reduced. For instance, in her discussions of Designing Women and

Murphy Brown, Dow claims that the women are clearly feminist—often stating as

much during the shows—but their feminism is set within a comedy, and so we are

meant to make fun o f i t According to Dow, we recognize the feminism inherent in

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 16

these sitcoms, but we nevertheless laugh at their follies. Thus, she argues that

feminism is less threatening through the comic vehicle of the sitcom. Moreover,

although the shows are feminist, they focus on familial relationships. Dow maintains

that by situating the narratives within a familial frame, they ultimately reinforce a

traditional, patriarchal femininity. I would argue, however, that these sit-coms are

quite progressive, and that female audiences (myself included) probably recognized

and appreciated their feminism. Importantly, Radner and Lanser argue that humor is

one strategy used to diffuse what might be perceived as threatening in a given

message. I would argue, then, that the situation comedies Dow examines are

rhetorically forceful precisely because their feminism appears non-threatening to

those who would be threatened, while they simultaneously resist a dominant or

traditional understanding of what it means to be a woman in American society.

This is by no means feminist rhetorical criticism of media in its entirety, as

feminist film theory and criticism as a distinct discipline developed simultaneously in

the field of mass communication. The difference, however, is that the rhetoric o f film

seeks to understand the messages and meanings embedded in particular texts, whereas

feminist film theory and criticism often seeks to expose women's oppression in

cinema7 Cinema is thus cast as an oppressive, patriarchal institution, and feminist

7 The claim that feminist film theory and criticism often seeks to illuminate women's
oppression in cinema is supported by examining various anthologies that offer what
are considered pivotal and important texts in the discipline. See, for instance, the

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 17

film theorists and critics seek to identify how the cinema oppresses and victimizes

women.

FEMINIST FILM THEORY & CRITICISM

Feminist film theory and criticism developed out of the second wave of the

Women's Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. At that time the movement

concerned itself with making women's voices heard and striving for equality in all

areas of society-domestic as well as public. Maggie Humm explains:

All variants of feminist theory tend to share three major assumptions:

gender is a social construction that oppresses women more than men;

'patriarchy' (i.e., the male domination of social institutions) fashions

these constructions; women's experiential knowledge best helps us to

envision a future non-sexist society. These shared premises shape a

double agenda: the task of critique-attacking gender stereotypes-and

the task of construction, sometimes called feminist praxis-constructing

new models. Feminist theory focuses particularly on women's

experience of sexuality, work and the family, inevitably challenging

traditional frameworks of knowledge and putting in question many

various essays in Patricia Erens, Issues in Feminist Film Criticism; Diane Carson,
Linda Dittmar, & Janice R. Welsch, Multiple Voices in Feminist Film Criticism; and E.
Deidre Pribram, Female Spectators: Looking at Film and Television.

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 18

assumptions such as 'universalism'-the view that there are biological

universals. (5)

With this theoretical foundation, feminist film critics moved toward illuminating how

film, as a patriarchal institution, reinforced or shaped women's continued oppression.

My approach offers another feminist praxis that seeks to challenge and critique

existing assumptions and methodologies. In so doing, I hope to offer an additional

perspective from which to examine films about women’s experiences that will enhance

the existing scholarly literature.

Initially, feminist film theory and criticism sought to examine the various way s

that film reinforced the more traditional images of women. These "image studies"

examined the cinematic depiction of women from a sociological perspective, identified

how female characters were often stereotyped, and attempted to determine whether or

not female characters presented positive or negative role models for their audiences.

Molly Haskell's From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment o f Women in the

Movies is characteristic of work in image studies. Published in 1974, it was one of the

first to approach film analysis in this way. Haskell examines films from each decade

between 1920 and 1970, and includes chapters devoted to the woman's film and

European film. In the book’s second edition, published in 1987, Haskell includes a

chapter devoted to the years between 1974-1987, that she dubs "the age of

ambivalence" (372). In her preface to the second edition, Haskell claims that the first

edition was "intended to offer a historical study of the images o f women in film as

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 19

mostly defined and elaborated by men but with many glorious challenges by the

presumed female victims. Haskell points to female characters (and the women behind

them) who portray a power, an agency that subverts even the most traditional

Hollywood narratives. My project builds from Haskell's belief that female characters

and the women who portray them possess a power that is visible to those seeking to

read film resistively, and assumes that their challenges are there for all to see. Like

Haskell, I will point to specific textual codes and signs that support my claims.

Not long after the release of Haskell's book in 1974, another, more pointed

mode of analysis developed. The critics engaged in this new form of analysis based

their studies on the works of Roland Barthes, Jacques Lacan, Sigmund Freud, Jacques

Derrida, Christian Metz, Jean-Louis Baudry and Louis Althusser. Many of these

critics studied the use of signs and symbols, and argued women signify the object of

male desire in Hollywood film. This psychoanalytic perspective became the norm for

much of the field of feminist film criticism, and still influences such analyses today.

My analyses will not incorporate an expressly psychoanalytic perspective, however

a few theorists and critics offer perspectives that complement my own.

Laura Mulvey's landmark essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,"

proved to be one of the most influential essays devoted to feminist film criticism.

Mulvey argued that men both consciously and unconsciously control the production

of film, and claimed that the depiction of women is based upon a male desire to

negotiate their fear of castration. Mulvey discussed the importance of the "gaze" in

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narrative cinema, and described how men bear "the look" while women become "the

object" of their gaze. The objectification of women works simultaneously to allow

men to look at women, and to allow women to find themselves in the uneasy position

of watching men look at them. Mulvey further argued that men control both the

events of the narrative and the gaze. The male spectator, therefore, identifies with the

film's male protagonist, and takes an active role in the viewing process. Because

women are objectified, the female spectator is denied this active interaction with the

narrative and is thus relegated to a passive role in the viewing process. Mulvey

concluded that classical narrative cinema establishes a relationship between the

audience and the film that excludes women.

Women's enjoyment of film, then, entails a masochistic experience that

Mulvey addresses in her subsequent essay, "Afterthoughts on 'Visual Pleasure and

Narrative Cinema,’ Inspired by Duel in the Sun." Mulvey reconsiders her previous

claim that cinema offers nothing for women, and instead argues that in order for

women to enjoy cinema they must adopt a masochistic female position wherein they

identify with the female character (the object of desire), or else adopt a male position

by identifying with the male protagonist--a process that, by the very nature of

denying women's experience, is masochistic. This is important because, for the

purpose of this study, the films to be examined all have a woman as their central

character. In some instances the camera's gaze is male, while in others it is female. I

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 will examine whether there is a difference in the camera's gaze and, if so, what the

difference(s) entail.

Other scholars have examined the masochistic processes o f film viewing, but

many have taken a different approach to the causes of the masochistic experience.

Gaylyn Studlar’s essay, "Masochism and the Perverse Pleasures o f the Cinema"

argues that film viewing is based upon a return to the pre-oedipal stage wherein

women represent a memory of plenitude. This argument is in direct opposition to

Mulvey's assertion that women are objectified as a result of the Oedipal fear of

castration. Studlar argues that the pleasure of film viewing suggests the experiences of

the infant, when the child who initially receives everything s/he needs from the mother

eventually must recognize her/his individuality. This separation from the mother-self,

then, is the root of the masochistic experience. Along with the pleasure o f enjoyment

(of the film), comes the pain (of separation, of the film's end). This pleasure-pain

cycle is the masochistic experience.

Studlar employs her theories on masochistic experience and female

subjectivity/objectivity in her essay, "Masochistic Performance and Female

Subjectivity in Letter from an Unknown Woman." In this essay Studlar examines

Letter from an Unknown Woman to illustrate the masochistic aesthetic. In so doing,

she offers "a new perspective on masochism that might be applied to a broader

consideration of the representation of female subjectivity in the woman's film" (38).

This essay is important because it claims that the film's female protagonist (Lisa) is

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 22

not a silent, voiceless, masochistic victim, but a "narrating protagonist" (38). That is,

Lisa's voice/narration drives the film and controls the masochistic desires in it As a

result Lisa is not a victim; rather, she succeeds in maintaining control of her desires

and victimization until her ultimate denouement and even in death she maintains

control-by affecting Stefan's (her object of desire) desires and, ultimately, his life. I

also look at female subjectivity/objectivity, but not from a masochistic perspective.

Rather, I am interested in how the female is depicted, as subject or object and whether

there is a challenge to the position she is given-either by her or by the narrative. The

challenge will be coded, and I suspect the codes will be different based on whether the

camera depicts the female as subject or object I will argue that the depiction itself is a

code, and so the female's position as subject or object (and her challenges to that

position) will be defined by it.

Kaja Silverman examines film from a Lacanian perspective in The Subject o f

Semiotics. One chapter in particular, "Suture," examines how the suture, or editing

technique of stitching shots together, cinematically creates meaning for the spectator.

Silverman states, "Shot relationships are seen as the equivalent of syntactic ones in

linguistic discourse, as the agency whereby meaning emerges and a subject-position is

constructed for the viewer" (201). Silverman offers an examination of suture and

sexual difference, claiming that Mulvey's argument "bears a striking resemblance to

suture theory. Both posit a cinematic adventure in which plenitude is fractured by

difference and lack, only to be sealed over once again.. . . The various absences upon

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which classic cinema turns, from the excluded real to the hidden camera and tape

recorder, are in effect signified through woman" (224). Silverman points to the

potential for transgressive representation and offers case studies to support her

arguments, yet few have adopted her approach to film inquiry. Silverman's approach

is technically complex, yet her desire to find those gaps through which women can

view themselves in opposition to established norms drives my own analysis, as well

as many other feminist scholars. Specifically, through close textual analysis I will

argue that shot relationships-sutures-act as codes. I will examine these coded shot

relationships to determine how social codes and norms are both reinforced and

subverted.

In addition to the psychoanalytic perspective, many critics have examined

women's depiction in various genres including film noir and the maternal melodrama.

This "genre" criticism encompasses the various perspectives from which other critics

examine film and opens a dialogue about films that depict a heroine with the power to

challenge societal expectations. Of these genres, the maternal melodrama has recently

become a locus of critical and theoretical inquiry. Importantly, maternal melodramas

depict women's issues and experiences, often from the woman's perspective. Thus,

critics interested in these films employ a variety of perspectives to illustrate how

maternity is depicted cinematically, and seek to identify the social implications of

such representations. Because this study also examines the maternal melodrama, it

will contribute to the growing body of literature inquiring into these important films.

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Mary Ann Doane examines maternal melodramas of the 1940s in The Desire

to Desire: The Woman's Film o f the 1940s. Doane interrogates these films' attempts

to inscribe women as both spectacles and spectators, within and outside the films.

Doane claims, "There is something extremely compelling about women's films—with

their constantly recurring figures of the unwed mother, the waiting wife, the

abandoned mistress, the frightened newlywed or the anguished mother" (3).

According to Doane, this holds true even today. The difference is that women

experience their cinematic images "more readily as a historical memory, no longer

completely culturally negotiable since they are, in an era which believes itself to be

post-feminist, so strongly marked as belonging to the recent past" (3). With this,

Doane sets out to rewrite women's experience, and to identify a means to intervene in

cinema's insistence on sexual difference. Doane finally claims:

One does not necessarily have to believe in a specifically feminine

relation to language in order to agree that it is only through a

disengagement of women from the roles and gestures of a naturalized

femininity that traditional ways of conceptualizing sexual difference

can be overthrown. Mimicry as a political textual strategy makes it

possible for the female spectator to understand that recognition is

buttressed by misrecognition. From this perspective, fantasy becomes

the site of a crucial intervention, and what is at issue is the woman's

ability to map herself in the terrain of fantasy The fascination

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 25

which the women's films still exert on us can be taken up and activated

in the realm o f fantasy rather than melodrama--particularly if fantasy is

perceived as a space for work on and against the familiar tropes of

femininity. Because everything depends, of course, on how one sees

oneself. And it is now possible to look elsewhere. (182-3)

The woman's film, or maternal melodrama, then, is a site of intervention if women can

visualize themselves differently. Fantasy thus becomes a means to work out the fears

and anxieties of everyday life, much as Bruno Bettleheim argues that fairy tales help

children work out their fears and anxieties.8 Reading film resistively will allow the

critic to locate sites of intervention by suggesting interpretations that differ from what

a film asks audiences to accept. This is the goal of my study. I will examine the

8 See Bruno Bettleheim's The Uses o f Enchantment for his discussion of fairy tales.
Bettleheim, a well-known child psychologist, claims that the important children's
stories, the stones that last in a child's mind must:
enrich his [sic.] life. . . stimulate his imagination; help him to develop
his intellect and to clarify his emotions; be attuned to his anxieties and
aspirations; give full recognition to his difficulties, while at the same
time relate to all aspects of his personality-and this without ever
belittling but, on the contrary, giving full credence to the seriousness of
the child's predicaments, while simultaneously promoting confidence in
himself and in his future. (5)
These fairy tales are, of course, fantasy. I would argue that Doane presents a similar
argument in favor o f fantasy, and hopes that women can find in the maternal
melodrama not only a recognition o f their emotions and experiences, but the
opportunity to work through their anxieties and aspirations in hopes of promoting
their own self-confidence.

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 26

study's films as sites of intervention, I will identify codes that challenge what each

film asks audiences to accept, and I will suggest alternative interpretations.

Unlike genre critics who focus solely on the maternal melodrama, Lucy

Fischer's Cinematemity examines the representation of mother in different genres,

using different methodologies. Fischer argues that most of the existing scholarship

confronts issues of motherhood as they occur in the maternal melodrama while

excluding other modes. She thus attempts to "move beyond the privileged generic

circle of melodrama by querying the status of motherhood in other established

cinematic modes: the trick film, the horror film, the crime film, the comedy, the

thriller, the postmodern film, the documentary, and the experimental film" (6).

Fischer focuses on a different genre in each chapter, but also addresses a different

aspect of motherhood in each, situating it within a broader sociohistoric context. For

instance, the chapter concerning melodrama examines attitudes toward illegitimate

birth, while the chapter concerning the thriller examines contemporary hysteria

surrounding child care. Fischer draws from diverse academic fields such as history,

psychoanalysis, sociology, medicine, feminist studies, critical theory and

entertainment studies, and resists the constraints of psychoanalysis typical of much

feminist film criticism. In so doing, Fischer identifies patterns that permeate the

various genres such as, "the absence of the maternal figure in film comedy" and "the

play with maternal transvestism [sic.] in postmodernism" (28). Fischer’s book

ultimately "confirms feminist perceptions that motherhood in the cinema has been a

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 27

site of'crisis.' In many films, the mother is blamed for her transgressions or for the

ills she visits upon her offspring" (30). My own analysis attempts to recuperate

maternal power, but Fischer's text serves as a foundational inquiry into the cinematic

depiction of motherhood, one that prompted my own interest in examining single

motherhood because texts such as hers typically exclude it. Like Fischer, I will draw

from an academic field not typically utilized for film analysis: resistance theory.

Unlike Fischer, I will focus on maternal melodramas precisely because they are often

presumed to victimize or punish their mothers.

Like Fischer, E. Ann Kaplan's Motherhood and Representation: The Mother

in Popular Culture and Melodrama examines the representation of motherhood in

film, both historically and psychoanalytically. Kaplan, one of the most prolific

scholars of cinematic motherhood, bases her argument on nineteenth-century women's

writing and illustrates how socially inscribed images of nineteenth-century

motherhood bear upon twentieth-century films. Kaplan first discusses the historical

literature, then examines the psychoanalytic discourses concerning motherhood. The

majority of the book provides close analyses of both literary and cinematic texts, but

Kaplan focuses the majority of her energies on the maternal melodrama as she

attempts to identify and examine both "complicit" and "resisting" texts. She claims

that the maternal melodrama is a "complicit" text, in that it is typically "narrated from

an implicit male perspective, even when the narrational voice places itself within a

female figure" (124). However, Kaplan identifies unconscious contradictions within

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some of the narratives.9 My analyses will search for these unconscious

contradictions, these interruptions in narrative logic that resist traditional assumptions

about women and their roles in society. I will argue that these contradictions are

codes that can be interpreted resistively. Like Fischer, Kaplan neglects an

examination of single motherhood specifically, although she briefly examines several

films that depict single motherhood. Kaplan is not concerned about whether the

mother is single or married so much as she is concerned with societal mis/perceptions

about motherhood. Kaplan's "resisting" texts, however different from those in this

study, nevertheless inform my own analysis insofar as they provide a jumping-off

place from which to begin. She approaches resistance differently, but her

assumptions complement my own approach and allow this study to contribute to the

conversation concerning cinematic motherhood.

9 Kaplan argues that in these films

. . . the narrational voice, close to the heroine's unconscious,
inadvertently reveals repressed resentments about woman's oppressive
placement within the nuclear family, particularly her repressed longing
for the lost Mother object, or her unmet needs for power and self-
fulfillment that may originally have caused [her] transgressions—
The "resisting tex t. . . situates itself more fully than the complicit one
in the level of the social formation.. . . Within mainstream fiction and
film, resisting texts use realistic strategies not unlike those of the
melodramatic/complicit texts. . . Strategies. . . open up a space
between text and spectator they interrupt the complete narrative
identification elicited by die "cliff-hanger” suspense mode typical of
most complicit melodrama." (124-5)

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Amidst the various approaches to feminist film theory and criticism emerged

what is known as spectatorship theory. The study of spectatorship developed as a

result of Mulvey's essay concerning woman as cinematic spectacle and the camera's

male gaze. Spectatorship stems from a psychoanalytic perspective, but 1 argue that

the notion of spectatorship drives all of feminist film theory and criticism. In Cinema

and Spectatorship, Judith Mayne states, "spectatorship refers not just to the acts of

watching and listening, and not just to identification with human figures projected on

the screen, but rather to the various values with which a film viewing is invested"

(31). The goal of feminist critics, it seems, has been to determine how, and whether,

women identify with their cinematic counterparts.

Mayne's definition of spectatorship allows for a broad understanding of

spectatorship theory, and enables a multiplicity of approaches designed to illuminate

how women are depicted cinematically, how women in the audience are invited to

understand those characters and, by extension, to understand themselves.

Identification, then, is the most useful component of spectatorship theory for my

own purposes—not just with individuals, but also with their experiences, values,

hopes and fears. I find in all approaches to feminist film theory and criticism

elements that are useful and elements that are not My own approach is an amalgam

of the various approaches I have discussed, but only insofar as they enhance my

overarching goals, which are to identify female subjectivity, to recuperate maternal

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power, and to illuminate challenges to the traditional assumptions about and

depictions of single motherhood.

RESISTANCE THEORY

In Domination and the Arts o f Resistance: Hidden Transcripts, James Scott

argues that the powerless work within their subordinate status by developing a

repertoire of tactics that are designed to resist, as much as possible, domination by the

powerful while minimizing the physical, social, psychological or economic costs of

doing so. This often takes the form of a "performance" designed to publicly reinforce

subordinates' willingness to comply with the dominants. According to Scott, "With

rare, but significant, exceptions the public performance of the subordinate will, out of

prudence, fear, and the desire to curry favor, be shaped to appeal to the expectations

of the powerful" (2). This performance is, in many ways, like the cinematic

performance; it appeals to the expectations of the powerful, in this case much of

American society.

Resistance is an attempt by the powerless to restructure or re-negotiate power

relationships, and to strive for a greater balance of power and equality. Resistance

occurs when the powerless reject, to a certain degree, the dominant worldview and its

constraints. Cinema is an institution whose transcript is a product o f the dominants—

produced and maintained by powerholders; that is, cinema typically reinforces the

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societal beliefs and assumptions of what Scott would label the dominants.10 A

resistive analysis might act as a re-negotiation of power relationships that seeks to

empower subordinates. Many scholars argue that American women are socially

subordinate. I would argue that single mothers are subordinate among subordinates in

that they are often social outcasts.

Single motherhood is often considered to be socially deviant and is stigmatized

accordingly. Scott states," ... the power to call a cabbage a rose and to make it stick

in the public sphere implies the power to do the opposite, to stigmatize activities or

persons that seem to call into question official realities" (SS). Many times this

stigmatization is intended to divert attention from an individual's political claims.

Because single motherhood calls into question the public transcript of the dominant

American society, films depicting single mothers typically insist on victimization or

punishment to reinforce its social stigma. However, single motherhood is resistive

because society typically insists on a nuclear patriarchal family in which the mother is

10 See, for instance, the literature inquiring into the political economy of
communication in which scholars such as Janet Wasko, Eileen Meehan, Vincent
Mosco, Ronald Bettig, Graham Murdock, and Ben Bagdikian argue based on Marxist
assumptions that the media are the elite of the superstructure. According to these
scholars, a few elite control the many media outlets in this country. Thus, media are
claimed to reinforce and perpetuate existing ideologies consistent with patriarchy and
capitalism. Bagdikian claims, "Every culture has its official folklore. In ancient times
medicine men transformed tribal legends to enhance their own status. The twentieth
century is no different, but the high priests who communicate mythic dogmas now do
so through great centralized machines of communication—newspaper chains, broadcast

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subordinate to the father. Moreover, the single mother is not constrained by the

father's presence. By virtue of the father’s absence, societal expectations and their

constraints are rejected. Therefore, the mother enjoys more power than she would

otherwise have within the traditional nuclear family.

Nancy Fraser offers an important discussion of power, searching for a rhetoric

o f resistance capable of promoting the struggles and desires of contemporary social

movements. Fraser’s Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in

Contemporary Social Theory engages the social theories of Michel Foucault,

especially his writings concerning power. Specifically, Fraser interrogates Foucault's

claim " ... that modem power. . . operates at the lowest extremities of the social body

in everyday social practices Foucault's genealogy of modem power establishes

that power touches people's lives more fundamentally through their social practices

than through their beliefs" (18). According to Fraser, Foucault fails to recognize that

power resides at the state/institutional level, thereby affecting all that we do in our

everyday lives. And yet, resistance at a social or individual level, as Foucault argues,

is all that is available to most of us. Single motherhood is a form of resistance in and

o f itself. But single motherhood is not resistance to the state, it is resistance to a

larger patriarchal worldview that insists on adherence to tradition.

networks, magazine groups, conglomerate book publishers, and movie studios.

Operators of these systems disseminate their own version o f the world" (68).

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Fraser also interrogates the social theory of Jurgen Habermas, especially his

theory's intent to promote emancipatory social transformation. Fraser engages

Habermas from a feminist perspective, and uses political issues rather than

metatheoretical issues as her jumping-off place. She argues that Habermas' theory

fails to challenge dualistic social power structures such as family/economy and

public/private. She concludes that Habermas' theory fails to offer contemporary

feminists a means to subvert the dimensions of male dominance and gender

oppression found in late twentieth-century capitalist societies. Fraser thus calls for "a

framework capable of foregrounding the evil of dominance and subordination" (138).

However, Fraser fails to recognize that single motherhood itself blurs the boundaries

between family/economy and public/private, as single mothers assume the roles of

both patriarch and matriarch within the family and in the larger society (as she works

to provide for her child).

Rhetorical resistance is thus characterized by the ability of the powerless to

simultaneously appropriate and transgress the symbolic resources of domination.

Tactics that scholars generally agree characterize rhetorical resistance are

appropriation and symbolic inversion. Appropriation is a tactic whereby the

oppressed (powerless) adopt symbols of the dominant (powerful) for resistive

purposes, as in the mother’s rise to power in the family unit, a position typically

reserved for the father. Symbolic inversion is a tactic whereby the powerless invert or

reverse commonly held values, beliefs or norms, such as society's belief that single

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mothers are incapable of raising happy, healthy, well-adjusted children or of balancing

work and family.

Rhetorical resistance also seeks to provide the powerless with a new way of

seeing themselves in the world so they may act differently and, in so doing, encourage

others to do the same. In this way, rhetorical resistance seeks to create community

by allowing the powerless to be constituted by the message. Maurice Charland argues

that language creates the "subject," the stories we tell about ourselves creates the

"collective subject," and the recognition of oneself in the narrative interpellates the

individual and creates a community wherein the collective subject is unified.11 In the

20th century these narratives are both verbal and visual. As a result, visual

identification interpellates the subject as effectively as, if not more effectively than,

verbal identification. Interpellation, then, can be understood in relation to

spectatorship theories of feminist film theory because they both seek to understand

how audiences might recognize themselves in the narrative; recognition enables

identification.

How does identification enable resistance? If audiences recognize cues that

subvert dominant assumptions or expectations and identify with characters who

11 See Maurice Charland, "Constitutive Rhetoric: The Case of the Peuple

Quebecois.” Although Charland examines the use of rhetoric in social movement,
specifically the cessation movement in Quebec, his notion of interpellation is useful
for this study in explaining how audience members might come to recognize
themselves in the film's narrative.

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embody or enact resistance, audiences may find themselves empowered to act

similarly. The ability to recognize subversive cues thus provides a means for

liberation. What follows is a methodology designed to enable recognition of textual

cues that may subvert dominant or traditional assumptions and expectations about

women's-especially single mothers'-roles in society.

F e m in is t C o d in g a s a C r i t i c a l L e n s

In order to read film resistively, I will use the strategies of coding outlined in

Radner and Lanser's "Strategies of Coding in Women's Cultures." Radner and Lanser

recognize that all language is composed of codes, but their interest is only in those

codes that exist in messages generated in the context of domination and subordination.

They argue that women are socially subordinate and, as a result, "there is a realm of

practice that is primarily or exclusively women's domain, through which women may

develop a set of common signifying practices (beliefs, understandings, behaviors,

rituals-hence a culture) whose meanings are not necessarily accessible to men of the

same group" (2). Single motherhood, by virtue of the father's absence, is exclusively

women's domain. Thus, tales told by single mothers and/or about single motherhood

may reveal meanings that are inaccessible to men.

Radner and Lanser offer a way to interpret the messages that exist in women's

culture, and argue that women devise coding strategies to communicate with other

women in full view of men. They explain their approach as follows:

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We are not using code simply to designate the system of language rules

through which communication is possible; in this sense any message is

"in code." Rather we mean a set of signals—words, forms, behaviors,

signifiers of some kind—that protect the creator from the consequences

of openly expressing particular messages. Coding occurs in the context

of complex audiences in which some members may be competent and

willing to decode the message, but others are not Coding, then, is

the expression or transmission of messages potentially accessible to a

(bicultural) community under the very eyes of a dominant community

for whom these same messages are either inaccessible or inadmissible.

(3 )

This approach lends itself to film analysis if we accept the assumption that some

textual cues are inaccessible to dominants, and that willing viewers can easily interpret

a film's resistive messages. My analyses will be critic-centered in that I will assume

the responsibility for identifying textual cues and interpreting the films1messages (I

will point, if possible, to instances where audiences were known to look for

subversive or implicit meaning). Radner and Lanser argue that the critic must look for

textual cues; thus resistive film analysis is only possible if the critic can point to

specific cues in the cinematic text-lighting, camera angle, costume, gestures, etc.-that

can be interpreted either as reinforcing traditional beliefs or challenging them.

According to Radner and Lanser, "women can hardly avoid reading what we are calling

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feminist messages—that is, messages critical of some aspect of women's

subordination" (3). I interpret this statement as a critical challenge to establish why I

am qualified to interpret implicit feminist messages. As both a woman and a single

mother I tend to examine the cinematic depiction of single motherhood from a

subjective position, having experienced the sneers and judgment of those who believe

they know my life choices and circumstances. I will thus identify how this study's

films might subvert traditional beliefs and assumptions about single motherhood and,

in so doing, help to accomplish some goals of the women's movement. Radner and

Lanser argue:

If the production of coded messages is a sign of oppression and

censorship, the deciphering of such messages may be the very process

through which liberation becomes possible The recognition of

coding-that is, the identification of messages whose feminism is not

immediately evident~is a crucial aspect of the reinterpretation of

women's lives and cultures and hence of feminist critical conscious­

ness. (3)

Skeptics may question the validity of interpreting cinematic cues, especially

implicit ones. Radner and Lanser respond by stating that this approach examines

only those instances "in which both the fact that coding has occurred and the nature of

what (if anything) has been encoded are uncertain" (4). The dilemma created by the

burden of proving the validity of textual cues is one with which critics must struggle.

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According to Radner and Lanser, "in such cases there has been neither the signaling of

an intention to code nor any open complicity in a coding system; the performance is

meant to pass for an uncoded activity" (7). As mentioned earlier, films are polysemic;

that is, they are open to multiple and diverse interpretations. This approach will

offer one of many possible interpretations, but will rely for its validity on discrete

textual cues to demonstrate that a resistive interpretation is plausible.

Radner and Lanser argue that there exist "strategic patterns in women’s cultural

practices that lend themselves to the coding of feminist messages" (10). To identify

these patterns they offer a typology that enables critics to identify feminist messages.

What follows will be a brief discussion of the typology and its utility for film

analysis; I will demonstrate its applicability by referring to this study specifically.

T h e C r it ic a l L e n s : A T y p o l o g y o f F e m in is t C o d i n g

Radner and Lanser identify six strategies useful for identifying feminist

messages, and address the ways in which textual cues both reinforce and subvert

existing cultural norms. These "lenses"-appropriation, juxtaposition, distraction,

indirection, trivialization and incompetence-wili be discussed individually to

demonstrate their utility for this study. Different films will necessarily lend

themselves to examination through different lenses, and some will be examined

through two or more lenses in order to illuminate their full resistive potential.

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Appropriation

Radner and Lanser use this terra to "designate coding strategies that involve

adapting to feminist purposes forms or materials normally associated with male

culture or with androcentric images of the feminine" (10). Appropriation is a strategy

wherein the powerless violate or transgress established social and cultural codes. Such

violations often involve what Barbara Babcock labels symbolic inversion, or "any act

of expressive behaviour which inverts, contradicts, abrogates, or in some fashion

presents an alternative to commonly held cultural codes, values and norms be they

linguistic, literary or artistic, religious, social and political" (14). Appropriation

provides a means to borrow or refashion male forms, to subvert them, or to parody

them with humor. According to Radner and Lanser, "When women are moving into

roles that have previously belonged to men, appropriation is often an effective tactic"

(12). As a lens, appropriation will enable the viewer to recognize the various ways

that women~in this case, the single mother-borrow or refashion masculine norms in

such a way that they are empowered. At its most obvious, single motherhood enables

a mother to appropriate the primary parental role, one traditionally reserved for men.

However, the lens o f appropriation will typically reveal cues that are more subtle,

such as a camera angle, and is useful for identifying cues that, upon first glance, are

innocuous.

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Juxtaposition

Radner and Lanser describe juxtaposition as "the ironic arrangement o f text,

artifacts, or performances. . . An item that in one environment seems unremarkable or

unambiguous may develop quite tendentious levels of meaning in another" (13). This

lens will likely reveal textual cues that appear in a variety of forms, and that will

sometimes appear metaphorically. As a result, this lens will reveal cues that are

highly ambiguous and open to multiple interpretations. The critic must demonstrate

the plausibility of an interpretation of textual cues through the lens of juxtaposition,

but the result will be a richer analysis. For example, a single mother who teaches her

child to write by having her/him copy the word "f-a-t-h-e-r" simultaneously reinforces

the importance of father in a child's life, and limits father to a word on a piece of

paper that renders him two-dimensional and easily discarded (as a piece of paper that

is thrown into the trash). This metaphorically represents the ease with which a single

mother might discard her child's father.

Distraction

Radner and Lanser describe distraction as "strategies that drown out or draw

attention away from the subversive power of a feminist message. Usually distraction

involves creating some kind of'noise,' interference, or obscurity that will keep the

message from being heard except by those who listen very carefully or already

suspect it is there" (15). Because distraction is more conducive to performance, it is

perhaps the most revealing of all lenses. For instance, the lens of distraction might

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examine music (diegetic or non-diegetic) that diverts attention from the actions or

words of a character. As noise, distraction may be visual or aural. Thus, in Blonde

Venus, Helen's on-stage "performances" might be examined through the lens of

distraction to reveal the manner in which they divert attention from the words of her

songs.

Indirection

Perhaps the most common form of coding, indirection disguises meaning.

Within this category of coding Radner and Lanser articulate three modes: "metaphor,

impersonation, and hedging' (16). Metaphors might occur as a single image or an

elaborate fantasy, but create both distance and ambiguity. According to Radner and

Lanser, "women often use metaphors for expressing forbidden sexual and political

impulses" (16). A scene of a man and woman talking, followed immediately by the

exchange of money or the lighting of a cigar, might be examined through this lens as a

metaphor for a sexual encounter, even if it is not explicit. Impersonation is "the

substitution of another persona for the T"( 17). Radner and Lanser argue that "any

kind o f third-person substitution or any use of another person's discourse provides a

form of distancing" (18). A critic might examine a character who co-opts another's

words through the lens o f impersonation to determine how those words are used to

empower her. Finally, hedging "encompasses a range of strategies. . . for equivocating

about or weakening a message: ellipses, litotes, passive constructions, euphemisms,

qualifiers" (19). Commonly characterized as "women's language" or the "language of

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the powerless," hedging might be evinced by a single mother who claims that she is

"no good" while she visually demonstrates otherwise. As a lens, then, indirection

provides a deeper, richer understanding of textual cues that might otherwise go

unnoticed.

Trivialization

According to Radner and Lanser, "Trivialization involves the employment of a

form, mode, or genre that the dominant culture considers unimportant, innocuous, or

irrelevant. When a particular form is conventionally nonthreatening, the message it

carries, even if it might be threatening in another context, is likely to be discounted or

overlooked" (19). The authors claim that humor is the most frequent mode of

trivialization, and argue that women use humor as a way to "buffer the seriousness of

what they are saying" (20). Moreover, trivialization has a wider range of possibilities,

as it may in fact reside in a form that is discounted outright, such as the "women's

weepie," "chick flick" or "maternal melodrama," film genres that typically gamer both

popular and critical denigration. Thus, because men often discredit the validity of this

genre in favor of a more action-oriented film, the possibilities for transgression are

more reasonable. As a lens, trivialization will enable the viewer to recognize the many

and varied ways that women's power is trivialized through language, images and other

textual cues that work to obfuscate it

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Incompetence

"In claiming or demonstrating incompetence at conventionally feminine

activities," claim Radner and Lanser, "women may be expressing their resistance to

patriarchal expectations" (20). Although incompetent women may be scorned or

pitied, they do not risk the punishment they would receive if they instead refused to

perform these activities. In their discussion of women in the patriarchal household,

Radner and Lanser argue that, "The strategy (conscious or not) of claiming

incompetence permits a woman to avoid unwanted chores and may encode protest

against the restrictions of the role to which she is expected to conform" (33).

Notably, the authors claim that incompetence at traditionally feminine activities is a

sort of masculinity and invites the critic to read incompetence as a woman's

appropriation of a masculine identity. Thus, a mother's incompetence as a wife might

enable her to appropriate the role of the primary parent, the patriarch, when/if she

assumes the role of single mother. Incompetence might also be evident in a mother's

(seeming) inability to diaper a child or cook a decent meal. As a lens, then,

incompetence can provide a useful perspective from which to examine the ways that

single mothers "fail."

Feminist coding provides a useful foundation from which to build the critical

lenses identified above. These lenses offer a way to identify resistive messages in

films that depict single motherhood, and to challenge existing interpretations of them.

I make no claim to intentionality on the part of actors, directors, producers, or any

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persons affiliated with the creation of these films. I do, however, argue that the

textual cues exist—intentionally or otherwise-and that to illuminate them offers a

means for historically subordinated and stigmatized women to see themselves

differently. Moreover, through the identification of these cinematic cues, I hope to

offer scholars an alternative perspective with which to examine film.

O u t l in e o f C h a p t e r s

PART O N E : S a c r if ic e a s P o w e r

The two films to be examined in this section depict sacrifice as power. In

both, sacrifice is the means by which the mothers claim and/or maintain agency and

appropriate masculine power.

C ha pter T w o

Chapter Two will examine the film Applause (1929) through the lenses of

distraction and juxtaposition in order to illuminate the various forms of sacrifice that

ultimately empower the film's mother. Applause, the first of the "talkies," was

released two weeks before the stock market crash that launched the country into the

Great Depression. The film's importance lies not only in the fact that it ushered in

the era of talking movies, but also that it offered revolutionary film-making techniques

created by and in support of its director’s creative vision. Moreover, this film was

critically acclaimed because of its technological advances, as well as the realism with

which it depicts the burlesque environment in which its mother acts. The film is an

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important statement about the roie of women (and of mothers) in American society

during the 1920s. Distraction and juxtaposition serve as useful lenses through which

to view Applause since they illuminate aspects of the film as metaphors for Christian

doctrine. Throughout the analysis, I will demonstrate how the lens of juxtaposition

enables the film's images to conjure the many celebrated images of the Madonna and

Child, as well as to enable the film's mother to visually appropriate masculine power.

Additionally, maternal power remains largely unnoticed by audiences who are not

seeking a resistive interpretation, yet the lens of distraction enables the spectator to

recognize, understand, and celebrate maternal power within the larger narrative.

Sacrifice can be interpreted as victimization or punishment, but my analysis will seek

to demonstrate that because this mother chooses to sacrifice herself to protect and

provide for her daughter, it is a sacrifice that empowers her.

ch a pter T hree

Chapter Three will examine Imitation o f Life (1934) through the lenses of

trivialization and appropriation in order to illuminate how the film's mother claims

masculine agency and power through the personal sacrifices that she makes. Personal

sacrifice is the vehicle by which the film’s mother claims and retains her power. The

mother's ultimate sacrifice-rejecting her lover in order to save her relationship with

her daughter-might be interpreted as victimization or punishment I argue that

because she chooses to reject her lover, her choice empowers her. Trivialization and

appropriation serve as useful lenses through which to view Imitation o f Life because

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they illuminate the various ways that the film's mother claims masculine agency.

Throughout the analysis, I will seek to demonstrate how the lens of appropriation

enables the film's mother to adopt a masculine identity without sacrificing her

femininity. Likewise, I hope to illustrate how the lens of trivialization enables the

spectator to recognize, understand, and celebrate feminine and maternal power within

the larger narrative of capitalistic achievement and success.

PART TWO: M o t h e r h o o d is P o w e r

The two films to be examined in this section depict motherhood as power. In

both, motherhood is the means by which the heroines claim agency and appropriate

masculine power.

C h a pter F o u r

Chapter Four will examine the film Blonde Verms (1932) through the lenses of

distraction and appropriation in order to illuminate how the film's mother makes

choices which enable her to claim power and agency that others seek to deny her.

Blonde Venus was released just prior to the strict enforcement of the motion picture

industry's Production Code, and yet the director fought publicly with censors about

the film's images and narrative. Because the media followed the censors' efforts,

audiences attended the film searching for subversive or implicit messages. Thus, the

cues in this film are more conspicuous than others of the time. Distraction and

appropriation serve as useful lenses through which to view Blonde Venus. Together,

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they illuminate the various ways that the film's mother claims masculine agency.

Throughout the analysis, I will seek to demonstrate how the lens of appropriation

enables the film's mother to adopt a masculine identity without sacrificing her

femininity. Moreover, although maternal power remains largely unnoticed by

audiences not seeking a resistive interpretation, the lens of distraction enables the

spectator to recognize, understand, and celebrate feminine and maternal power within

the larger narrative. The film's mother appropriates masculine power, but she also re-

appropriates a feminine/maternal power that enables her to rise above the constraints

o f masculine power and to create her own destiny.

chapter F iv e

Chapter Five will examine Baby Boom (1989) through the lenses of

appropriation and distraction in order to illuminate how the film's mother both

appropriates masculine agency and creates a feminine/maternal power that we might

otherwise believe she is denied. Baby Boom provides a forceful and conspicuous

challenge to the belief that career and motherhood are mutually exclusive. In the

decade following the film's release this country witnessed a boom in home-based

businesses. There is no evidence to support a claim that the film's release caused this

increase, but it coincides with an increase in discussions about and the creation of

home-based businesses that enabled working mothers to successfully balance career

and family. Baby Boom is both socially relevant (historically) and conspicuously

resistive. This film's mother appropriates patriarchal power in a way that is explicit,

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but she also appropriates maternal power. That is, although the film's mother

appropriates masculine power she is not, ultimately, masculinized. Instead,

femininity is reinforced in a way that is truly subversive. Appropriation and

distraction serve as useful lenses through which to view Baby Boom. They illuminate

the various ways that the film's mother claims masculine agency, as well as the ways

that she uses feminine and maternal power to create feminine agency. Throughout the

analysis, I will seek to demonstrate how the lens of appropriation enables the film's

mother to visually adopt a masculine identity. I will also identify how maternal

power remains largely unnoticed by audiences who are not reading the film resistively,

and how the lens of distraction enables the spectator to recognize, understand, and

celebrate feminine and maternal power within the larger narrative.

chapter Six: E p il o g u e

Chapter Six will identify the similarities and differences among the films

examined. I will revisit the existing literature, and will point to the specific

contributions this study makes. I will also point to future directions for research to

provide for an ongoing conversation about the cinematic depiction of motherhood in

general, and single motherhood specifically. Ultimately, I will highlight how the

typology of feminist coding offers a useful critical lens through which to examine film.

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A p p e n d ix a : Appendix A will offer filmographies for each film examined, including

actors, directors, and any other information that may be relevant

A p p e n d ix B: Appendix B will offer lists of scenes for each film examined in this

study.

C o n c l u s io n

The fields of feminist film criticism and maternal film studies are well-

established. Similarly, much attention has been devoted to the rhetorical analysis of

film and to resistance theory, especially the rhetorical analysis of social movements.

This study will contribute not only to the fields of feminist film criticism and

maternal film studies, but also to the field of rhetoric generally, and the rhetorical

analysis of film specifically. Through a systematic analysis of the cinematic

representation of single mothers and single motherhood, an area of inquiry about

which little has been written, I hope to fill the gap that currently exists within

maternal film studies. In this way I hope to create a niche for myself that will enable

me to pursue this line o f inquiry into future research. Moreover, I hope to offer an

alternative to existing methods of film inquiry, and to demonstrate the utility of

resistance theory as a lens through which to enact textual analysis.

Single motherhood is a social phenomenon whose importance has fueled many

aspects of the women's movements). It has historically been perceived as socially

deviant In this era of family values, the traditional parent family is revered as the

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ideal. Nevertheless, it continues to exist as a social reality that cannot be ignored. Its

importance as a social phenomenon, and its depiction in cinematic narratives drives

this study. According to the 1997 Census Bureau Report, approximately 23% o f all

families are "mother only" families, and only 5% of all families are "father only"

families.12 Father only families have increased by 213% since 1970,13 yet the

occurrence of this social phenomenon is not considered to be socially deviant.

Instead, single fatherhood is glamorized cinematically. By contrast, single

motherhood is, and has been, stigmatized both socially and cinematically. This

stigmatization occurs publicly in the media, including film, and in political speeches.14

12 Bryson and Casper reported in the April 1998 issue of the Census Bureau's
"Current Population Reports" that, "The number of families maintained by people
with no spouse present is increasing rapidly. Since 1970, the number of female-
householder families had increased by 133 percent (from 5.5 million to 12.8 million).
The number of male-householder families grew by 213 percent (from 1.2 million to
3.8 million)" (3-5). The report goes on to state that by 1997,23% of all families were
"mother-only" families, compared with 5% o f father-only families (5). Essentially,
one quarter of all U.S. families are headed by a single mother. This report indicates
that 2.2 million single mothers are widowed, 4.6 million single mothers are divorced,
and 2.1 million single mothers are married but the spouse is absent .3 million of which
are the result o f abandonment (4). Thus, 7.2 million, or 56 percent of all single mother
families are the result of death, divorce or abandonment.
13 ibid.
14 See, for instance, "Excerpts from the Vice-President's Speech on Cities and
Poverty." In this speech, delivered by Dan Quayle on May 19,1992 to the
Commonwealth Club o f California, he lambasted poor, under-privileged single
mothers and blamed them for the moral decline o f inner-city youth. In his speech
Quayle also attacked Murphy Brown for, "mocking the importance of fathers by
bearing a child alone, and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice.'" Quayle was
operating under the assumption that single mothers are not only incapable of raising
healthy, happy, morally sound children, but that the only way to overcome the moral

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Often, the stigmatization of single motherhood is achieved through the use of carefully

chosen euphemisms designed to devalue or denigrate this social role.

James Scott defines euphemisms as, "the self-interested tailoring of

descriptions and appearances by dominant powerholders" (54). Scott claims that

these euphemisms are not restricted to language, but may also be seen in "gestures,

architecture, ritual actions, public ceremonies, any other actions in which the powerful

may portray their domination as they wish. Taken together, they represent the

dominant elite's flattering self-portrait" (54). Cinema serves to reinforce the

domination of the powerful-govemment and society--by portraying single

motherhood as dangerous and unglamorous. Euphemisms such as "unwed mother,"

"single mother," "illegitimate child" and "bastard" publicly degrade and stigmatize

both mother and child for the father's absence. If this stigmatization is not challenged

publicly, then the dominants retain their power by virtue of degradation. Therefore, a

study such as this acts as a public challenge and, thus, a resistive act of rhetorical

analysis.

The principles o f rhetorical resistance, specifically feminist coding, will serve

as a lens through which to view this study's films. Close textual analysis will allow

decline of our society is to reinforce traditional, two-parent, nuclear families. Quayle

asserted, "[t]he anarchy and lack o f structure in our inner cities are testament to how
quickly civilization falls apart when the family foundation cracks." Quayle also
implied that Murphy Brown was not a worthy role-model and that her portrayal o f a
single mother would serve only to weaken the foundation of American society.

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me to view the particularities in the films, particularities that are there for all to see. I

will thus offer an interpretation different from traditional interpretations of these

films and their construction of single motherhood, thereby offering a message of

empowerment. In so doing, I hope to lend new insight to the rhetorical analysis of

film in such a way that scholars may find this approach useful as a way to examine

film.

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REFERENCES

Arbuthnot, Lucie & Gail Seneca. "Pre-Text and Text in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

Issues in Feminist Film Criticism. Ed. Patricia Erens. Bloomington: Indiana UP,

1990.112-125.

Babcock, Barbara A. The Reversible World: Symbolic Inversion in Art and Society.

Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1978.

Bagdikian, Ben H. The Media Monopoly. Boston: Beacon, 1997.

Benson, Thomas W. and Carolyn Anderson. Reality Fictions: The Films o f Frederick

Wiseman. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1989.

Bettleheim, Bruno. The Uses o f Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance o f Fairy

Tales. New York: Vintage, 1975.

Blonde Venus, dir. Joseph von Sternberg, with Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and

Cary Grant Paramount 1932.

Bryson, Ken and Lynne M. Casper. "Household and Family Characteristics: March

1997." U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Reports P20-509 (April 1998):

1-7.

Carson, Diane, Linda Dittmar, & Janice R. Welsch, eds. Multiple Voices in Feminist Film

Criticism. Minneapolis: U Minnesota P, 1994.

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 54

Cavell, Stanley. Pursuits o f Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy o f Remarriage.

Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1981.

Charland, Maurice. "Constitutive Rhetoric: The Case of the Peuple Quebecois."

Quarterly Journal o f Speech 73 (1987): 133-150.

Doane, Mary Ann. The Desire to Desire: The Woman's Film o f the 1940s. Bloomington:

Indiana UP, 1987.

Dow, Bonnie J. Prime Time Feminism: Television, Media Culture and the Women's

Movement Since 1970. Philadelphia: U Pennsylvania?, 1996.

—. "Hegemony, Feminist Criticism and The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Critical Studies in

Mass Communication 7(1990): 261-274.

Erens, Patricia. Issues in Feminist Film Criticism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1990.

Fischer, Lucy. Cinematemity: Film, Motherhood, Genre. Princeton: Princeton UP,

1996.

Fraser, Nancy. Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse, and Gender in Contemporary

Social Theory. Minneapolis: U Minnesota P, 1989.

Haskell, Molly. From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment o f Women in the Movies.

Chicago: U Chicago P, 1987.

Humm, Maggie. Feminism and Film. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1997.

Jacobs, Lea. The Wages o f Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1928-1942.

Berkeley: U California P, 1995.

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 55

Kaplan, E. Ann. Motherhood and Representation: The Mother in Popular Culture and

Melodrama. London: Routledge, 1992.

—. Women & Film: Both Sides o f the Camera. London: Routledge, 1983.

Mayne, Judith. Cinema and Spectatorship. New York: Routledge, 1993.

Mechling, Elizabeth Walker & Jay Mechling. "The Atom According to Disney."

Quarterly Journal o f Speech 81 (1995): 436-453.

Medhurst, Martin J. and Thomas W. Benson. "The City: The Rhetoric of Rhythm."

Communication Monographs 48 (March 1981):

Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1989.

—. "Afterthoughts on 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema1inspired by King Vidor's

Duel in the Sun (1946)." Visual and Other Pleasures. Bloomington: Indiana UP,

1989. 29-38.

—."Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Screen 16 (Autumn 1975): 6-19.

Nichols, Bill, ed. Movies and Methods. Berkeley: U California P, 1985.

Pribram, E. Deidre, ed. Female Spectators: Looking at Film and Television. London:

Verso, 1988.

Quayle, James Danforth. Remarks. Commonwealth Club of California. San Francisco.

19 May 1992.

Radner, Joan N. and Susan S. Lanser. "Strategies of Coding in Women's Cultures."

Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture. Ed. Joan Newlon Radner.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993. 1-30.

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 —. "Women in the Patriarchal Household." Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's

Folk Culture. Ed. Joan Newlon Radner. Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993. 31-35.

Radner, Joan Newlon, ed. Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993.

Ray, Robert B. A Certain Tendency o f the Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1980. Princeton:

Princeton UP, 1985.

Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts o f Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New

Haven: Yale UP, 1990.

Silverman, Kaja. The Subject o f Semiotics. New York: Oxford UP, 1983.

Studlar, Gaylyn. "Masochistic Performance and Female Subjectivity in Letterfrom an

Unknown Woman." Cinema Journal 33 (Spring 1994): 35-57.

—. In the Realm o f Pleasure: Von Sternberg, Dietrich, and the Masochistic Aesthetic.

New York: Columbia UP, 1988.

—. "MasochismandthePerversePleasuresoftheCinema." Movies and Methods. Ed.

Bill Nichols. Berkeley: U California P, 1985. 602-621.

Valdivia, Angharad N. "Clueless in Hollywood: Single Moms in Contemporary Family

Movies." Journal o f Communication Inquiry 22 (July 1998): 272-292.

Weiss, Andrea. "'A Queer Feeling When I Look at You': Hollywood Stars and Lesbian

Spectatorship in the 1930s." Multiple Voices in Feminist Film Criticism. Eds.

Diane Carson, Linda Dittmar, & Janice R. Welsch. Minneapolis: U Minnesota P,

1994. 330-342.

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 57

PART ONE:

SACRIFICE IS POWER

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C hapter 2

SACRIFICE IS POWER: READING APPLAUSE THROUGH THE LENSES OF

DISTRACTION AND JUXTAPOSITION

Applause (1929), the first of the "talkies," was released two weeks before the

stock market crash that launched the country into the Great Depression. The film's

importance lies not only in the fact that it ushered in the era of talking movies, but

also that it offered revolutionary film-making techniques created by and in support of

its director's creative vision. Moreover, this film was critically acclaimed due, in part,

not only to its technological advances, but also to the realism with which it depicts

the burlesque environment in which its mother acts. The film is an important

statement about the role of women (and of mothers) in American society during the

1920s.

Applause depicts sacrifice as power. Sacrifice is the vehicle by which the

film's mother claims her power. Sacrifice might be interpreted as victimization or

punishment, but I argue that because this mother chooses to sacrifice herself to

protect or provide for her daughter, her sacrifice empowers her. I will examine the

various ways that this mother sacrifices herself in an attempt to identify how she

claims agency and power that we might otherwise believe she is denied. Distraction

and juxtaposition will serve as the lenses through which I examine Applause. I will

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occasionally reference other strategies or lenses as they occur, but I argue that these

particular lenses offer an interpretation that celebrates maternal power and single

motherhood, even if sacrifice is the vehicle by which this occurs.

Distraction and juxtaposition serve as useful lenses through which to view

Applause because they reveal that aspects of the film appear as metaphors for

Christian doctrine. Throughout this analysis, I will demonstrate how the lens of

j uxtaposition enables the film's images to conjure the many celebrated images of the

Madonna and Child, as well as enable the film's mother to visually appropriate

masculine power. Additionally, maternal power remains largely unnoticed by

audiences who are not seeking a resistive interpretation, yet the lens of distraction

enables the spectator to recognize, understand, and celebrate maternal power within

the larger narrative.

Radner and Lanser describe distraction as "strategies that drown out or draw

attention away from the subversive power of a feminist message. Usually distraction

involves creating some kind of'noise,' interference, or obscurity that will keep the

message from being heard except by those who listen very carefully or already

suspect it is there" (15). Distraction may be visual or aural. Visual "noise" might

appear as a barrage of images that make it difficult to identify specifics, while noise

might occur aurally as loud music or background sound effects such as passing trains

and automobiles. When we re-focus the lens, we move beyond the distraction to

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images and words that subvert the dominant narrative and enable a resistive

interpretation.

According to Radner and Lanser juxtaposition refers to "the ironic arrangement

of text, artifacts, or performances. . . An item that in one environment seems

unremarkable or unambiguous may develop quite tendentious levels of meaning in

another" (13). Juxtaposition thus appears in a variety of forms, and may appear as a

metaphor. Although it is highly ambiguous and open to multiple interpretations, it

allows for a deeper understanding of a text. As a lens, juxtaposition enables the

viewer to read images resistively, to look beyond the surface and to glean meaning that

might otherwise be overlooked or obfuscated.

What follows is a brief discussion of the popular and scholarly criticism about

Applause. This is followed by a close analysis of the film through the lenses of

distraction and juxtaposition respectively, designed to illuminate the various forms of

sacrifice that ultimately empower the film's mother.

R e v ie w s a n d C r it ic is m

Rouben Mamoulian's 1929 film Applause, one of the early "talkies" was hailed

as the success of an already-established stage director's sojourn into cinema. The first

of Mamoulian's films, Applause offered him an opportunity to employ sound in a

manner not previously attempted, and to use lighting in a manner similar to German

Expressionist cinema. Mamoulian's cinematography offered viewers the opportunity

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to see the world as it really was, including scenes shot on the Brooklyn Bridge and

atop the Empire State Building. Additionally, Mamoulian employed stage actors in

an attempt to bring a sense of credibility to the screen and to offer the audience the

opportunity to "hear" actors with trained voices.

The popular reviews of the time, few of which are readily accessible, comment

on the aforementioned aspects of Applause. Even those reviews that were less than

enthusiastic about this film nevertheless comment on the quality of the actors and the

cinematography. Most reviewers, whether in support of or opposed to the film, were

impressed with the realistic depiction of the burlesque, both the on-stage production

and the back-stage atmosphere. The critic for Variety claimed, "This is the real old

burlesque, in its background, people and atmosphere. . . That street parade alone of

the burlesque show would have to pack the house. . . Nor will anyone ever see the

burlesque show of 1910 again except in Applause."1Similarly, James Shelly Hamilton,

the reviewer for Cinema, claimed:

It is the odyssey of a burlesque queen. . . It sounds a bit sordid, and in

spots a bit theatrical. It's not, really, in spite of the dingy theatres and

dingy rooms where Kitty Darling spent her days and nights, and in

spite of the sacrifice motif at the end. Because it rings true. . . The

sordidness of the burlesque life is somehow mellowed with a kind of

1This review appeared in the 9 October 1929 edition with no author indicated.

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humorous pathos-it has the faded yellowed glamour of old theatre

programs, evoking memories wistful and kindly. (36-37)

The realism that Mamoulian brought to the stage appears to be that quality most

attractive to critics and reviewers of the time.

Some critics opposed this film because of its melodramatic finale and claimed

that because Applause is not an original tale of mother-love and mother-sacrifice their

moviegoing experience was somewhat unpleasant. Other critics found it to be visually

cumbersome. Richard Watts, Jr., critic for The Film Mercury, protested that "The

story is nothing to cheer for and even those of us who are almost as enamoured as is

Mr. Mamoulian of mobile, subjective pictorial effects are likely to find the work too

much of an exercise in mannered technique for comfort, but, with all its faults, it does

suggest that its director . . . is destined to do great things for the photoplay" (6).

Similarly, the critic for The New York Times claimed, "Rouben Mamoulian, the

Theatre Guild director, rather lets his penchant for camera feats run away with

suspense. . . Mr. Mamoulian delights in swinging his camera back and forth and in

many instances he does so with a certain effect. . . In most cases, however, Mr.

Mamoulian commits the unpardonable sin of being far too extravagant"2

Regardless of the faults critics found with this film, they also found reason to

expect great things from Rouben Mamoulian. Indeed, Mamoulian is hailed as the first

2 This review appeared in the 8 October 1929 edition with no author indicated.

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director to break through the barriers of sound film. In his book Mamoulian, a survey

of Mamoulian's films, Tom Milne describes the making of Applause as a technical feat

of both movement and sound. Milne states, "The very opening sequence indicates

that Mamoulian was thinking in terms of movement rather than sound, and in terms of

cinema rather than theatre" (17). Mamoulian insisted on a "fluid camera which would

pan freely, as well as move in and out of a scene," and the camera frequently moves-

something with which audiences were unfamiliar, and possibly the reason behind

critics' complaints (25). Prior to this, films were shot with three cameras, two for

close-ups and one for long shots, that were then intercut during printing. Mamoulian

established camera techniques that were revolutionary in 1929, but that are

elementary today.

Milne also claims that Mamoulian broke the sound barrier by "insisting on

filming the scene [the bedtime scene with the mother's lullaby and daughter's prayer]

in one shot, with Helen Morgan's [the mother] lullaby and Joan Peers's [the daughter]

whispered prayer recorded simultaneously" (24). According to Milne, Mamoulian

insisted that the scene be filmed in one shot, with the use o f two microphones and

two channels to be combined during printing. This was the first film to employ this

technique, which is now a common practice.

Surprisingly, Milne's book is the only work to treat Mamoulian's films

exclusively despite the vast number o f films he directed. In fact, Applause is

infrequently mentioned in film studies o f this period. The Films o f the Twenties, a

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survey of both silent and talking films from this period, offers a brief discussion of

Applause, but focuses on the talents of the actors. Jerry Vermilye, the book's author,

claims, "With the advent of talking pictures, Hollywood producers went out of their

way to court Broadway stage veterans, not only for starring roles in movies, but also

as directors and dialogue coaches" (252). Vermilye does mention the visual effects of

this film. Instead, he focuses on the talents of the stage actors employed for this film

and on Mamoulian's theatre techniques that, he claims, were used to create the lifelike

atmosphere of the burlesque. Likewise, in American Silent Film, author William K.

Everson briefly discusses the transition to sound and briefly mentions Applause.

Everson states:

Representing the advance-guard of the new Hollywood, Rouben

Mamoulian, from the stage, tried imaginatively to weld picture and

sound creatively in Applause. He was not wholly successful.

Technique had not yet caught up with inspiration, and some of his

innovations, involving combined sound tracks, did not work smoothly.

Other ideas, especially some involved moving camera shots, were

sabotaged by crews that wanted to put this upstart in his place and

prove to him that what he asked for couldn't be done. Nevertheless,

despite technique which today calls attention to itself, Applause is a

major achievement—as important a film in 1929 as Welles' Citizen Kane

was in 1941. (345-346)

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This brief passage, the culmination of Everson's discussion of Applause, points to

what most critics and scholars find to be the importance o f this film. The technical

advances created by this film place it among the most important of early talking films.

But what of critical scholarly inquiry? Surprisingly, despite this film's importance,

little attention has been devoted to it.

Lucy Fischer's Cinematemity briefly mentions Applause in her Epilogue. She

states:

While there have been few female "auteurs" in the history of the

cinema, and even fewer who were parents, the film medium has often

dramatized the struggle of the artist-mother, reinforcing cultural

notions of the incongruity of maternity and creativity in women's lives.

Most often, this maternal figure has been imagined as a performer. . . .

the vaudeville dancer in Applause (1929)... Generally, the films in

which she appears have been directed by m en. . . In these works, the

conjunction of art and maternity has been seen as an unlikely, if not

impossible, scenario-one fraught with distress and failure. In

Applause, a stripper must exile her daughter to a convent school to

shield her from burlesque's sleazy atmosphere. (217-218)

Besides a few brief references to this film in other chapters, this is the culmination of

Fischer's critical inquiry into Applause. This is particularly surprising given the

attention Fischer pays to films from the early part o f this century. Unfortunately,

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there is no logical place for Applause in Fischer's discussion and so it is relegated to

the Epilogue.

There exists only one sustained scholarly discussion of Applause. In her book

Motherhood and Representation, Kaplan argues that Applause is resistive. According

to Kaplan:

The question of the film has to do first with the possibility for a

female discourse to prevail in the face of an overwhelming male one;

and second with what strategies woman is driven to as the lesser of

two evils in a situation where she is powerless.. . . I see the film as

"resisting" in part because it makes very clear issues of male power

over women; it insists on demonstrating that male discourse dominates,

and subordinates, the female one. (145-146).

Here, Kaplan illuminates the filmic power of this text; she claims that it illuminates

how male power is abused with regard to the control and domination of women.

Kaplan suggests "strategies" to which a woman is driven in situations where she is

powerless, but she fails to identify or articulate those strategies. Instead of focusing

on the actions of the film's mother, she focuses on the power of film to illuminate

social issues. This is a worthy endeavor, however I will take this insight one step

further to illuminate those discrete textual cues that empower the film's mother. What

follows is a close analysis of Applause to demonstrate how maternal sacrifice can be

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interpreted as maternal power, and how the film's mother appropriates power

visually through artifact and mise-en-scene.

APPLAUSE

Applause is an age-old tale of mother-love and mother-sacrifice. It is the tale

of Kitty Darling (Helen Morgan) and her attempts to successfully raise her daughter

and to provide her daughter with a normal life despite her burlesque surroundings.

Kitty's partner suggests that she send her five year old daughter to a convent and,

despite Kitty's misgivings, she complies. As a result, April (her daughter) has little, if

any, recollection about her mother's vocation. When, twelve years later, Kitty's

manager (and new lover) Hitch Nelson (Fuller Mellish) demands that Kitty bring

April (Joan Peers) home, Kitty resists. She eventually complies and April returns

home to discover that her mother's vocation is-to April-shameful and disgusting.

Hitch demands that April join the show, but Kitty refuses. Hitch withholds marriage

until Kitty complies, which she eventually does. One night after a show April meets

Tony (Henry Wadsworth), a nice sailor who rescues her from a hopeful john. Over

the next few days, Tony shows her around New York and they fall in love. April

takes Tony to meet her mother and to announce their engagement Kitty instantly

approves, sure that Tony will protect and take care o f her daughter. When Hitch

learns about April's engagement he tells Kitty that she is a fat old woman, that she is a

drunk, and that her only hope is for April to join the show. April overhears Hitch

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and, despite her hatred of the show business, tells Kitty that she will not marry

Tony. Kitty insists that April marry Tony and live a "normal" life. April chooses

instead to tell Tony that she does not love him and that she does not want to marry

him, and then returns to join Hitch's show. In the meantime, Kitty decides that the

only way to ensure her daughter's future is to commit suicide. When April does not

return to the hotel before the show, Kitty goes to the theatre to search for her. She

finds April and asks if she and Tony will marry. April says no. Hitch and the Stage

Manager accuse Kitty of being drunk and April confronts them and agrees to take

Kitty's place in the show. Kitty dies but nobody notices. April performs valiantly

but is unable to tolerate the leers and gestures from the audience and runs from the

stage where she finds Tony. She confesses that she loves him, but that she is worried

about Kitty. Tony offers to take Kitty with them and April is sure that the three o f

them will be together forever. Never, during the narrative, does April discover her

mother's death.

R e a d in g P o w e r t h r o u g h t h e L e n s o f D is t r a c t io n

As a lens, distraction enables the viewer to recognize aspects of the film that

may go otherwise unnoticed. According to Radner and Lanser," ... distraction

involves creating some kind of noise, interference, or obscurity that will keep the

message from being heard except by those who listen very carefully or already

suspect that it is there" (IS). Distraction as a lens provides the viewer with the

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 69

impetus to examine the noise, interference or obscurity to determine if a message has

gone unnoticed. The "noise" can be visual or aural, but the lens will help to uncover

the message that is lurking beneath.

We can read power through the lens of distraction almost from the beginning

of the film. In the film's second scene we see Kitty Darling perform with her partner

Joe King. The burlesque show business relies on women's objectification for its

success. Thus, we would assume that men possess the power insofar as women's

objectification is used by men for their own erotic pleasure. Despite her

objectification, Kitty possesses power. The burlesque environment is predicated

upon women's ability to fulfill men's desires. But the burlesque performers control

men's desires through their actions. In this world, women have power and men are

powerless. In this world, women can fulfill or deny men's expectations. Indeed,

Kitty appears as if she enjoys the performance (Figures 2.1 & 2.2). We do not

Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2

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recognize the power she possesses by virtue of her position on stage because the

performance distracts us from recognizing that Kitty appears to enjoy her career and

the power she appropriates by controlling both the audience's gaze and their desire.

After Kitty's performance she receives news that her husband is to be

executed and subsequently gives birth backstage while the show continues. The

narrative then jumps ahead five years to reveal Kitty teaching her daughter April to

dance. Joe enters and gives April some beads. He then talks to Kitty about April and

the burlesque environment.

JOE Listen Kitty, I've been thinking a lot lately about you. What you two need
is a man like me to take care of you.
KITTY: Kitty Darling don't need any man to take care of her! Ain't she gettin'along
pretty well without one now?
JOE: If you'd leave it to me I'd buy a cozy little home some place for you and the
kid where she could grow up right.
KITTY: A home for me, eh? You want moss growin' on me I suppose? No Mr.
King, I got plans. I'm headed straight for Broadway, the big time!
JOE: No foolin, Kitty, the kid deserves a better break. Why this burlesque racket
is no place for her.
KITTY: I can take plenty care of her, thanks.
JOE: Yeah, I know. But she's gening to the age where she's Ieamin' things
whether you like it or not. Why last night I overheard her trying' to tell the
one that the girls brought back from the Elk's banquet. (He turns toward
April). Look. Look! (The camera reveals April looking in the mirror and
applying makeup) You see what I mean?
KITTY: yes. Maybe you're right. But still, what can I do?
JOE: Listen, I got a cousin that sent her kid to a nice schoolin Wisconsin-a
convent.
KITTY: Send April away from me?!
JOE: The Blessed Heart. She said it was great.
KITTY: Oh no, Joe. I couldn't. I couldn't! I'd die!
JOE: It's for her own good, Kitty, honest. She'd get an education. Grow up in a
nice place, not in some lousy burlesque theatre. No sleeper jumps, and
none of those small town johns hanging around at night. And there'd be
sisters there to teach her the Word of God. And she'd grow up in a nice
place, grow up to be a lady. Not a cheap little tart. You want April to be a
lady, don't you?
KITTY: You bet she's gonna be a lady! I got plans for her.
JOE: Then you better send her to that convent.
KITTY: Maybe I will. Maybe I will.

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 71

Here, the dialogue indicates that Joe posses the power. And in many ways he

does. However, his concern distracts us from recognizing that Kitty shuns his offer

to take care of them. She claims that she does not need a man and that she can take

care of her daughter. In fact, Joe agrees that Kitty is capable of raising April. His

concern is for the environment in which she is raised. Ultimately, the choice is

Kitty's. Therefore, she retains power both in her relationship with Joe and her

daughter.

The dialogue also distracts us from recognizing the images that appear before

us. During their discussion, Joe sits on the piano bench while Kitty sits on the piano

keys. She therefore appropriates power visually by virtue o f her placement within

the frame and in relation to Joe. More important, are the images of Kitty and April

when Joe suggests that Kitty send April away. Kitty sits with April, holding her

closely (Figure 2.3). The image symbolically conjures the many images of the

Figure 2.3

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 72

Madonna holding the Christ child. Again, the mother-child relationship appears

purified by this metaphor, and the image acts as a metaphor for Christian purity and

Christian morals.

The Christian metaphor is further reinforced through images of Kitty and

April in relation to Joe's discussion of the convent. While he discusses the virtues of

learning the "Word of God," April plays with the beads given to her by Joe. The

camera slowly zooms in to reveal that the beads with which April plays are a rosary

Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5

(Figures 2.4 & 2.5). As the camera zooms in to focus on the rosary, the image

dissolves to a continuity shot of the rosary, this time in the hands of April at the

convent as the Mother Superior teaches her the prayers that accompany the various

beads of the rosary. The image of April at the convent, sitting with the Mother

Superior in front o f a statue o f the Blessed Mother solidifies the Christian metaphor

that defines the mother-daughter relationship that Kitty and April share.

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 73

The lens of distraction helps us understand this scene further in terms of

maternal power. The image of Kitty teaching April to dance trivializes their

relationship, thereby distracting us from recognizing her maternal/paternal power

(Figure 2.6). Because Kitty is a burlesque performer, she does not have much social

Figure 2.6

power. The interaction we see between Kitty and April reinforces Kitty's low social

standing, reinforced by their costumes and their living quarters-a hotel room.

However, Kitty appropriates masculine power by virtue of her standing in this

family. There is no father, nor will there be a father-figure as we discover when Kitty

shuns Joe. Therefore, Kitty simultaneously possesses maternal and paternal power

by virtue of the father's absence, power that is buffered by the image of the burlesque

performer teaching her daughter to follow in her footsteps.

After the image of April at the convent, the narrative jumps ahead twelve

years. Kitty lays on the floor of her hotel room, surrounded by keepsakes. While she

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 74

reads a letter from April she sings "What Wouldn't I do for that Man." The words of

the song distract us from recognizing that Kitty has financially maintained April's

attendance in the convent and that she continues to cherish her relationship with April

despite the distance between them. Kitty finishes reading April's letter and picks up

a photo of Hitch Nelson, her new manager and lover, as she completes her song. As

Kitty holds Hitch's photo closely the frame splits to reveal Hitch in the arms of

another burlesque performer. Hitch exits the room and runs down the hall to Kitty's

room. He asks Kitty about the keepsakes and pauses to look at a picture of April.

When he realizes that April is Kitty's daughter he is furious.

HITCH: Ah, you been holding out on me. Shut up! You're all alike, just a lot of
dirty double-crossing broads. How old's the kid?
KITTY: Seventeen.
HITCH. Where's she at?
KITTY: In school. In a convent.
HITCH: That’s a laugh. What for?
KITTY: I got plans for her. I want her to have an education.
HITCH: Yeah, but I always thought those joints were so expensive.
KITTY: Well I manage to round up the coin every month.
HITCH: Oh, now that's where all your spare cash goes! No wonder you didn't have
the hundred bucks to loan me Monday.
KITTY: When I do have it to loan whaddya do with it? Drop it in some bookie's
lap!
HITCH: Weil I'm' not thinkin' of myself so much, see. But you oughta be saltin'
your dough away. Oh, you got a great career, but it takes plenty ofjack as
well as talent to make the grade.
KITTY: Ah, I got plenty of both, I guess.

Kitty then asks about the number she and Hitch have been preparing for the show.

He insists that it will cost more money than she has. When she mentions the ring she

gave him he is enraged. He threatens to walk out and begins to gather his belongings.

Kitty begs him to stay.

HITCH: Ah listen. When we made our bargain it was gonna be fifty-fifty and no
holding out on each other, right? Well, now what? I find out you got a

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 75

kid seventeen you been blowin' your dough on. Dough we need for
ourselves, for our future, for your career.
KITTY: But Hitch, what can I do? She's my daughter, ain't she?
HITCH: HI tell you what you can do. You don't have to keep her in some
expensive dump like that, do you? Now get the kid down here!
KITTY: Take her out of school?
HITCH: Yeah, make her go to work. She's old enough.
KITTY: Oh, Hitch, I wanna keep my baby outa the show business.
HITCH: OK, Kitty, that's my answer.
KITTY: Hitch, wait a second. Give me time to think.
HITCH: There ain't nothin' to think about. Now it's her or me, that's final.
KITTY: All right, all right, if you think that's the right thing to do.
HITCH: Why sure h is, babe. It’s time you did somethin' for yourself instead of
dishin out the gravy for someone else like you do.
KITTY: One thing though. Hitch. She ain’t going into show business. Ill get her a
job outside some place.
HITCH: OK, Kitty, just as long as she holds up her own end. Now you sit right
down over there and write her a little letter.
KITTY: Now Hitch, don't get cross with me but. . . don't you think we oughta
think this over a little? Honest, the way you rush me into things,
sometimes I . . .
HITCH: Will you just stop fiissin' and write to her? Now you been savin' and
scrimpin' all your life to keep this jane in school. Now it's her turn to do
somethin' for you. Help you put away a little money for a rainy day, right?
KITTY: I dont know.
HITCH: Plus you've got a great career, babes.She oughta be proud tohelp you,
proud to be Kitty Darling's daughter, right?
KITTY: You think so?
HITCH: Why I know so. She ain't as goodlooking as her ma, but... maybe she
takes after her old man. Still, you can depend on me, Kitty baby, to treat
her right for your sake. Why well just be one big happy family. On big
happy family.

Again, the dialogue indicates that Hitch dominates this relationship. He convinces

Kitty to act against her will, pressuring her to make a decision she knows she does not

want to make. Nevertheless, she complies with Hitch's request and writes the letter.

The dialogue distracts us from recognizing that Kitty nevertheless retains power

within the mother-child relationship. Hitch can demand whatever he wants, but the

final decision rests with Kitty. She has the power to write, or not write the letter to

the convent O f course, she chooses to write the letter, but she recognizes that it is

not the best choice. Even though she complies with Hitch's demand to bring April

home, she also retains power by insisting that April not work in show business. Her

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 76

insistence reinforces her maternal power, and indicates that she intends to maintain

her daughter's purity and innocence.

When April arrives at her mother’s hotel in New York the clerk tells her to

wait in Kitty's room. An onlooker talks to her about what a wonderful performer her

mother is, especially her skill in dancing and "strip teasing." April admits that she

does not remember anything about the stage show because she has not seen it since

she was five years old. He arranges for his brother to escort Kitty to her mother's

performance. April arrives at the theatre and recognizes that she is the only woman in

the audience. When Kitty takes the stage the men in the audience claim that "she’s all

washed up," but they nevertheless cheer for her. What follows are many quick shot-

reverse shots between the faces of the girls and the faces of the men as they sweat and

drool. April’s spirits fall when she realizes the nature of her mother's career,

something Kitty had hidden from her in an attempt to protect her. April asks to leave

and her escort takes her backstage.

This scene is best viewed through the lens of distraction because the spectacle

of the performance distracts us from recognizing Kitty's-and the other performers'-

power. We see April's disgust, but we fail to see the virtue in Kitty's actions. The

burlesque performance trivializes the power Kitty possess when she is on-stage.

What we see is disgust and dismay. And yet Kitty's performances, as mentioned

earlier, allow Kitty the power to control men's gaze and men's desire. Kitty is clearly

the object of men's desire in this performance, but she is also the subject; she has the

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 77

power to grant or deny their pleasure. Moreover, Kitty appropriates a masculine

power by virtue of the stage. When the camera cuts to a reverse angle-behind the

performers, looking out into the audience-we might notice that the stage and its

walkway mirror the phallus (Figure 2.7) as it juts out into the audience. Kitty and the

Figure 2.7

girls stand on-stage and look out over the phallus, as if they control it and the erotic

pleasure associated with it. During the performance they walk around the edges of it,

and down to the tip. We do not notice this, because we are distracted by their strip­

tease and the audience's reaction to it. Nevertheless, the phallic image-and the Kitty's

control o f it-enables her to symbolically appropriate masculine power at the same

time that she uses her feminine power to control the audience's gaze.

When April meets her mother backstage she and Kitty embrace tightly.

Disgust and dismay give way to joy and love. The joy of this reunion scene

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 78

illustrates the power of the mother-daughter bond, and reinforces Kitty's position

within this family. The reunion is very sweet Kitty introduces April to Hitch, then

runs on-stage for her final number. April watches Kitty's performance through the

drop, while Hitch tries to convince April to join the show. Throughout their

conversation we see only the back of April’s head, while we see a medium-close shot

Figure 2.8 Figure 2.9

of Hitch, suggesting that he possesses the power. Throughout the scene, however,

Kitty's silhouette dominates the center of the frame indicating that, in fact, she

possesses power in the triad even in her physical absence (Figures 2.8 & 2.9). Kitty's

silhouette randomly moves in and out of focus, but it nevertheless dominates the

scene and fills most of the center of the frame. Thus, Kitty visually appropriates

power throughout the scene, and her power is enhanced repeatedly through

thecamera's focus. We do not recognize her power because her silhouette and its

performance distract us from Kitty’s power, just as the conversation between Hitch

and April distracts us. Kitty is in silhouette, so we shift our focus to April and Hitch

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 79

despite the fact that Kitty's image dominates the scene. The lens of distraction,

however, enables us to recognize and celebrate Kitty's power.

Back at the hotel, Kitty sings April a lullaby. The room is dark except for a

small table lamp, a flashing sign outside the window, and a small wall sconce near the

headboard that illuminates April's white nightgown.

KITTY: Why don't you try to get to sleep, precious?

APRIL: I can't.
KITTY: You oughta be plenty tired after your trop and all. (Turns off table lamp)
APRIL: Oh, I'm tired enough but, I don't know, I feel funny. All mixed up inside.
KITTY: (Crosses to the bed) Why, precious? What's the matter? Tell mother
what's the maner?
APRIL: Everything’s so different from what I thought it would be.
KITTY: Well sure, you ain't in the convent anymore, but ain't you glad to be back
with me again?
APRIL: (Sits up and hugs Kitty) Yes, mommy darling, but. . . oh, I don't know
how to describe it. But New York’s so big, dirty, and noisy, and your
singing with all those men, and the girls with no clothes on.
KITTY: Oh, I suppose it didn't seem clear to you coming from a place where they
cover up everything but their noses. But things ain't as bad as that. It ain't
what you do so much, it’s what you are. That’s it, it’s what you are. Why,
there's a couple of dames in this coop as good as you'd ever expea to see
even if they do make their living shaldn'. I ain't ashamed of it. You
shouldn't be ashamed of me either.
APRIL: Aw, mommy. I'm not ashamed of you. (Lays her head on Kitty’s lap and
cries)
KITTY: La me tell you something, April baby. If it wasn't for the dough IVe been
piling up that way the last ten or twelve years you would never been to no
convent.
APRIL: I know. I know, that's what I've been thinking. I'mjust beginning to
realize that. All these things you've gone through and I never knew.
Dancing with those girls. Horrible men staring at you, saying awful things.
KITTY: Aw, how don't you think I'mgonna be in this burlesque racka all my life,
neither Just one more scene, and my name is on Broadway, in lights.
And the big dough. And then we'll have a nice little home. And well be
together and be happy.
APRIL: Oh mommy. You've done so much to make me happy. From now on HI
try and make you just as happy.
KITTY: Oh, pooh. I ain't done nothin'. But we got each other now and it's gonna
be for always.
APRIL: yes, always. And well be so happy togaher. Just you and I.
KITTY: You said it. After all, look, things cant be all bad as long as we got each
other. And dont you forget that. Now you go to sleep now.

Kitty again sings the lullaby while April recites the rosary in perhaps the most

famous scene o f the film. This scene reveals a defiance in this mother that enables her

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 80

to maintain the power that Hitch -and the other men around her—so desperately want

to deny her. Kitty is a single mother capable of providing her for her daughter. She

may be uneducated, but she understands the virtue of family and of pride and self-

respect. We also know that she is, and has been, a capable provider for her daughter

regardless of her career and that her success provided the means for April to attend

the convent. April realizes that Kitty sacrificed herself for her daughter, and vows to

sacrifice herself for her mother. We recognize Kitty's power in this scene, despite the

fact that April initially feels "all mixed up inside." What we might not recognize is the

Christian metaphor that has been evoked so many times before. The room is dark

except for the small wall sconce that illuminates April's and Kitty’s nightgowns. The

white of their nightgowns in the midst of the darkness and lust that is the burlesque

environment suggests the purity that has defined this mother-child relationship from

the beginning. April is older, but the image of the Madonna and child is once again

Figure 2.10

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 SI

evoked as April and Kitty gaze into each other’s eyes. The Christian metaphor is

further enhanced when April recites the rosary as Kitty sings her lullaby, and the

curlers in Kitty's hair resemble the crown o f thorns that Christ wore during his

crucifixion (Figure 2.10).

Distraction proves useful for recognizing subversive messages that might

otherwise go unnoticed, yet it does not reveal the full resistive potential of Applause.

Clearly, there are scenes in which distraction allows Kitty to visually appropriate

masculine power. In addition, the lens of distraction enables the viewer to recognize

and understand images that metaphorically evoke Christian lore. Yet Kitty

appropriates masculine power in a variety of ways and as the result of artifacts and

performances that might otherwise go unnoticed. That said, let us now turn to an

examination of power as seen through the lens of juxtaposition.

R e a d in g P o w e r t h r o u g h t h e L e n s o f J u x t a p o s it io n

Juxtaposition is understood as "the ironic arrangement of text, artifacts, or

performances . . . An item that in one environment seems unremarkable or

unambiguous may develop quite tendentious levels of meaning in another" (13).

Juxtaposition appears in a variety of forms, and sometimes appears as a metaphor. It

is highly ambiguous and open to multiple interpretations, however it allows for a

deeper understanding o f a text As a lens, juxtaposition enables the viewer to read

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 82

images resistively, to look beyond the surface and to glean meaning that might

otherwise be overlooked or obfuscated.

Figure 2.11

After Kitty's first performance, she receives notice that her husband will be

executed. She passes out and then gives birth backstage as the burlesque show

continues (Figure 2.11). The troupe exits the stage to find Kitty lying on a settee and

file in to congratulate her. The birthing scene reminds the viewer of the Christian

manger scene, thereby establishing the "purity" of the child and the mother-child

relationship, and suggesting that motherhood enables power. Moreover, Kitty is shot

from above, with all focus directed at her. She is the center of the image around which

all action takes place, and so visually dominates the scene. She thus appropriates

power visually as well as metaphorically.

Another appropriate scene for using the lens of juxtaposition is the scene

during which Hitch demands that Kitty bring April home from the convent. During a

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 majority of the scene, we see only Hitch’s shadow on the wall, looming over Kitty

while she sits in a chair near the wall. The words that Hitch uses, his gestures and his

tone of voice indicate that he is in a position of power. In fact, his image dominates

the scene while Kitty's head is pushed to the bottom right comer of the frame. Of

course, Kitty's image is real, whereas Hitch's is surreal; that is, because we only see

Hitch's shadow, we ascribe power to Kitty because she is real. Moreover, Hitch's

gestures consist primarily o f pointing. The shadow of his hand points continually to

a photo of Kitty on the w all-a performance photo. Therefore, our attention is

directed to the photo, and we are able to recognize that this woman has single-

handedly provided a quality of life for her child that is far better than the burlesque

environment into which she was bom. Because we focus on the photo, Kitty posses

power in the image despite the manner in which Hitch's shadow looms over her. As a

lens, juxtaposition enables us to recognize the power inherent in focus, just as focus

enhances Kitty's power when she is on stage. Our focus on Kitty's photo enables

Kitty to retain power in a scene that is dominated by a demeaning and belittling

dialogue. This is not the only scene in which juxtaposition reveals the ironic use of

photographs.

Despite Kitty's insistence otherwise, Hitch convinces her to make April join

the show. Of course, April hates the burlesque, and refuses to show the energy or

enthusiasm that Hitch wants. This results in several instances o f attempted sexual

molestation wherein Hitch jeopardizes April's purity. On one occasion Hitch claims,

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 84

"Maybe a good maulin' would do you good for a change. The 'touch-me-not' stuffs

beginnin' to give me a big pain in the neck." He never succeeds in breaking April.

When April and Tony share news of their engagement with Kitty she instantly

consents. They make arrangements to dine together and Tony leaves, passing Hitch

in the hall. When Hitch discovers that Kitty has granted permission for April to

marry Tony he tells Kitty that April is her only hope for continued financial stability,

and recommends that Kitty quit.

KITTY: Quit what?

HITCH: Ah, the show business. Can't you see you're all washed up?
KITTY: Why you mind . . .
HITCH: Why? Wbat've you got left to give 'em? You been in it for twenty years,
why kid yourself? You're not (addin' anybody else.
KITTY: You mind your own business! I’m not letting any cheap comic tell me how
to run my affairs.
HITCH: Cheap comic, eh? Well listen, if it hadn't been for me tellin' you how to
run your affairs you'd of been through long ago. Why, you're a joke.
You’re just a fat old woman. Look at yourselfin the mirror there. Look at
that neck. Look at them wrinkles. You better get wise to yourselfand
figure out where the coffee and cake money's comin from next season. Right
in that next room there's your meal ticket from now on. And you lettin* her
marry some dope from the Brooklyn NAVY, huh? Right when you need
her the most.
KITTY: She's gonna many him too, if I have to buy a tin cup and sell pencils on
Broadway.
HITCH: Yeah, well not after I have a talk to her tonight.
KITTY: If you dare open your trap to her tonight we're through!
HITCH: I'm fired, eh? Well you're wrong. I quit, see. So whaddya you think of
that? I'm sick of seein' you around here. I guess I got everything out of
you I wanted, babes. I got plans, and they don't include any old blondes.

Kitty chases Hitch out of the room, threatening to kill him. Again, the lens of

juxtaposition proves useful for interpreting and understanding this scene. The scene

appears to be dominated by Hitch's demeaning and belittling dialogue. This time he

does not succeed. Kitty refuses to accept his insults, despite the fact that she knows

much of what he says is true. Importantly, we fail to recognize Kitty’s power

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 85

because we are distracted by the dialogue. In fact, Kitty dominates the scene in

several ways. First, the camera focuses on Kitty through much of Hitch's comments.

When the camera focuses elsewhere, it focuses on a photo of Kitty that is placed on a

table in front of the action that takes place behind it. Thus, despite the fact that the

dialogue belittles and demeans-seemingly stripping Kitty of her power-Kitty

visually appropriates and maintains power throughout the scene. Although the

camera often focuses on the action taking place between Kitty and Hitch, the

photograph remains in the forefront, dominating the frame and ascribing power that

the dialogue might otherwise take away (Figure 2.12).

Figure 2.12

April overhears the argument and swears she will not marry Tony so that she

can stay and provide for her mother. Kitty insists that April marry Tony, and makes

April promise to "fix it up." April agrees, but it is obvious that she desperately

wants to save her mother’s now tarnished reputation. That night, as April and Tony

dine, she tells him that she does not want to marry him and that she wants to fulfill

her career desires in "the show business." Tony refuses to believe her, but she insists.

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 86

He decides to re-enlist in the NAVY and she offers to walk him to the subway

station. Meanwhile, at the hotel, Kitty plans to commit suicide. She mixes poison

with water and drinks it. She then sits in her chair, looks at the clock-it is 7:57 p.m.--

Figure2.13

and happily waits to die, sure that she has finally succeeded in freeing April from the

burlesque environment (Figure 2.13). She awaits April's return, smiling peacefully.

When she hears the sirens and bells that announce the beginning of the show, she

panics. She looks out the window and cries for April who has not returned home

with the good news of her marriage. She grabs her coat and departs for the theatre.

Backstage, the girls run down the stairs toward the stage. Kitty enters and

desperately searches for April. April rushes to Kitty and asks what is the matter.

April escorts Kitty to the settee—the same on which April was bom-and tells her to

lay down (Figure 2.14). Kitty asks if April and Tony will be married, but April says

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 Figure 2.14

she sent Tony back to the ship. Upset, Kitty begins to convulse, while Hitch and the

Stage Manager enter the room and accuse Kitty of being "soaked in gin." April

confronts the men and resolves to take Kitty's place. During their argument Kitty

dies (Figure 2.15). Nobody notices.

Figure 2.15

This scene, too, is best viewed through the lens of distraction since the images,

however unambiguous, actually reveal deeper meaning when examined closely.

Kitty's act of maternal sacrifice again invokes Christian symbolism. Kitty's death is a

metaphor for Christian absolution. In her darkest hour Kitty sacrifices herself so that

her daughter might have the life she could never provide. This sacrifice, like Christ's,

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 88

absolves her child's sins so that she may live a moral life. Just as Christ died for his

people's sins, so Kitty dies for her daughter's sins-sins that April committed in an

effort to protect her mother. April's sins consist of lying to Tony so that she could

take her mother's place in the show and care for Kitty in her old age. Her sins consist

of dancing on stage and evoking the lust and desire of the men in the audience. Her

sins consist of being ashamed of her mother and her mother's career. Kitty assumes

her daughter's sins and through her death cleanses April's soul so that she can move on

with her life. Moreover, Kitty's decision to kill herself ensures that her daughter is

freed from Hitch's demands. Kitty thereby assumes full control over her life, as well

as her daughter’s. She appropriates Hitch's power and uses it to her (and by default

her daughter's) advantage.

In an effort so save her mother's reputation, April assumes her role in the

show and performs valiantly. When the number is over she exits the stage, visibly

upset, but returns to the stage for an encore. Unable to handle the situation-the

glares and cat calls from the audience--she runs offstage. Hitch intercepts her and

demands that she return, but she refuses. AS she walks backstage she sees Tony. She

runs to him and asks him to take her away "from this terrible place." April confesses

that she hates the stage and that she never wants to see the stage again.

TONY: You know, I had a hunch you weren't telling me the truth. Now come on,
what’s it all about?
APRIL: It's mother. Tony, I can't go away and leave her now. She's sick. She
needs a rest.
TONY: Well let her come with us. That'll be swelL Come on, let's go in and talk
to her. I bet I can make her see it our way.

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 89

APRIL: It'll be wonderful. It sure would. Then we’ll always be together. Forever.
All together. All three of us.

The importance of this scene rests not with the dialogue, but with the image.

Still, April is not aware of her mother's death. Instead, she and Tony arrange to take

care of her in her old age. Their conversation occurs while standing in front of Kitty's

Figure 2.16 Figure 2.17

poster. As their conversation progresses the camera slowly zooms in to the poster

image of Kitty so that the final image we are left with is Kitty's (Figure 2.16 & 2.17).

Admittedly, Kitty's insistence that April marry Tony reinforces tradition-the

tradition of marriage. And yet, for Kitty tradition is the burlesque. Kitty thus rejects

tradition as she knows it, but also implicitly challenges dominant societal beliefs.

Kitty appropriates power through her actions and simultaneously allows April to act

on her own behalf. In so doing, Kitty challenges dominant societal beliefs without

calling attention to her actions. Kitty symbolically inverts tradition (marriage),

however, by her dominance of the film's final frames. When April and Tony are

reunited they embrace in front of Kitty's poster. Kitty thus maintains power in this

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 90

triad, despite the fact that we focus on April and Tony's reunion. Then, ever so

slowly, the camera zooms in and we are left, in the final frame, with Kitty's image.

Even in death, Kitty maintains the power she possessed all along. Even in death,

Kitty challenges tradition. Even in death, Kitty lives.

C o n c l u s io n

Applause is a tale of mother-love and matemal-sacrifice. It is an age-old tale

that has been told and retold in many forms. To the unsuspecting, this is a film of

maternal sacrifice intended to uphold patriarchal tradition. However, when we re­

focus the lens the film reveals maternal power. We first see Kitty Darling as she is

introduced during a parade, surrounded by pomp and circumstance. We then see her

performance in which she appears to enjoy being a spectacle and controlling the

audience's gaze. Kitty gives birth immediately after receiving notification that her

husband will be executed. Five years later, we discover that April has begun to learn

things that no child should, and she is subsequently sent to a convent Twelve years

later April returns from the convent. She has no memory of the burlesque and is

disheartened when she discovers her mother's vocation. Kitty tells her that "it ain't

what you do, if s who you are." Despite Kitty's misgivings, Hitch convinces her to

make April join the show. April detests the burlesque, and so her performances are

less than enthusiastic. She meets Tony, a sailor from the Brooklyn NAVY, and &lls

in love. When Hitch discovers that April plans to marry, he tells Kitty that she is a

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 91

"fat old woman" and that her only hope for financial security is for April to take her

place in the show. Kitty threatens to end the relationship, but Hitch takes the lead

and ends it first. April overhears the argument and resolves to call off the wedding so

that she can care for Kitty. Kitty insists that April marry Tony and makes her

promise to "fix it up." April promises, and fixes it up by telling Tony that she can

not marry him. All the while, Kitty commits suicide by mixing poison with water and

drinking it She awaits April's return and her good news, but when April does not

return she goes to the theatre. She finds April and asks if they will marry, but April

says she sent Tony back to the ship. Kitty begins to convulse. Hitch and the Stage

Manager accuse her of being "soaked in gin." April protests and confronts their lack

of compassion but they scoff. April resolves to take Kitty's place in order to save her

reputation, and performs valiantly on stage. Nobody notices that Kitty dies. When

April can no longer tolerate the performance she runs off stage and sees Tony. She

rushes to his arms and confesses that she hates the burlesque. She admits that she is

concerned about her mother, and Tony offers to take Kitty with them. They embrace

under Kitty's poster and we are left with one final image: Kitty Darling.

Applause depicts a mother who is repeatedly manipulated by the men in her

life and who makes a career of objectification. The lenses of distraction and

juxtaposition enable us to illuminate the subversive images that ultimately empower

her. The lens of distraction reveals many instances during which Kitty visually

appropriates power. First, she appropriates power as she controls the audience's

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gaze on stage. Here, she has the power to grant or deny pleasure. She also

appropriates masculine power by virtue of the stage. The stage mirrors the phallus,

thereby ascribes masculine power to Kitty: the star, the woman who controls the

stage. Next, she appropriates power visually when she dominates the frame during

the scene in which Hitch attempts to convince April to join the show business. Her

silhouette moves in and out o f focus, yet she dominates the frame and thereby

assumes power in this triad. Finally, Kitty appropriates power through the image of

the Madonna and child. The Madonna is considered by many to be the ideal woman;

she and God created Christ, therefore her purity and virtue are unquestioned. Kitty's

purity is questioned repeatedly throughout the film, but the film's images invoke

Christian lore such that her relationship with April appears to be blessed.

The lens of juxtaposition also reveals several instances during which images of

Kitty-photographs, posters—ascribe power to her that the dialogue denies. When

Hitch discovers that Kitty has a daughter his shadow looms over her, but his

shadowed hand points repeatedly to a photograph of Kitty that hangs on the wall.

When Hitch and Kitty argue about April's impending marriage, a photograph of Kitty

dominates the frame while the action takes place behind it. Finally, when April and

Tony are reunited at film's end they embrace in front of a larger-than-life poster of

Kitty. As they embrace cheek-to-cheek, the camera slowly zooms in so that the last

image we see, the image with which we are left, is Kitty's.

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 Moreover, the lenses of distraction and juxtaposition enable the film to depict

single motherhood-and the mother-daughter relationship-as representative of, and

supported by, traditional Christian values. The birth scene invokes Christ's birth; just

as Christ was bom without the comforts typically provided to women, Kitty gives

birth to April backstage on a settee. Just as Christ was laid in a manger, April sleeps

in what appears to be a manger. Later, Kitty sends April to a convent, a move

intended to instill Christian values in her. After April's return, while Kitty tries to

sing April to sleep, April recites the rosary. In this scene, as illustrated earlier, Kitty

and April are surrounded by darkness--the evil of lust and sin typical of the

burlesque-but are bathed in light as if a light from heaven shines upon them. They

wear white as well~a symbol of purity. After Kitty poisons herself, when she awaits

April's return, she is again surrounded by darkness but bathed in light. Just as Christ

sacrificed himself for his "children," Kitty sacrifices herself for her child. Just as

Christ's sacrifice was blessed by God, so to does Kitty's appear to be. Finally, just as

Christ arose from the dead and lives eternally, so too does Kitty symbolically arise

from the dead. In the final scene, during which we see April and Tony's embrace,

Kitty's image looms over them. In the final frames o f the film we see only Kitty's

image. Like Christ, Kitty lives etemally-through the image on her poster. This film

acts as a metaphor for sacrifice as power. Just as Christ’s sacrifice empowered him

and allowed him to rise to sit at the right hand of the Father, Kitty's sacrifice

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 94

empowers her. She does not rise to sit at the right hand of the Father, but she rises to

power as her image looms over April and Tony.

Applause depicts sacrifice as power. Sacrifice could be interpreted as

victimization or punishment, but I believe my analysis demonstrates that because this

mother chooses to sacrifice herself to protect and provide for her daughter, her

sacrifice empowers her. Throughout motherhood, Kitty has repeatedly sacrificed

herself. Her sacrifice is well-intentioned. Suicide is not looked upon favorably by the

church, but sacrifice for the good of others is. Sacrifice is the vehicle by which Kitty

claims her power. Despite repeated attempts to deny her, Kitty has accomplished

something quite remarkable: she has chosen to sacrifice herself for her daughter's

happiness, and sacrifice is power.

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 95

REFERENCES

Applause, dir. Rouben Mamoulian, with Helen Morgan, Fuller Mellish and Joan Peers.

Paramount, 1929.

"Applause." Variety (9 Oct 1929): 31.

Everson, William K. American Silent Film. New York: Oxford UP, 1978.

Fischer, Lucy. Cinematemity: Film, Motherhood, Genre. Princeton: Princeton UP,

1996.

Hamilton, James Shelley. "Applause." Cinema 1 (April 1930): 36-37.

Kaplan, E. Ann. Motherhood and Representation: The Mother in Popular Culture and

Melodrama. London: Routledge, 1992.

Radner, Joan N. and Susan S. Lanser. "Strategies of Coding in Women's Cultures."

Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture. Ed. Joan Newlon Radner.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993. 1-30.

Radner, Joan Newlon, ed. Feminist Messages: Coding in Women’s Folk Culture.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993.

"The Burlesque Queen." The Mew York Times (8 Oct 1929): 24.

The New York Times. (8 Oct 1929)

Variety. (9 Oct 1929).

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 96

Vermilye, Jerry. The Films o f the Twenties. Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press, 1985.

Watts, Richard Jr. "Applause." The Film Mercury 10(1 Nov 1929): 6.

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 97

C h a pter 3

SACRIFICE IS POWER D: READING IMITATION OF LIFE THROUGH THE

LENSES OF TRIVTALIZATION AND APPROPRIATION

Imitation o f Life (1934) was released during the Depression and was subject to

strict enforcement of the production code. According to the American Film Institute,

the film's director continued production despite the fact that Joseph Breen, director of

the AMPP, refused to approve the script because of the "racial question."1 The film's

director, John StahL, persisted and the film eventually received approval from censors.

The film went on to receive popular and critical acclaim, and was nominated for three

Academy Awards including Best Picture.

The film is the tale of two widows, one white and one black, who meet by

chance, become friends, and build a successful multi-million dollar business together.

The film offers two distinct narratives that are intertwined and that mutually influence

each other. This analysis will focus primarily on the narrative that deals with Bea

1 This information was obtained from the American Film Institute Catalog, "Feature
Films, 1931-1940," p 1013. According to the catalog, "Although by 17 Jul the
picture had been shooting for two weeks, Breen continued to refuse to approve the
script, stating that 'it is our conviction that any picture which raises and elaborates
such an inflammable racial question as that raised by this picture, is fraught with grave
danger to the industry, and hence is one which we, in the dispensation o f our

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Pullman (Claudette Colbert). Where is it specifically relevant or necessary, I will

discuss issues of race and motherhood with regard to Delilah (Louise Beavers).

However, I will not treat race or the issue of black motherhood in this essay because

Delilah is not the central character or heroine of the film, and an examination of this

issue would divert from the parameters outlined in the first chapter. Moreover, a

thorough analysis of race in Imitation o f Life requires a separate essay and has, in fact,

been addressed already by scholars whose work will be examined later.

Imitation o f Life depicts sacrifice as power. Personal sacrifice is the vehicle by

which the film's mother claims her power. The mother's ultimate sacrifice, the

rejection of her lover in order to save her relationship with her daughter, might be

interpreted as victimization or punishment. I argue that because she chooses to reject

her lover, her choice empowers her. I will examine this mother’s choices and her

sacrifice in an attempt to identify how she claims agency and power. Trivialization

and appropriation will serve as the lenses through which I examine Imitation o f Life. I

will occasionally reference other strategies or lenses as they become relevant, but I

believe that these two particular lenses offer an interpretation that celebrates maternal

power, single motherhood, personal sacrifice. . . and choice.

Trivialization and appropriation illuminate the various ways that the film's

mother claims masculine agency. Throughout this analysis, 1 will demonstrate how

responsibilities under the Resolution for Uniform Interpretation o f the Production

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the lens of appropriation enables the film's mother to adopt a masculine identity

without sacrificing her femininity. Likewise, the lens of appropriation enables the

spectator to recognize, understand, and celebrate feminine and maternal power within

the larger narrative of capitalistic achievement

Radner and Lanser describe trivialization a s," ... the employment of a form,

mode, or genre that the dominant culture considers unimportant innocuous, or

irrelevant" (19). Trivialization has a wide range of possibilities. For instance, it may

reside in a form that is discounted outright such as the "maternal melodrama," a film

genre that typically gamers both popular and critical denigration. Trivialization can

also appear within a narrative in the form of implication or visual exclusion. As a

lens, trivialization enables the viewer to "fill in the blanks" or to recognize the

implication of power where its appearance is innocuous and ofien overlooked.

Radner and Lanser claim that appropriation involves "adapting to feminist

purposes forms or materials normally associated with male culture or with

androcentric images of the feminist" (10). Appropriation is a strategy that allows the

powerless to violate or transgress established social and cultural codes, and provides a

means to borrow or refashion male forms, to subvert them, or to parody them with

humor. As a lens, appropriation enables the viewer to read images resistively and to

Code, may be obliged to rejecf" (1013).

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recognize camera angles, costumes or words that borrow from, subvert or refashion

male forms in ways that, at first glance, appear innocuous.

What follows is a brief discussion of the popular and scholarly criticism about

Imitation o f Life. This is followed by a close analysis of the film through the lenses of

trivialization and appropriation respectively, in hopes of illuminating how this

mother's choices and her personal sacrifice enable her to claim power and agency

through a masculine, corporate identity.

R e v ie w s a n d C r it ic is m

Popular reviews of the time praised the director's ability to delicately treat the

race issue and the complex issue of mother love. Rob Wagner proclaimed, "After all is

said and done, John Stahl deserves the praise; he succeeded with a subtle and difficult

theme" (8). Andre Senwald, critic for the New York Times stated, "On the whole the

audience seemed to find it a gripping and powerful if slightly diffuse drama which

discussed the mother love question, the race question, the business woman question,

the mother and daughter question and the love renunciation question" (19). Similarly,

the critic for Variety claimed, "It seems very probably the picture may make some

slight contribution to the cause of greater tolerance and humanity in the racial

question" (IS). This critic believed that Louise Beavers stole the show with her

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brilliant portrayal of Aunt Delilah.1 Just as the Variety critic believed the racial

subplot was the strongest part of the film, so did the critic for Literary Digest:

In Imitation o f Life, the screen is extremely careful to avoid its most

dramatic theme, obviously because it fears its social implication. . .

The real story [is] that of the beautiful and rebellious daughter of the

loyal negro friend. . . They [the producers and director] appear to be

fond of her mother, because she is of the meek type of old-fashioned

Negro that, as they say, 'knows his place . . ( 3 1 )

Clearly, popular critics found much to celebrate in this film, but most focused

on the race issues: the black mother’s friendship with the white mother, and the

mulatto daughter's desire to pass for white. Audiences of the time, too, appeared to

celebrate the film. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film did a "stand out

business" at the Roxy theatre in New York where police and fire departments were

called in to keep waiting crowds in order (3).

The film's popularity notwithstanding, Imitation o f Life has received little

scholarly attention. What has been written focuses on the depiction of the mammy

1 According to the Variety critic, "Picture [sic.] is stolen by the Negress, Louise
Beavers, whose performance is masterly. This lady can troupe. She took the whole
scale of human emotions from joy to anguish and never sounded a false note. It is one
o f the most unprecedented personal triumphs for an obscure performer in the annals
of a crazy business" (IS).

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and the tragic mulatto or on Claudette Colbert. For instance, in Toms, Coons,

Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks, Donald Bogle claims:

The humanization of the Negro servant was carried to new and highly

publicized heights with the appearance of the first important 'black

film’ of the 1930s, Imitation o f Life. It arrived. . . at a time when a new

social consciousness had infiltrated the motion picture industry.

Already Roosevelt's election, the New Deal, the growing liberalism of

the country, and the Depression itself had brought to American films a

new world view and a new social order whereby many of the old racial

proprieties were starting to be discarded. Imitation o f L ife. . . prided

itself on its portrait of the modem black woman, still a servant but

now imbued with dignity and a character that were an integral part of

the American way of life. (57)

Despite the supposed good intentions of the motion picture industry, Bogle

insists that the film manages not only to reinforce traditional stereotypes, but to

obfuscate existing racial tensions in the United States. Bogle insists that Aunt Delilah

reinforces the "tom" stereotype, characters who "are chased, harassed, hounded,

flogged, enslaved, and insulted, [yet] they keep the faith, n'er turn against their white

massas, and remain hearty, submissive, stoic, generous, selfless, and oh-so-very kind"

(5-6). Despite her appearance as the "mammy," Bogle insists that Delilah's

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victimization and punishment (by her daughter) and her exploitation (by Bea Pullman)

serve to perpetuate the tom spirit Bogle claims:

Because of its racial theme and some inspired casting, Imitation o f Life

turned itself into the slickest and possibly the best made tear-jerker of

all time. On the surface, the film was a simple tale of motherly love

and motherly woes. In the relationship between Beavers and Colbert

audiences were assured that differences between white and black, like

differences between the rich and poor, could easily be done away with

if everybody worked together. Beneath the surface, though, Imitation

o f Life was a conscious apotheosis of the tom spirit and an

unconsciously bitter comment on race relations in America. Louise

Beavers' Delilah was a combination of tom and aunt jemima magnified

and glorified in full-blown Hollywood fashion. But she introduced to

the 1930s audience the idea of black Christian stoicism. (59)

Similarly, From Sambo to Superspade: The Black Experience in Motion

Pictures offers a discussion o f the "black experience" in Hollywood films. According

to Leab, "The movies presented blacks as subhuman, simpleminded, superstitious,

and submissive___ Their relationship with whites was depicted as one o f complete,

and frequently childlike, dependence" (1). In his discussion of Imitation o f Life, Leab

claims, "The reaction of black moviegoers to Imitation o f Life was varied.. . . They

[singer Bobby Short and his friends] thought it 'a dilly' but considered it a ’classic

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example of the colored world as interpreted by whites.' But apparently many blacks

did accept the characters as they were presented" (108). Many blacks accepted the

film's characters, while others criticized the film. According to Leab, "Howard

University faculty member Emmett Dorsey expressed dismay that 'Negroes applaud

and acclaim this picture,' which he characterized as a 'rationalization of racial

prejudice'" (109). Leab then argues that the popular and critical acclaim the two black

actresses received was not sufficient to allow them to grow. Rather, they continued

to be relegated to roles that depicted blacks traditionally. Louise Beavers was forced

to continue playing mammies, and the doors that were opened because of Fredi

Washington's looks eventually slammed in her face because Hollywood could not find

a place for a black woman who looked white.

Lawrence J. Quirk offers a brief discussion of Imitation o f Life in his

illustrated biography of Claudette Colbert. Much of the book is based on

conversations he had with Colbert, including a discussion about Imitation o f Life.

Quirk writes:

I recalled to her how moved I had been, watching the funeral of her

black friend, and how the theme of a black-white friendship was

decades ahead o f its time, especially in the delineation o f the frantic

efforts of Beavers' daughter, Fredi Washington, to pass for white to

forestall the cruelties of prejudice. 'That was what appealed to me

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 105

about that picture,’ she said. 'It was drama with a difference, and so

refreshing in its theme, especially for that period.' (3)

This, along with a brief description of the film later in the book that compares the

original with its 1959 remake, completes Quirk's discussion of the film.

The only sustained scholarly discussion about this film occurs in Miriam

Thaggerf s "Divided Images: Black Female Spectatorship and John Stahl's Imitation o f

Life." Thaggert claims th at"Imitation o f Life provides a unique intersection of

feminist film theory and black female spectatorship" (481). She bases her analysis on

bell hooks’ notion o f the oppositional gaze and argues that "hooks offers a strategy for

validating and acknowledging the black female gaze and presence, even in films that

attempt to deny that look or negate that presence" (482). She then seeks to determine

what, if any, pleasure is available for black female viewers when the black maternal

figure is depicted as the mammy, "a woman who mothers others for economic

survival," whether the film's portrayal of the black mother alters the perception of

motherhood that has been constructed through white characters, and how black

viewers identify with the tragic mulatto character (482). Thaggert's discussion

examines the film from a particular viewing position and offers a complex

understanding of the film and its characters. According to Thaggert,''... Imitation's

methods of imaging black women produce a complex process of identification and

resistance for black female spectators o f a genre known for its varied viewing

positions" (489). Her analysis is fruitful because it offers a resistive reading of the

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film based on a particular viewing position. However, because she focuses on black

female spectatorship she ignores the role of the white mother. A sustained discussion

about the white single mother is therefore necessary in order to provide for multiple

resistive readings. What follows, then, is a close analysis of Imitation o f Life in which

I hope to demonstrate how the film's mother appropriates masculine power while she

simultaneously embraces feminine maternal power.

IMITATION OF UFE

Imitation o f Life (1934) is the tale of two Atlantic City widows, one black and

one white, both with young daughters. They meet by chance as Bea Pullman

(Claudette Colbert) readies her young daughter for the day nursery when Delilah

(Louise Beavers) responds to a newspaper ad for a live-in nanny. Unfortunately,

Delilah did not read the address correctly and finds herself on Astor Street instead of

Astor Avenue. Bea's daughter falls into the bathtub while she talks with Delilah, and

as Bea tends to her daughter Delilah fixes breakfast for her. Delilah convinces Bea to

allow her to work for room and board; she only wants a roof over her daughter’s head.

When Bea discovers that Delilah, too, has a young daughter she agrees to the

arrangement. Bea works daily peddling maple syrup (her late husband's business).

One day, Delilah makes pancakes for breakfast (a secret recipe that Delilah

nevertheless discloses to Bea) and Bea decides to open a store on the Boardwalk

selling Delilah's pancakes and her maple syrup. She wheels and deals in order to

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procure the Boardwalk property, and within five years she has paid off all debts. By

chance, Bea meets Elmer Smith who suggests that she "box" the pancake flour. The

company earns $15,000 in six months, and expects to earn $100,000 within the next

year. Bea decides to incorporate and offers Delilah a 20% interest in the corporation

and the opportunity to buy her own house, but Delilah refuses and begs Bea not to

send her away. Soon, Bea is the toast of the town, living in a New York mansion

with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge from her back yard.

Bea hosts a party for New York's social elite at which she meets Elmer's friend

Stephen Archer with whom she immediately falls in love. Their courtship is

immediate and Stephen proposes to her. She postpones the wedding until Jessie

returns from school (she is now a teenager) and has a chance to meet~and like—

Stephen. Jessie does return, but Bea leaves with Delilah to search for Peola who has

left the teacher’s college in hopes of passing for white and enjoying the benefits that

are associated with whiteness. When Bea and Delilah return, Peola demands that

Delilah forget about her. Delilah protests, but Peola disowns her mother. Bea then

tells Jessie that she never wants anything to come between them. She soon discovers

that Jessie is in love with Stephen. Despite the fact that Bea had previously directed

Elmer to sell the company (when she planned to marry Stephen), Bea insists that she

does not want to leave active management Elmer suspects that something is amiss,

however he does not force the issue. Later that night Delilah dies of a broken heart

She is given the grand funeral that she desired after which Bea tells Stephen that

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because Jessie loves him she can not marry him. Stephen protests and insists that

Jessie has a "schoolgirl crush" that will soon pass. Bea insists that if she and Stephen

marry, Jessie will always believe that she interfered with Jessie's happiness. She

renunciates Stephen's love, retains control of Aunt Delilah's Pancake Flour and, having

ensured that her relationship with her daughter is safe, reminisces with Jessie about

the day she and Delilah m et

R e a d in g P o w e r t h r o u g h t h e L e n s o f T r iv ia l iz a t io n

As a lens, trivialization enables the viewer to recognize power in forms that

the dominant culture might consider unimportant innocuous or irrelevant. Without

the lens of trivialization, power might be discounted or overlooked. According to

Radner and Lanser, "When a particular form is conventionally nonthreatening, the

message it carries, even it if might be threatening in another context is likely to be

discounted or overlooked" (19). Thus, the lens of trivialization enables the viewer to

identify forms that might appear unimportant on the surface, but that carry messages

of power beneath the surface.

The first scene useful for viewing through the lens of trivialization occurs

when Bea returns from peddling maple syrup all day. She is disheartened when she

ieams that Jessie is already asleep, but goes to Jessie's room to kiss her anyway. She

kisses Jessie and crosses to the door to leave, but realizes that her feet ache. Delilah

instructs her to sit in the chair so she can massage Bea's feet

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BEA: That rests me all over.

DELILAH: It don't seem right for you to be carryin' around them old heavy cans of
syrup, peddlin'.
BEA: Well I gotta make a living.
DELILAH: With your pretty face and them pretty foots? Why you oughta have a man
talcin' care of you honey.
BEA: Oh, Delilah.
DELILAH Yessum.
BEA: I had a man once. But he up and died on me.
DELILAH Is that gentleman there in the picture your late husband, ma'am?
BEA.: That was he.
DELILAH Was you very much in love with your late husband, might I inquire?
BEA: Well, I married him.
DELILAH But did you love him? That's what I asked, honey.
BEA: Oh, Delilah. I think I was too young to know very much about love.
Mother was dead, and he was my father's choice. Father wanted somebody
to take care of me. So I married him.
DELILAH: That's a pity. It's too bad when you get started off on the wrong foot first.
Oh, but you'll get over it. You's got a big surprise cornin' to you. Miss
Bea. You need some lovin, honey child.

This scene begins with Bea's return from a day of work and ends with Delilah's

insistence that Bea should not work, that she needs a man to take care of her. The

scene therefore renders Bea's willingness to take over her husband's business and work

for a living harmless; it renders Bea's independence and self-sufficiency irrelevant and

unimportant The scene seems to argue that although Bea works she really needs a

man, and as soon as she gets a man she will no longer have to work. On the surface,

then, the scene reinforces traditional beliefs about women. Beneath the surface, we

recognize that this woman was unwilling to sit idly by and chose, instead, to carry on

her husband's business in order to provide financial security for her family. Bea thus

appropriates masculine power by virtue of her newfound career, but we do not

acknowledge it because her actions are trivialized.

Trivialization is also useful for viewing the scene in which Bea meets the

romantic ichthyologist Stephen Archer. During this scene Bea entertains New York's

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 110

social elite as she celebrates the tenth anniversary of Aunt Delilah's Pancake Flour.

Bea escapes the party for a brief moment and stands on her balcony overlooking the

street There she sees a man who desperately searches for the doorbell. Once inside

they are acquainted, but he is unaware that she is the "pancake queen."

STEPHEN: Hello.
BEA. Hello.
STEPHEN: Well, I finally got in.
BEA: Yes, so I see.
STEPHEN: By the way, have you ever seen that doorbell?
BEA: Why yes, it's . . .
STEPHEN: I suppose it's studded with diamonds and they put it in the safe after dark.
You know. I'm coming up here by daylight and take a good look at it.
BEA: Yes, do.
STEPHEN: Shall we dance?
BEA: I'd love to. (They cross to the dance area.)
STEPHEN: Well I was rather late getting here.
BEA: The party's nearly over.
STEPHEN: Not for me. And to think I had this forced on me.
BEA: You didn't want to come?
STEPHEN: No. A friend asked me. Elmer Smith.
BEA. Oh, Elmer asked you!
STEPHEN: Do you know him?
BEA: Yes.
STEPHEN: He's been trying to drag me up to see her ever since I got in town.
BEA: See whom?
STEPHEN: Mrs. Pullman, the pancake queen.
BEA: Oh.
STEPHEN: I put it off as long as I could. You know, these big business women
frighten me to death.
BEA: Why?
STEPHEN: Oh, they're so efficient and competent and uh . . . Tell me, what's she really
like?
BEA: Oh, she's urn . . . Td say she's . . . Why don't you ask your friend Elmer?
STEPHEN: Oh, he says she's beautifiil, wonderful, a noble character. But what else
could he say? You don't think he'd jeopardize a fifty thousand dollar a year
job? Not Elmer. (Music ends) My I get you something? A nice order of
some flannel cakes?
BEA: Flannel cakes?
STEPHEN: Yes, or whatever she calls them. You don't think a pancake queen is going
to pass up an opportunity to advertise her product?
BEA: fd like some champagne.

Stephen neatly trivializes Bea's accomplishments when he refers to her as the

"pancake queen," thereby rendering her unimportant and irrelevant He further

trivializes her success when he suggests an order o f "flannel cakes" in lieu of a drink,

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 Ill

and insists that as a pancake queen she likely advertises her product whenever and

wherever possible. She disregards his belittling comments, however. She plays along

and refuses to disclose her identity or that Elmer Smith is her business manager, so

that he appears insignificant and childish. Stephen is made to feel foolish when Elmer

finally introduces them.

ELMER. Come on, I want you to meet Mrs. Pullman.

STEPHEN: Cant right now. Some other time.
ELMER: What do you mean, "some other time?"
STEPHEN: I have something more important to do right now.
ELMER: Yeah? For instance?
STEPHEN: I'm taking a drink to a very charming lady.
ELMER: You havent lost any time, have you? (They leave the bar and walk toward
Bea)
STEPHEN: I tried not to.
ELMER: Dont you think it's high time you paid respects to your hostess?
STEPHEN: Later.
ELMER: Well here she is, and you're going to meet her whether you want to or not.
(He pulls Bea in to the frame to meet Stephen) Bea, this is an old friend of
mine, Stephen Archer. Steve, this is Mrs. Pullman.
BEA: The pancake queen.
STEPHEN: Oh. I don't know what to say. I've been so rude. I’m so sorry.
ELMER: Sorry, what're you sorry about now?
STEPHEN: [hope you never know. (He walks away)
ELMER: Say, what's the matter with him anyway? (Bea crosses to Steve)
BEA: Don't feel too badly. I led you on to your downfall.
STEPHEN: 1 feel all kinds of a fool. You see, I was to have met Elmer here, and then I
. . . I met you instead.
BEA: It's alright now, isn't it?
STEPHEN: If you say so, yes. You know. I'm not really civilized. For the past eight
months I've been walking on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean with the
jellyfish and the whales . . .
BEA: What are you talking about?
STEPHEN: Let me introduce myself again. My name is Stephen Archer, and I'm an
ichthyologist.
BEA: A what?
STEPHEN: Ichthyologist. Fishes. You know, I study fishes for those who are
interested in the life of the fish. So you can better understand why a man
who spends all of his time with the fish should behave like one.

Here, Bea somewhat redeems herself, despite her confession about having led Stephen

to his downfall. She does not stand up to his insults; rather, she allows him to make a

fool of himself. Stephen belittles her and trivializes her accomplishments, but she

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 112

maintains control and pride. Finally, he admits to behaving like a fish and thus

acknowledges that she is the better person. At first glance the scene trivializes Bea

and her career. Beneath the surface, however, we recognize that she is a confident,

self-assured woman.

The party ends, but Stephen refuses to leave unless Bea will lunch with him

the next day. She finally agrees and escorts him out. Delilah then comes upstairs and

Bea wants to talk the party over.

DELILAH: Miss Bea, you sho1had a good party.

BEA: I think so. (Removes her shoes) Oh it feels good to get those off.
DELILAH: I bet it does. Come here, let me take 'em. Put 'em up here. That's it.
(Rubs Bea's feet)
BEA: That's what you used to do in the old Boardwalk days, when my feet ached
from peddling maple syrup. Remember?
DELILAH: I remembers. We's gone a long ways from there, ain't we though?
BEA: We certainly have.
D ELILAH: Miss Bea? There was a very handsome gentleman up here tonight. I got a
peek at him. Who might he be?
BEA: I wonder which one?
DELILAH: Don't you know a handsome gentleman when you sees one honey?
BEA: Well there was a handsome gentleman. I wonder if I mean the same one
you mean?
DELILAH: You does, honey. What's the gentleman’s name?
BEA: Stephen Archer.
DELILAH: That's a good name for a good man. Funny thing, Miss Bea. I got a great
sense about a man. You ain't takin' no chance there.
BEA: Why mercy, Delilah! Of course I’m not taking a chance. Why, to hear you
talk you'd think he'd proposed and been accepted.
DELILAH: That’s alright. Leave him be. Things is working, leave ’em be.
BEA: Til leave him be.
DELILAH: Well you gotta do your part, honey.
BEA: Well now, what on Earth do you mean by that?
DELILAH: What I means, if he makes a move in the right direction, you don't have to
slap his hand. In a manner of speakin'.
BEA: Delilah, there's nothing farther from my mind than a husband.

Delilah then inquires about Stephen's vocation and Bea tells her he's an ichthyologist

Delilah tries to carry on the conversation as if she understands the word, but

eventually concedes that she does not Bea then explains ichthyology.

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 113

BEA: It's fishing, Delilah.

DELILAH: Jus' fishin'?
BEA: Uh huh.
DELILAH: Wit' a hook?
BEA: No. No, the study of fishes.
DELILAH: Oh. Oh but I wouldn't let that stand in my way. Let him go fishin'.
There’s worse things. Funny, though. He don't look to be a lazy man.
BEA: Oh Delilah! You're incurably romantic.
DELILAH: Taint romantic to want a man. Jus’ natural,
BEA: fve got Jessie. And you've got Peola.

If we read the scene through the lens of trivialization, we see Delilah dismiss Bea's

career. This time her career is trivialized in favor of romance. Despite the fact that

party was designed to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Aunt Delilah's Pancake

Flour, Delilah is only concerned with finding a husband for Bea. Of course, Bea

resists Delilah's encouragement. To be sure, Bea finds Stephen Archer attractive.

However, her main concern is her daughter and the business. Delilah, however,

trivializes Bea when she insists that wanting a man is not romantic, it's natural. This

implies that Bea is unnatural because she is single. Moreover, because Bea is a single

mother who is also a working woman, she is the epitome of unnatural. Bea resists

Delilah and insists first that nothing is further from her mind than a husband, and

second that she has Jessie. Her love for Jessie and her satisfaction with motherhood

has been reinforced consistently throughout the film, despite remarks from others

about the need for her to have a man. Delilah, too, is a single working mother, yet she

does not consider it unnatural to be without a man herself. Apparently, only Bea is

acting unnaturally. Her career and independence are thus trivialized through insistence

on a traditional patriarchal-familial relationship.

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We can also view the film's final scene through the lens of trivialization. This

scene follows Delilah's funeral. In her backyard, Bea tells Stephen that she knows

Jessie is in love with him and absolves him of any wrongdoing. She explains that she

can not marry him as long as Jessie loves him, and that he should return to his islands.

He begs her to reconsider and she explains that if they were to marry it would affect

her relationship with Jessie. Bea refuses to let anything come between them, and

insists that her relationship with Jessie is most important. Bea thus renunciates her

love for Stephen in favor of her love for her daughter. We recognize the power and

agency in her actions, yet they are visually trivialized through camera angle and focus.

We hear Bea tell Stephen that she can not marry him and that he must leave, but we

see two people very much in love (Figure 3.1). The image of Bea gazing lovingly into

Stephen's eyes at the same time that she renunciates her love for him trivializes her

Figure 3.1

agency. Moreover, the image is seen through soft focus, thereby rendering the scene

one of emotion rather than power. On the surface we see a woman rejecting

happiness, but beneath the surface we recognize that she rejects traditional societal

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 115

assumptions about womanhood and femininity. Doing so enables her to retain her

power, both personally and professionally. Because she renunciates her love for

Stephen she maintains control of Aunt Delilah's Pancake Flour, retains her

management position, and ensures that her relationship with Jessie will endure.

However, her agency is trivialized as a result of her personal sacrifice.

Finally, the film trivializes Bea's accomplishments throughout by virtue of

excluding from its diegesis any scenes that depict Bea at work. We see Bea walking

on the Boardwalk with her case of maple syrup, yet we do not see her peddle it.

Instead, the scene depicts the prowess with which she wheels and deals in order to

acquire the store that launches Aunt Delilah's Pancakes. We do recognize, however,

brief instances during which Bea reveals her business sense. When she negotiates to

acquire the store, the repairs and its furnishings, we discover that she is adept at

marketing and negotiation. When she realizes that Jessie loves Stephen and decides to

cancel the wedding, Bea tells Elmer that she does not want to leave active

management. This, despite the money-making potential with national brands. The

film’s action is the direct result of Bea's corporate success. However, the film

obfuscates her achievements by cloaking it in a tale of romance, mother-love and

personal sacrifice. The lens of trivialization reveals that beneath its romantic surface

lies a narrative of ambition, independence, achievement and success.

Trivialization proves useful for recognizing subversive messages that might

otherwise go unnoticed, yet it does not reveal the full resistive potential o f Imitation

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 116

o f Life. Through the lens of trivialization we are able to identify agency and power

that are obscured by images and discourse. Yet Bea appropriates masculine power in

a variety of ways. That said, let us now turn to an examination of Imitation o f Life

through the lens of appropriation.

R e a d in g P o w e r t h r o u g h t h e L en s o f A p p r o p r ia t io n

As a lens, appropriation enables the viewer to recognize visual aspects of the

film that may go otherwise unnoticed. These aspects include (but are not limited to)

costume, camera angle, mise-en-scene; discrete textual cues that can be seen by the

viewer if s/he looks closely. The visual may appear to borrow, subvert or refashion

male forms in such a way that those aspects normally associated with male culture

will be adapted to feminist purposes. Appropriation is useful for identifying power

and agency when, according to Radner and L a n s e r , .. women are moving into roles

that have previously belonged to men" (12).

The opening scene depicts Bea as she bathes and readies baby Jessie for the

day nursery. Jessie only wants her "quack quack." During the scene Bea and Jessie

discuss the day nursery, and Jessie claims that she does not want to go.

JESSIE: Want my quack quack.

BEA: No darling. Not now, later. Please be good. Mommy's so late and she's
got so much to do.
JESSIE: What's mommy got to do?
BEA: WeQ, she has to get you dressed, get you your break&st, take you down to
the day nursery . . .
JESSIE: Don't wanna go to the day nursery. Wanna stay home with mommy.
BEA. Oh darling, I wish you could. But you can't.
JESSIE: Why?

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 117

BEA: Because, mother has to go out and sell lots of cans of maple syrup so she
can buy nice things for her baby.
JESSIE: Don't wanna go to the day nursery. Maijorie pulledmy hair.
BEA: She did? Well she was a very bad girl to do that.
JESSIE: I pulled her back harder.
BEA: (Laughs) Well, I suppose if she pulled you first it was alright.
JESSIE: I pulled her first.
BEA: You did! Well then you're a very naughty little girl and you won't go to
heaven.
JESSIE: Don't want to go to heaven, want my quack quack! (Sings) I love you and
you love me and I don't wanna go to the day nursery.
BEA. Oh . . . I think we're gonna have an opera singer in the family, don't you?

However innocuous this exchange seems, it reveals that Bea is the provider for this

family. She thus appropriates the familial role typically reserved for the father. The

opening dialogue indicates that Bea not only takes care of the home and the child, but

also works to provide food and shelter. She is thus matriarch and patriarch of the

family. The camera depicts Bea with a slightly low angle shot as she readies Jessie for

the day nursery (Figure 3.2). Therefore, Bea appropriates power both through her

position within this family and visually through camera angle.

Figure 3.2

Bea appropriates power by virtue of her having taken control of her late

husband's business. She peddles maple syrup in order to earn a living. She also

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 118

appropriates power when we see her walking along the Boardwalk with the case of

syrup. Clearly, the case is very heavy and she struggles to carry it (Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3

However, because Delilah has shared her "secret" pancake recipe, Bea devises a plan

to use her newfound knowledge in conjunction with the maple syrup business. While

she walks along the Boardwalk she notices a sign in a vacant store window. The store

is available for lease and is in a prime location. The landlord (Clarence Wilson)

approaches the store and Bea inquires about its availability.

BEA: Are you the owner?

BRISTOL: Yes’m.
BEA: I'm Mrs. Pullman. Mrs. B. Pullman, you know.
BRISTOL: Sorry, but I don’t.
BEA: My husband was B. Pullman. You know, the man who was killed in the
wreck. The train wreck at Camden.
BRISTOL: I remember the wreck, but there were so many killed.
BEA: He used to sell syrup, waffle syrup, to the hotels and places. Oh, it's
wonderful syrup. A hundred percent pure maple.
BRISTOL: Don't eat it. Bad stomach . .. gas.
BEA: Oh, no, no. I don't mean . . . I mean, you see. I'm keeping up the B.
Pullman business. And I was wondering, could I make a deal with you to
rent this store? You see, I have a marvelous formula for making pancakes,
and it's my intention to rent a store and have a pancake place, and sell syrup
on the side. Yes, and this morning I was going to decide on several sites.
This is one of them.
BRISTOL: It’s a very good concession, one of the best on the Boardwalk.
BEA: How much are you asking for rent?
BRISTOL: Two hundred and fifty.
BEA: Oh, that's very high. Oh that's terribly high.

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 119

BRISTOL: You've gotta pay for a good location. (They enter the property)This store
has nice living quarters in the back.
BEA: Mm hmm. Yes. (Looking around) Now what will you do in the way of
decorating? A lo t will have to be done in here.
BRISTOL: It's going to rent as is.
BEA: Oh, you don't think I'd take it in this condition! Well, look, look at it —
it's filthy! Look, it needs new paint, new paper. And then the floor, thatll
have to be fixed.
BRISTOL: Well, if it needs it you'll have to do it.
BEA: Will you give me three months free?
BRISTOL: What?!
BEA: Give me three months free and HI do all the decorating and alterations.
BRISTOL: What do you think I am? I might consider one month.
BEA: Make it two and HI take a year's lease.
BRISTOL: It's a deal. Til have to have the first and last month in advance.
BEA: Oh I cant do that. I cant give you anything in advance.
BRISTOL: When do you expect to pay?
BEA: Well, you said you'd give me two months, so HI start paying the third
month.
BRISTOL: Nothing doing.
BEA: But you see. III need every dollar I have for alterations and fixtures.. .

This scene depicts Bea's skill at negotiation. She has no money, yet she is able to

secure a lease for a prime Boardwalk property. Instead of manipulating the situation,

she is forthright with regard to her needs and her financial ability. She speaks with the

landlord as a professional, her confidence and self-assuredness evident in her

willingness to negotiate without the assets to support her desire. The landlord

appears skeptical at first, yet Bea convinces him to lease the property with the first

two months rent-free and with no money down. She thus appropriates power

verbally and commands the discussion. This dissolves to the next scene in which Bea

rushes into the house and tells Delilah to bring cleaning supplies. They return to the

store to begin cleaning. Again, we see the finesse with which Bea negotiates to secure

the necessary repairs and furnishings.

DPI it .AH- Miss Bea, is somebody died?

BEA: What?
DELILAH: Is you been left money?
BEA: Mercy, no.

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 120

DELILAH: Well you only had nineteen dollars and some change this morning.
BEA: Yes, I know. Shh, here's the painter. (Crosses to the store front) How do
you do? Hello, you certainly did come over right away.
PAINTER: Yes, ma'am.
BEA: Well this is it. Now you see, all this has to be painted, the ceiling
calcimined, and that back room papered in the paper I selected. I want you
to give me an estimate. And please, make it low.
PAINTER: But I must see it first.
BEA: Oh sure, go right ahead. Say, by the way, do you paint signs?
PAINTER: No, but I can have one made for you.

Bea then asks Delilah to pose with a great big smile. She describes the sign she wants

and the painter says he will contract someone to make the sign for her. He then

crosses to the living quarters to begin his estimate.

DELILAH: My lordy, who's that?

BEA: The furniture man about the fixtures. (She crosses to the door)How do
you do? Did you bring the estimate on the things I selected?
MARTIN: Oh yes, Mrs. Pullman.
BEA: Oh good. Well, this is where the grill should be, I think. And all the way
across here I'd like to have shelves. Now, look, you see, the counter will
be there and if the shelves start about there and go straight up to the top, it
should be nice, don't you . . . (the painter returns to the store front) Oh,
uh, will you excuse me just a minute?
MARTIN: O surely, then 111 look around.
BEA: Yes, thank you. (To the painter) Well, did you get it all figured out?
PAINTER: Well, I tell you. Now for a first class job, there is lots work here. For a
first class A-l job, because I don't work cheap,
BEA: Yes?
PAINTER: The best figure I can give you is one hundred and ninety-three dollars.
BEA: A hundred and ninety-three dollars.
PAINTER: Yes.
BEA: Now that should be a good job?
PAINTER: Sure.
BEA: Yes, urn, five percent off for thirty days?
PAINTER. Huh? No, no, no. If I give you thirty days to pay, I can take nothing off
BEA: Alright, well, a hundred and ninety-three dollars in thirty days.
PAINTER: Uh huh.
BEA: That's fine. Alright, and you'll do a good job?
PAINTER: Well sure.
BEA: And start right away?
PAINTER: Sure. I take another man off anotherjob.
BEA: Good.
PAINTER: And we start right away.
BEA: Thank you. Good bye.
PAINTER: Goodbye.

Here, Bea negotiates repairs with payment due in thirty days. This is necessary

because, as we learned from Delilah, she only has nineteen dollars and some change in

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 121

her wallet. Bea appropriates power in relation to the painter as she articulates which

repairs are needed and secures a payment arrangement that will enable her to obtain

the finances necessary to fund them. Again, she is confident and self-assured, and she

never reveals her situation. Instead, she somewhat jokingly asks the painter to

provide her with a low estimate.

Bea negotiates similarly with the furniture man (Alan Hale), but she must

work harder and more diligently to secure the payment arrangements from him that

will enable her to move forward with her plans.

MARTIN: You're gonna have a nice place here.

BEA. I hope so. You'd better make it eight tables instead of six.
MARTIN: Oh, yes ma'am. Well that'll mean thirty-two chairs.
BEA: Yes.
MARTIN: Mm hmm. The coffee urn, the grill, the counter stools and the dishes.
Here's the list. Installed, that will cost you fifteen hundred and sixty
dollars.
BEA: How much for cash?
MARTIN: Oh, that is cash.
BEA: Oh, that. . .
DELILAH: (sings) I puts my trust in Jesus . . .
BEA: And the terms for monthly payments?
MARTIN: Well, ten percent down on delivery and fifty dollars a month.
BEA: You're asking a hundred and fifty-six dollars down? I might as well pay
cash! Make it fifty dollars straight monthly payments.
MARTIN: Only fifty doDars down? That'll hardly pay the cost of my trucking.
BEA: WeU that's the best I can do. You see. I'm opening a chain of these shops
all along the Boardwalk and I already have a very large wholesale
distribution of maple sytup, and that takes up a great deal of my ready cash.
Make it fifty doUars straight monthly payments, and it's a deal.
MARTIN: WeU, I don't know now. You see, uh . . .
BEA: How soon could you have the fixtures installed?
MARTIN: WeU, with the exception of the griU, right away. Of course, that wiU take a
little time. But uh . . .
BEA: Of course you know I can't do much without the grill, so you will hurry it
up, won't you?
MARTIN: WeU, HI do the best I can. But, uh. . .
BEA: ril be down later this afternoon and sign the order.
MARTIN: Yes, but you see ..
BEA. (Gasps) Oh what a lovely scarfpin!
MARTIN: Yes, it is. WeU I wish you could make it a Uttle more down.
BEA: Oh now, don't be so greedy. (Pulls him by the lapel toward the door) Just
look what a big order Tmgiving you. (Escorts him out the door)
MARTIN: Yes, I am.

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BEA: Now be sure and come in for some pancakes some time.
MARTIN: Pancakes?
BEA: Yes.
MARTIN: Oh! Pancakes .. . yes, pancakes.
BEA: Goodbye.

Clearly, Bea must work harder and differently with Mr. Martin. She negotiates the

fixtures and lobbies for delivery with no down payment. When he resists she wields

her feminine charm by admiring his tie pin. He appears to recognize her ploy, but he

nevertheless consents. Bea thus appropriates power in relation to this seemingly

adept businessman as she convinces him to supply and install the fixtures necessary

to operate the Pancake Shop.

The shrewdness with which Bea negotiates the property, the repairs and the

fixtures indicates that she possesses a business sense that is typically associated with

men. We have no indication that she has had any experience in this matter. Instead,

we know that she chose to continue her late husband's business in an effort to provide

financial security for her daughter. We suspect that the business is not thriving,

perhaps due to the fact that she is a woman struggling to succeed in a man's world.

The pancake shop is a logical next step in an effort to move the supply of maple

syrup she has. Bea therefore appropriates power by virtue o f her ability to function

in the male-dominated world o f business, as well as her ability to negotiate terms that

will enable her to move toward her goal.

The next scene reveals Aunt Delilah's Pancake Shop. We pan from the

storefront sign to the shop's interior where we see Bea and Delilah working side-by-

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 Figure 3.4 Figure 3.5

side (Figures 3.4 & 3.5). Bea then moves to the end of the counter where she makes

her final payment to Mr. Martin for the fixtures (Figure 3.6). He remarks that he

Figure 3.6

often tells the story about how Bea acquired the store with no down payment because

she promised to make all necessary repairs, and negotiated repairs with no money

down because she had the store. His remarks enable Bea to appropriate masculine

power because she has clearly succeeded in her business endeavor. Bea also

appropriates power visually by virtue of the images of the store front and its thriving

interior. The sign depicts Delilah's "Aunt Jemima" likeness, but we know that it was

Bea's idea to start the business and so we therefore assign power to her. Of course,

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Delilah works side-by-side with Bea, so she necessarily appropriates power as well.

However, Delilah appears more traditionally as cook, and Bea deals with the

customers. Thus, Bea maintains power in her relationship with Delilah. Moreover,

Bea appropriates power visually through costume when she wears a tie that, although

feminine and tied in a bow, nevertheless suggests masculine working attire.

Soon thereafter, Bea encounters a "window shopper" (Ned Sparks) who offers

Bea a one hundred thousand dollar idea for a free plate of pancakes (Figure 3.7). He

Figure 3.7

tells the story of Coca Cola, and suggests that she "box it" (the pancake flour). When

he asks if he has earned another plate of pancakes, Bea offers him "all the pancakes

you can eat, and a job besides." Bea receives the idea from an anonymous customer,

but we might detect the power inherent in the actions that will follow. Bea initially

worked to provide financial security for her family, and is now given the opportunity

to move beyond her original goals into the truly male-dominated corporate world. Bea

thus appropriates power by virtue of opportunity. She also appropriates power

visually as she is depicted with a straight-on shot in relation to her customer, and she

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 125

stands in the foreground of the frame while he sits slightly behind her facing the

counter.

The next scene reveals a business meeting where Bea and Elmer (the window

shopper) explain to Delilah that the company has earned fifteen thousand dollars in

six months, and is projected to earn one hundred thousand dollars by July. The next

step is to incorporate, and Bea explains that Delilah will have a twenty percent

interest in the business. She offers Delilah the opportunity to buy her own house,

but Delilah believes that Bea is sending her away. She insists that she wants to

continue to care for Bea and Jessie and offers to give her money to Bea as a present.

Bea insists that she will put the money into a savings account for Delilah. Delilah

responds that Bea can use the money to give her a good funeral. Bea appropriates

power in this scene as a result of the company’s success. She also appropriates

power visually when we see her seated at the table with Elmer (Figure 3.8). Delilah

Figure 3.8

stands in the forefront, but she faces Bea so that we can not see her face clearly.

Elmer sits behind the two women, while Bea sits at the table in business attire. Bea

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 126

faces so Delilah, we see her more clearly. Moreover, Bea presents the company's

financial success to Delilah, thereby conferring power to her. Elmer is present at this

meeting, but he relinquishes all decisions and discussion to Bea. She therefore

possesses masculine power not only in relation to Delilah, but also in relation to

Elmer.

We then fade to a montage of images that depict the rise o f Aunt Delilah's

Pancake Flour. This dissolves to a neon sign depicting the success of the business

HU icn

( *. i i \ r—

,V::

Figure 3.9

(Figure 3.9). As we can see, the company sold thirty-two million packages in the

past year. Thus, Bea's success in the male-dominated corporate world is solidified.

By virtue of her success she appropriates masculine power, the sign is a symbol of

her success. Again, Delilah's likeness appears on the sign, but because Delilah rejected

participation in the corporation the power is Bea's.

This image fades to the interior of Bea's New York home where she hosts a

party. When the camera settles on Bea she is surrounded by men, one of whom

wants to toast the tenth anniversary of Aunt Delilah's Pancakes. The black-tie party

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 127

is filled with New York's social elite, and Bea's position as a social and professional

success is solidified when we see the praise she receives from her guests. She thus

appropriates the masculine power typically associated with corporate success and the

social upper-class.

During the party, Bea meets Stephen Archer. In this scene (discussed earlier),

Bea appropriates power visually through her positioning within the frame. While she

and Stephen talk, she faces the camera moreso than he does (Figure 3.10). His face is

Figure 3.10

obscured, while hers is clearly visible. Because she refuses to disclose her identity,

she also possesses power by virtue of her ability to control the situation. Moreover,

the many people in attendance at this party necessarily enables Bea to visually

appropriate power because of the social success it implies. Finally, when Stephen

realizes how foolish he has been, Bea possesses power by virtue of her ability to lead

him to his downfall.

Later, Bea bids her guests "goodnight," but Stephen remains. Elmer questions

his actions.

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ELMER: Well, it's getting late. The guests are going home. (Stephen sits and
makes a drink for himself). I said the guests were going home.
STEPHEN: yes I know. It's after two o'clock. Way after.
ELMER: I'm aware of the time. Also other things. There's no use you hanging
around here. Tomorrow youll just be the forgotten man, that's all.
STEPHEN: Then I'd better make the most of tonight.
ELMER: She's got no time for silly romance.
STEPHEN: She's such a charming woman, Elmer. And you're such a fortunate man.
ELMER: Why?
STEPHEN: For being her general manager. You don't by any chance need an office boy
down there, do you9
ELMER: Yes. We've got one. I'm it.

This exchange indicates that Bea has remained single throughout her career. She has

therefore challenged societal assumptions about the ability of single mothers to

succeed both socially and professionally. Despite Bea's corporate success, however,

she appears to enjoy motherhood most

STEPHEN: (Referring to Elmer) The old bear loves you, doesn't he?
BEA: He's been such a faithful watchdog to Jessie and me.
STEPHEN: Jessie?
BEA: My daughter. (Turns to a picture of Jessie on the piano) Here she is.
STEPHEN: Oh.
BEA: She's older than that now. She's away at school.
STEPHEN: Well she's charming . . . like you.
BEA: Oh I suppose she doesn't seem so wonderful to others, but to me she's the
beginning and the end of everything.
STEPHEN: I don't wonder.
Here, Bea indicates that Jessie means everything to her. She possesses maternal

power in this scene as she rejects a discussion of her corporate relationships in favor

of a discussion about her relationship with her daughter. Not only does she possess

maternal power, she also appropriates masculine power when she redirects Stephen's

questions about her professional relationship with Elmer. She controls the path of the

conversation and thus appropriates masculine power in the interaction with Stephen.

The tables turn slightly, however, as Bea attempts to escort Stephen to the door.

BEA: Not finished?

STEPHEN: Are you throwing me out?

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BEA: (Nods) I'ma working woman. There's tomorrow morning, you know.
(Crosses to his coat and tophat) This must be yours—it’s the only one left.
STEPHEN: Oh, this is brutal. I'U go on two conditions.
BEA: What?
STEPHEN: That you lunch with me tomorrow .. I mean today at. . .
BEA: I never go out for lunch.
STEPHEN: At Pierre’s at 1:15.
BEA: (Chuckles) Alright.
STEPHEN: Oh, but 1 said two conditions.
BEA: What's the other?
STEPHEN: Will you kiss me?
BEA: What?!
STEPHEN: So Til know I'm forgiven. You did lead me on, you know.
BEA: Oh, it was fun.
STEPHEN: Just a little bit cruel, aren't you?
BEA: I'm a woman.

Bea consents to lunch with Stephen and eventually allows him to kiss her, but she

retains her power when she crosses to Stephen's coat and tophat, when she insists

that she never lunches out, and when she admits that her cruelty is the direct result of

her womanhood. Thus, Stephen acknowledges that she humbled him and that she

continues to retain power in this dyad.

In another scene discussed earlier, Bea visually appropriates power. This

scene occurs after the party when Bea and Delilah talk over the party. Although

Bea's success is trivialized in this scene, she visually possesses power when she and

Delilah exit to their respective living areas. This image, perhaps the most racially

disturbing of the film, depicts Bea climbing the staircase to the upper floor of her

mansion while Delilah descends the stairs toward the lower basement floor (Figure

3.11). Despite its racial implications, Bea nevertheless possesses power in this image

by virtue of her movement upward. Additionally, Bea's ascent indicates her position

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i
\

Figure 3.11

of power within the household. Gone are the days when she and Delilah worked side-

by-side. Now, Bea has Jarvis, a butler, and Delilah appears only to occupy the

premises despite her willingness to clean up after the party. O f course, Delilah

should live in luxury-it was her secret recipe that launched the enterprise in the first

place. Nevertheless, Delilah rejected her share of the profits in favor of retaining her

living arrangements. As a result, Bea is the icon of success and achievement and we

recognize the power inherent in this position.

When Bea and Delilah travel to Virginia to search for Peola, who left school to

pursue a job in which she can pass for white, Jessie falls in love with Stephen. Bea

and Stephen plan to marry, however Bea has requested that they keep their

engagement secret until such time as Jessie has an opportunity to meet and like

Stephen. Because Bea is absent, however, Jessie finds herself in love with Stephen

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 Figure 3.12 Figure 3.13

who entertains her while Bea is away. Bea and Delilah find Feola who rejects her

mother outright by denying any acquaintance (Figure 3.12). It is only when Bea

enters the restaurant and scolds Peola that her identity is revealed. They return home

to find Peola there, only to have Peola reject her mother once again. Delilah insists

that she can not "unborn" her own daughter, but Peola demands that she try (Figure

3.13). Bea witnesses both events, and recognizes that the issue of race led to the

demise of Delilah's relationship with her daughter. Bea attempts to console Delilah:

BEA: Don't cry Delilah. Don't cry. She'll come back to you. Give her a little
time. A few hard knocks and she'll come running back to her mother.
That's what mothers are for. She'll remember that you're here to turn to.
DELILAH: No Miss Bea. I lost my baby. She won't ever come back.
BEA: Of course she wilL

Here, Bea indicates that motherhood is a sanctuary, and mothers are essential. When

she insists that Peola will return to her mother, Bea empowers mothers and

motherhood. Moreover, she appropriates maternal power by virtue of her

relationship with her Jessie. She exits Delilah's room and climbs the stairs where she

meets Jessie. She resolves never to let anything come between Jessie and her

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JESSIE: What’s the matter? You look troubled.

BEA: I am troubled, darling. I've just seen such a tragedy. Poor Delilah.
JESSIE: What did Peola do?
BEA: She's gone. She's gone away. Disowned her mother.
JESSIE: Oh how dreadful.
BEA: Oh darling, if anything should ever come between us, it would kill me.
JESSIE: On nothing can, mother.
BEA: Tm gonna see that it doesn't.

We soon realize that Jessie loves Stephen. She visits Stephen at his private

aquarium and admits that she loves him. He insists that she's just a child and she

leaves feeling humiliated and dejected. Later, at the house, Bea overhears a

conversation between them in which Jessie confronts Stephen about hiding the

engagement. He admits that Bea asked him not to say anything until Jessie knew him

and liked him. Bea is distraught Meanwhile, Delilah falls ill. We learn that Bea had

planned to sell the company and retire from active management in order to marry

Stephen, but changes her mind when Elmer arrives presents the offer from national

brands. He confronts Bea who insists that she is worried about Delilah, but Elmer

appears to suspect otherwise:

BEA: Hello Elmer.

ELMER: Well there you are. You dodging me? What have I done?
BEA: What are you talking about?
ELMER: IVe been trying to get in touch withyou for the last twenty-four hours.
You won't come near the office and you won't answer the telephone. All I
can get it the butler and I cant penetrate past him. You're too busy. You're
tired. You cant be disturbed. I'd never known about Delilah except
through the butler. Why have you gone into the silence? What's it all
about?
BEA: Elmer, what is it you want?
ELMER: I just dropped in to tell you that unless we move in the matter of national
brands the deal is going to be called off.
BEA: Well let it.
ELMER: But they're willing to meet our demands. You turn the management over
to them and keep fifty percent of the stock. That relieves you of all
responsibility. And there's moifc money in it than you can possibly think

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 133

of. In fact, there's more money than I can pronounce without stuttering.
Would you like to hear me try?
BEA: I don't want to sell.
ELMER; What?
BEA: I don't want to give up active management.
ELMER: But what's the matter? Before you went south you couldn't sell quick
enough.
BEA: Well I've changed my mind.
ELMER: You wanted to get from behind that desk. You wanted to be a human
being.
BEA: I'm not going to sell. Isn't that sufficient?
ELMER: But Bea!
BEA: Must I always give you an account of everything I do or don't do?!
ELMER: Bea.
BEA: Oh Tm sorry. Forgive me. I really don't know what I'm saying. I'm so
worried and unhappy.
ELMER: Is it Delilah?
BEA: Yes. Yes, of course it's Delilah. Elmer, did you see much of Jessie while I
was away?
ELMER: She came to the office a couple of times. Needed money.
BEA: A loan?
ELMER: Steve was with her. Why?
BEA: Nothing. I just wondered, that's all.

Stephen arrives and interrupts the conversation. Elmer leaves and wishes Bea good

luck with regard to Delilah. Bea is called down to Delilah's room where she dies of a

broken heart. This scene depicts Bea's struggle to reconcile her happiness with her

desire to maintain her relationship with Jessie. As a result, Bea refuses to sell and

insists that she wants to retain her role in active management She therefore rejects a

more womanly role (wife) in favor of her already established masculine role in the

corporate arena. Bea appropriates power by refusing to sell the company. She also

visually appropriates power when she stands up to Elmer and challenges him (Figure

3.14). However emotionally distraught Bea might be, she has the strength and the

power to make a crucial decision that will affect her business and her life.

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Figure 3.14

Delilah's death results in a grand funeral laden with pomp and circumstance,

just as Delilah wished. Afterward, back at Bea's home, she makes her ultimate

sacrifice. She stands in her garden, looking out at the Brooklyn Bridge.

STEPHEN: Bea. You're so lovely. (They kiss) Darling, let's not wait any longer.
Let's be married right away. Tomorrow. And go away on my boat as we
planned. Away from business and worry. . .. What's the matter0
BEA: Jessie's in love with you, isn't she?
STEPHEN: Oh. She's told you?
BEA: No, she didn't have to, I knew. I think I knew right away when I came
back from Virginia.
STEPHEN: Bea, I hope you don't think that I . . .
BEA: Oh no. No I don't. Not now. It justhappened.
STEPHEN: It isn't serious. Just a childish infatuation. Shell get over it.
BEA. No. Not if I marry you, darling.
STEPHEN: What are you saying?
BEA: I'm tTying to say that we cant go on as we'd planned.
STEPHEN: Oh, Bea. You can't mean that. Well she'll forget all about methe first
attractive boy that comes along.
BEA: Dont you see, darling? Right now you’re the man she loves. Iflwereto
marry you, she'd always feel that I'd come between her and her happiness.
STEPHEN: But, she's going back to school next week. She'll find new interests. Soon
shell laugh at this as a schoolgirl crush.
BEA: Oh no, darling. Don't you see? If you're here with me shell keep on
thinking about you. She won't even want to come home where the three of
us would have to be together. And the thought of her unhappiness would
come between you and me.
STEPHEN: I won't give you up like this. I love you.
BEA: Stephen, I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love anyone.
STEPHEN: Oh, well then Bea.
BEA: Oh don't, darling. Please don't make it any harder for me. You mustsee
how impossible it is. Stephen, go back to your islands. And when she
forgets you 111 come to you no matter where you are-if you still want me.
STEPHEN: I shall always want you.
BEA: Then Til come. Just say goodbye.

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Bea makes a difficult decision, yet her relationship with her daughter prevails.

Bea therefore allows maternal power to prevail which in turn enables her to retain her

masculine corporate power. She resists Stephen's protests and stands firm in her

decision, even when he appeals to her emotions. Bea appropriates power through her

ability to stand firm in her decision—something typically associated with men,

especially in light of the emotional nature of this conversation. Women are often

presumed to be emotional and therefore unable to think or act rationally. Despite

Stephen’s emotional pleas and their apparent effect on her, Bea nevertheless

maintains her position and, therefore, her agency and power.

The film ends with Jessie asking Bea about the day she met Delilah. Bea

recounts with great detail the story o f her struggle to ready Jessie for the day nursery

and Jessie's demands for her "quack quack." We are saddened by Bea's sacrifice, but

we are confident that all is well because the mother-daughter relationship has been

saved and Bea has retained her management position in her company. Personal

sacrifice obfuscates the power inherent in this scene, however we can look beneath the

surface to discover a woman who has maintained control o f her life and her destiny.

C o n c l u s io n

Imitation o f Life is a tale o f mother-love and maternal sacrifice. It is the tale of

a mother who challenges societal assumptions about single motherhood and succeeds

both socially and professionally. To the unsuspecting it is a tale of personal sacrifice

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 136

without reward. However, if we re-focus the lens the film reveals maternal power.

The choices this mother makes along the way provide an opportunity to examine

feminine and.matemal power in ways not previously identified. We first see Bea

Pullman as she readies her daughter for the day nursery so she can go to work

peddling maple syrup. She meets Delilah, whose presence enables Bea to pursue her

dreams and build a successful business selling pancakes. She succeeds in this venture

and eventually moves beyond it to build a successful corporation selling pancake

flour. She falls in love with Stephen Archer, only to discover that her daughter loves

him, too. Delilah dies when Peola disowns her, leaving Bea alone. She realizes that

Stephen will eventually come between Jessie and her, and decides not to marry him.

At the same time, she chooses not to sell the corporation and to retain her

management position. She renunciates her love for Stephen and, in so doing, retains

her corporate power and her relationship with her daughter. In the end we are left

with the mother-daughter relationship, similar to that with which the film began.

Imitation o f Life depicts a mother who, in the end, must sacrifice her personal

happiness, but the lenses of trivialization and appropriation reveal many glorious

challenges to societal assumptions about women and motherhood, about career and

family, and about women's proper role in society. The lens o f trivialization enables

us to identify masculine power that is obfuscated by images and discourse. This first

occurs when Bea arrives home after peddling syrup all day. While Delilah rubs her

feet, she states that it is not right for a woman to work and insists that Bea should

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have a man to take care of her. Bea, of course, resists this by proclaiming, "I've got

Jessie, that's enough." This lens also enables us to see beneath the surface insults of

Stephen Archer as he unknowingly labels her the "pancake queen." The label

diminishes Bea's achievements, yet we are able to re-focus the lens in order to

recognize that she maintains power in this exchange by refusing to disclose her

identity and by allowing him to make a fool of himself. Finally, the lens of

trivialization enables us to see beneath the final scene's sacrifice and its emotional soft

focus so that we are able to recognize the agency and power that Bea exhibits. The

lens of trivialization is not sufficient to reveal the full resistive potential of Imitation

o f Life, and so we turn to the lens o f appropriation to expand our understanding of

this mother’s choices, her power and her sacrifice.

The lens of appropriation enables us to examine how Bea appropriates power

visually, as well as through language. Bea is frequently depicted in a position of

power in relation to the other characters with whom she interacts. Her face is usually

visible whereas the faces of other characters are obscured by camera angle or focus.

Moreover, Bea visually appropriates power through costume, especially when she

works at the pancake shop where her costume imitates masculine attire by virtue of

the "bow” tie she wears. She has thus borrowed and refashioned masculine attire for

her own purposes, and has appropriated masculine power through traditional

masculine cinematic camera angles.

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Finally, Bea appropriates power through language. First she successfully

negotiates a lease on a lucrative Boardwalk store, then negotiates repairs and fixtures,

all with no money down. The manner with which she negotiates indicates that she is

confident and self-assured, and that she can survive in the male-dominated world of

business. She also appropriates power when she speaks rationally and logically to

Stephen in the midst of his emotional pleas. She thus appropriates masculine power

at the same time he depicts feminine emotion.

Together, the lenses of trivialization and appropriation reveal challenges to

societal assumptions that career and family are mutually exclusive, that single mothers

cannot balance career and family. Moreover, these lenses reveal many challenges to

traditional assumptions about women's place. Although society may believe that

mothers belong in the home, Bea demonstrates that she can successfully balance career

and motherhood. The Boardwalk property has living quarters in the rear of the store,

which enables her to be close to Jessie while she works. Her corporate success

enables her to provide Jessie with private education, but it also enables her to spend

time with Jessie when she is on vacation. Bea's corporate success is driven by her

desire to provide financial security for her family.

Bea ultimately sacrifices personal happiness in order to save her relationship

with her daughter. Yet Imitation o f Life depicts sacrifice as power. Sacrifice might be

interpreted as victimization or punishment, however my analysis demonstrates that

because Bea chooses to sacrifice her personal happiness in order to save her

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 139

relationship with her daughter, it is a sacrifice that empowers her. Because she

renunciates her love for Stephen she retains both masculine corporate power and

maternal power. In the end, we revisit the beginning. Bea tells the story that was the

film's opening scene. Despite appearances that obscure her achievements, Bea has

accomplished something quite glorious: she has retained masculine power, but she has

also chosen to sacrifice her personal happiness to ensure her daughter's happiness,

and maternal sacrifice is power.

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REFERENCES

American Film Institute Catalog. Feature Films, 1931-1940. "Imitation of Life" 1012-

1013.

Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive History o f

Blacks in American Films. New York: Continuum, 1994.

Imitation o f Life. dir. John Stahl, with Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Ned Sparks

and Louise Beavers. Paramount, 1934.

"Imitation of Life." Hollywood Reporter {10 Sep 1934): 3.

"Imitation of Life." Literary Digest (8 Dec 1934): 31.

"ImitationofLife." Rob Wagner's Script 12 (8 Dec 1934): 8

"Imitation of Life." The New York Times (24 Nov 1934): 19.

"ImitationofLife." Variety(27Nov 1934): 15.

Leab, Daniel J. From Sambo to Superspade: The Black Experience in Motion Pictures.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.

Quirk, Lawrence, J. Claudette Colbert: An Illustrated Biography. New York: Crown,

1985.

Radner, Joan N. and Susan S. Lanser. "Strategies of Coding in Women's Cultures."

Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture. Ed. Joan Newlon Radner.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993. 1-30.

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 141

Radner, Joan Newlon, ed. Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture.

Urfoana: U Illinois P, 1993.

Thaggert, Miriam. "Divided Images: Black Female Spectatorship and John Stahl's

ImitationofLife." African American Review 32 (1998): 481-491.

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PARTTWO:

MOTHERHOOD IS POWER

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C hapter 4

MOTHERHOOD IS POWER: READING BLONDE VENUS THROUGH THE

LENSES OF DISTRACTION AND APPROPRIATION

Blonde Venus (1932) was released just prior to the strict enforcement of the

motion picture industry's Production Code, and yet the director fought publicly with

censors about the film's images and narrative. Because the media followed the censors'

efforts, audiences attended the film searching for subversive or implicit messages.

Thus, implicit messages are more conspicuous in this film than in others of the time.1

Blonde Venus depicts choice as power. Choice is the vehicle by which the

film's mother claims her power. The mother’s ultimate sacrifice, surrendering her son

to her husband, might be interpreted as victimization or punishment. I argue that

because she chooses to return her son in order to provide safety, security and well­

being for him, her choice actually empowers her. I will examine this mother's choices

in an attempt to identify how she claims agency and power that we might otherwise

believe she is denied. Distraction and appropriation will serve as the lenses through

1 For a discussion of the events surrounding von Sternberg’s public dispute with

censors, see Lea Jacobs, “The Censorship o f Blonde Venus: Textual Analysis and

Historical Method.”

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which I examine Blonde Venus. I will occasionally reference other strategies or lenses

as they become relevant, but I believe that these two particular lenses offer an

interpretation that celebrates maternal power, single motherhood, free will.. . and

choice.

The lenses of distraction and appropriation illuminate the various ways that

the film's mother claims masculine agency. Throughout this analysis, I will

demonstrate how the lens of appropriation enables the film's mother to adopt a

masculine identity without sacrificing her femininity. Moreover, maternal power

remains largely unnoticed by audiences who are not seeking such a resistive

interpretation, yet the lens of distraction enables the spectator to recognize,

understand, and celebrate feminine and maternal power within the larger narrative.

As I mentioned earlier, distraction refers to the strategies that divert attention

from the subversive power o f feminist messages (Radner & Lanser 15). As a lens,

distraction enables the viewer to identify the 'noise,' interference, or obscurity that

keeps feminist messages from being heard. As I mentioned in the second chapter, the

"noise" that distracts us may be visual or aural. When we re-focus the lens, we move

beyond the distraction to images and words that subvert the dominant narrative and

enable a resistive interpretation.

Radner and Lanser claim that appropriation involves "adapting to feminist

purposes forms or materials normally associated with male culture or with

androcentric images of the feminist" (10). Appropriation is thus a strategy that

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allows the powerless to violate or transgress established social and cultural codes, and

provides a means to borrow or refashion male forms, to subvert them, or to parody

them with humor. As a lens, appropriation enables the viewer to read images

resistively and to recognize camera angles, costumes or words that borrow from,

subvert or refashion male forms in ways that, at first glance, appear innocuous.

What follows is a brief discussion of the popular and scholarly criticism about

Blonde Venus. This is followed by a close analysis of the film through the lenses of

distraction and appropriation respectively, in hopes o f illuminating how this mother's

choices enable her to claim power and agency that others seek to deny her.

R e v ie w s a n d C r it ic is m

Released in 1932, Blonde Venus was the subject of much debate between

director Josef von Sternberg and the Studio Relations Committee. This debate

centered on the appropriateness of the portrayal of the heroine (Dietrich) as

adulteress and eventually as prostitute (this is never explicit in the film), which the

Studio Relations Committee argued would be perceived as glamorous by audiences

and thereby promote such behavior. More specifically, the Studio Relations

Committee questioned the appropriateness of allowing this fallen women to renounce

her sins and regain her position within her family. Thus, when the film was eventually

released, critics approached the film with a good amount o f prior knowledge about it

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Popular movie critics of the time took one or the other of two diametrically

opposed positions with regard to the film. On the one side were critics from The New

York Times, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Variety, who lambasted the film for its

weak plot, poor direction and disinterested heroine. For example, Mourdant Hall,

critic for the New York Times, wrote, "Marlene Dietrich's latest film, 'Blonde Venus,'.

.. is a muddled, unimaginative and generally hapless piece of work, relieved somewhat

by the talent and charm of the German actress..." (18:4). Similarly, the critic for

Vanity Fair exclaimed, "There is no possible excuse for Blonde Verms, except that it

supports the incredibly accurate prediction made in this department some months ago

that Marlene Dietrich was due to explode with a loud hollow pop" (58). In like

fashion, Marlene Peripatetica of The New Yorker claimed, "It is hard to imagine just

what idea the picture people had in mind when they started the film because the plot

is even more confusing than the geography" (54), and Variety stated, "Weak story,

inept direction and generally sluggish..." (17).

On the other side were critics from Rob Wagner's Script, Photoplay, and

Cinema Quarterly, who praised the film and all its inherent aspects. Writing for

Cinema Quarterly, Forsyth Hardy wrote, "The latest film of von Sternberg's has a

more brilliantly polished surface than any other that America has sent us this year"

(116). Likewise, Jose Rodriguez, critic for Rob Wagner's Script, wrote, "The Blonde

Venus should be a howling box-office success. It has all the ingredients. It fills the

eye, it prods at the tear-ducts, it does not tax the intelligence. To be just, it ladles out

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 147

generous portions of emotional truth" (8). Of the popular reviews, only the Time

critic seemed to take an objective stance. This critic adopts a tone of cynicism, yet

the review nevertheless objectively summarizes the plot without much editorializing.

I previously identified some of the scholarly attention devoted to this film.2

But perhaps the most intriguing examination is that from Lea Jacobs, whose 1988

article, "The Censorship of Blonde Venus: Textual Analysis and Historical Method"

began a study that culminated with the 1995 publication of her book, The Wages o f

Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1928-1942. Both her article and her

book examine the effects of censorship on this film, although her book includes other

"fallen woman" films and more specifically explicates the impact o f the censors upon

the production o f these films. In her book, Jacobs argues "The emphasis on

motherhood in and of itself provided a way of managing or controlling what the

MPPDA considered the potentially offensive aspects of female deviance" (85).

Jacobs traces the development of the script from its inception to its final release

transcript, examines the changes made as a result of censors' demands, and illuminates

the way von Sternberg subverted the censors by rendering implicit those elements of

the plot that the censors found offensive. Importantly, Jacobs fails to recognize the

empowering potential o f this mother's deviance-one that demonstrates that women

can control their lives and their destinies. Admittedly, this is not Jacobs'project She

2 See introduction.

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 148

does, however, comment frequently about the impact of the film's images and the

censors' reactions to them in order to claim:

An examination of the process of self-regulation allows us to specify,

in more concrete historical detail, the way in which the concept of

motherhood informed and delimited the representation of female

sexuality___ From the point of view of the Studio Relations

Committee, the concept of motherhood had a real strategic value; it

provided the cornerstone o f a moralizing and highly normative

discourse which defined the woman's place in terms of her function

within the domestic sphere. (85)

Jacobs finally claims, "In Blonde Verms, clearly, the censor's "moral" reading o f the

story stressed the heroine's domestication" (104). Clearly, Jacobs' analysis relegates

this mother to the constraints of a patriarchally determined domestication. I intend to

demonstrate otherwise. What follows, then, is a close analysis of Blonde Venus in

which I hope to demonstrate how the film's mother both appropriates masculine

power and re-appropriates a feminine power that enables her to rise above the

constraints of masculine power and create her own destiny.

BLONDE VENUS

Blonde Venus (1932) is a tale o f maternal sacrifice and mother love. It

chronicles Helen Faraday's (Marlene Dietrich) struggles to keep her son, Johnny

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 149

(Dickie Moore), despite an illicit affair with Nick Townsend (Cary Grant) that

resulted from her attempts to provide a means for her husband to receive a medical

treatment that would save his life. In an attempt to retain custody of her son, Helen

takes him and runs from her husband and the authorities, surviving on the kindness of

the women she meets and her talents as a cabaret performer. Eventually, Helen

reluctantly returns the child to her husband, sinks into the depths of poverty and

despair, rebuilds herself as a star performer in Europe where she is reacquainted with

Nick Townsend and to whom she becomes engaged, and eventually returns to the

original nuclear family.

T h e F a i r y T a l e : O r i g i n s o f t h e P a t r i a r c h a l S t at u s Q u o

Blonde Venus opens with the titles superimposed over a shot of trees reflected

in a pool o f water. With the final titles, a naked woman swims through the shot,

seemingly wiping the titles off of it. This dissolves into an establishing shot o f a

group of naked women who swim and play in a large pond within a thicket of trees.

The audience's view is slightly obscured by the branches of a willow tree.

We cut to a long shot o f a group o f male students as they walk through the

forest One of the students decides he can continue no longer and sits while the other

students banter about the necessity o f such a walking trip. The first student looks

off-screen and notices something, asking what it is. One of the other students realizes

it is a taxi cab. The students approach the taxi and ask for a ride to town. The driver

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says that he is engaged for the whole afternoon. One of the students (Herbert

Marshall) leans on the taxi and listens to the conversation. The other students

negotiate with the driver and claim, "we'll pay you well." The driver finally tells the

students he is waiting for actresses. The students become excited and one asks how

many actresses there are. The driver replies that there are six actresses, at which

point the first student counts the number in his group-there are seven.

This shot wipes to the thicket where we see a long shot of the actresses as

they jump into the water, laugh, play and splash each other. This shot wipes again to

a medium long shot of the students as they walk through the trees toward the thicket.

The students peer through the branches; all eyes are focused on the actresses. The

first student counts the actresses, which prompts the others to shush him, cover his

mouth, and sit him down. The actresses hear the noise and scream as they jump into

the water and swim to the edge so as not to be seen. The students smile, eyes still

focused on the actresses. One of the students claims, "They seem disturbed about

something." The student we saw leaning on the hood (Herbert Marshall) of the taxi

cab then asks, "Do you suppose we're not welcome?"

We next cut to a close, slightly high-angle shot of an actress (Marlene Dietrich)

as she swims to the edge of the pond, near the students. The sun reflects in her hair,

and casts what appears as a heavenly or angelic aura; her bare shoulders are a creamy

ivory that contrast with the dark water. It is as if she is an angel come as a beacon

light to brighten the life o f this student She asks a question in German.

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STUDENT: I'm sorry, miss, but I don't understand a word.

ACTRESS: Will you please go away?
STUDENT: Oh, you speak English. Really quite a surprise. Have you just come from
America? Rather a long swim, isn't it?
ACTRESS: Will you go away?
STUDENT: What a charming country this is. Fve half a mind to settle here for good!

We then cut to an extreme close shot of the actress. The sun glimmers in her hair and

she wears a pouty, sensual expression on her face.

ACTRESS: Would you mind telling me how long this is going to keep up? You
ought to be ashamed of yourself
STUDENT: Now that you call my attention to it, I guess I am.
ACTRESS: Please, we have to be back in the theatre by six o'clock, otherwise we'll all
lose our positions.
STUDENT: Oh, we wouldn't dream of being the cause of that. But if we go, will you
and your friends meet us for something to eat after the show?
ACTRESS: Well do nothing of the land.
STUDENT: All right my little water nymph, well stay.
ACTRESS: Oh! I think you are the most impossible person IVe ever met.

With that, she turns to swim away, pauses, splashes toward the student, turns and

swims away. Another actress follows in kind.

This scene unfolds like a fairy tale. Based upon the conversation that occurs

in the group of students we know that we are in Germany, a far-away place that

conjures fairy tale images of castles and princesses. Moreover, one o f the students

comments that they are in the Black Forest, a magical place that is removed from

civilization. This fairy tale image casts a surreal portrait into which the audience is

transported.

The film begins with two distinct groups of people-the actresses and the

students. As the scene progresses, however, the characters dwindle until only one

actress and one student remain visually. These will be the main characters of the tale

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that will follow. The banter between these two characters suggests that there is an

instant attraction, a mutual desire. We are certain that we will see them together again.

Also of interest in this scene is the non-diegetic music. When we see the

actresses the music is louder, more active, a crescendo that suggests action. When we

see the students, the music is much softer, less active, and more like an interlude.

This suggests that the students are more reasonable, more logical, more conservative in

their thoughts and actions, whereas the actresses are more spontaneous, more

expressive (they are, after all, actresses), more emotional, and less conservative in

their thoughts and actions (they swim naked in a thicket).

The music might also be interpreted as sexual. As it crescendos during those

shots of the actresses, the music invites a sort of orgasmic pleasure. To be sure, the

image of naked women swimming and playing in a forest pond is enough to spark the

imagination. Clearly, it sparks the students' imagination, evident in the musical

crescendo that accompanies the image of the actresses as the students approach the

thicket. Given that the first student attempts to count the members of each group in

hopes of pairing up, we might expect such sexual innuendo. Of course, this innuendo

is only explicit during those shots that depict the actresses. In this case sex, or rather

sensuality/sexuality, is associated with women, whereas control and decorum are

associated with men. This suggests that women are sexual beings who invite a

diminished capacity of reason and logic in the men toward whom the women direct

their attention. This is especially evident by the flirtatious manner in which the

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actress interacts with the student. She appears to use her "womanly" or feminine

charm to effect some change in the situation, whereas the student uses reason and

logic to combat her appeals.

The contrast between the fully-clothed students and the naked actresses also

suggests that the men are in more control of themselves and their behaviors, whereas

the actresses are less controlled. The dialogue between the student who wears a

walking jacket and hat, and the actress who tries to hide herself at the water's edge

suggests that the student (in this case a man) has control over the actress (a woman).

This can be interpreted as suggesting a patriarchal system wherein women are

subordinate to men. This is further illustrated by the low angle shot of the student as

compared with the high angle shot of the actress. These angles are not extreme, but

they nevertheless suggest a power structure that is already in place, thereby

reinforcing patriarchal authority.

There is a visual contrast between the two characters insofar as their personae

are created. The actress has pale, creamy, ivory-colored skin that contrasts against

the dark water. She has blonde hair that reflects the sun, which creates an angelic aura,

the sun's reflection becoming a sort of halo. She appears pure, innocent, and virtuous.

This image is contrasted with the student who wears dark clothing. He has dark hair

(or so we presume from what we can see), and wears a dark tweed hat His coat is

dark, either gray or brown, and he has on a dark undershirt In comparison with the

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actress' angelic beauty, he appears dark, as if there exists some lurking character flaw

that will play itself out against the "good" and "virtuous" woman.

Even more interesting are the contradictions in the characters as they are

depicted verbally. The actress, so pure and angelic, nevertheless flirts and, in a

manner of speaking, seduces the student. This, in contrast with her angelic, virtuous

purity, is somewhat unsettling. Her behavior certainly does not befit the princess we

imagine her to be, given the fairy tale atmosphere of this scene. Likewise, the dark

and ominous student speaks with a respectable Oxford British accent. He seems very

proper- somewhat antagonistic-and his mannerisms are those of proper decorum.

He is conservative-somewhat flirtatious—but he appears harmless and somewhat

charming in his antagonism. Given his proper British mannerisms, we might easily

cast him as the prince of this tale.

The fairy tale neatly trivializes the women's vocation. When the students

learn about the actresses, status is quickly subordinated-one student attempts to pair

the women with the men. When the actress asks the student to leave he plays games,

banters, and generally diminishes the importance o f her requests. Despite his refusal

to leave if she does not commit to meeting him after her show, she does not submit to

his request. She turns her back and swims away. We are left wondering if his desire

will be fulfilled. The scene trivializes the women's vocation, but it also rewrites the

classic fairy tale, thereby allowing this woman ft) retain her power. She controls the

gaze, both o f the camera and of the student, she uses her feminine charm to convince

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 155

the student to leave (however unsuccessfully), and she retains agency and power as

she refuses to comply with the student’s request and swims away. The scene can be

read through the lens of indirection such that it metaphorically suggests women's

ability to rewrite fairy tales and maintain control o f their lives.

This scene gives us no hint of what is to come, except that these two

characters will figure prominently in the tale that will follow. We might expect to see

them at dinner after the show that evening. We might expect to see them walking in

the moonlight. But we certainly have no indication of the ensuing tale. Instead, we

have dialogue suited only to this scene, in this time and this place. There is no

temporal displacement. Rather, there is continuity of time and space. Our

imagination is left to fill in the rest of the story--until we arrive at the next scene; the

rest of the story.

The next scene reveals Helen Faraday (the actress from the preceding scene) as

she bathes her son Johnny (Dickie Moore). We briefly cut to a scene during which

Ned Faraday (the student) discusses his illness with a doctor, after which we return to

the Faraday apartment With her back to the camera, Helen sews while Ned reads and

Johnny rides his rocking horse. The living room is cramped, cluttered, and dimly lit.

Helen finishes and announces that it is bedtime. Johnny protests to his father, but

Ned lifts Johnny onto the table from which he mounts Helen's back for a ride to the

bedroom. We then cut to Helen and Johnny as they enter his room. Helen tosses

Johnny's bear into the crib, then lowers Johnny into i t A light shines into the room

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through the doorway, casting shadows on all but the crib that Helen rolls into the

middle of the room. This light, amidst the many shadows, shines like a light from

heaven, and lends an aura of purity and virtue to this mother-son relationship.

Johnny calls his father. Ned enters the room and mother and father act out the

bedtime story as they tell it: a fairy tale reenactment of their first encounter in the

Black Forest of Germany, however this tale adds details that fill in the rest of the

story-the portion left to our imaginations. Throughout this scene, Johnny is

portrayed with a slightly high angle shot, while Ned is portrayed with a slightly low

angle shot. Helen, on the other hand, is portrayed with a horizontal shot. This

suggests that Ned has the power in this family, while Johnny is subordinate to both

mother and father. Because Ned is shot from a low angle, Helen is clearly subordinate

to him as well. This establishes (or reinforces society's understanding of) the power

structure in the traditional patriarchal family. This scene also reinforces the power

structure that was established during the fairy-tale opening scene.

Reading Power through the Lens of D istraction

As a lens, distraction enables the viewer to recognize aspects of the film that

may go otherwise unnoticed Remember that," ... distraction involves creating some

kind of noise, interference, or obscurity that will keep the message from being heard

except by those who listen very carefully or already suspect that it is there" (15). In

fact, Blonde Venus demands that viewers listen very carefully because the noise is

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 157

often so loud that hearing the message is quite difficlt. The lens of distraction

provides the viewer with the impetus to examine the noise, interference or obscurity,

and the means to uncover the message that is lurking beneath.

Distraction first appears during Helen's audition for, and casting in a show.

Her name is changed to Blonde Venus for the purpose of the show, and she does not

inform her manager that she is married nor that she has a son. We then wipe to the

Faraday's where Helen hurriedly packs a suitcase while Ned and Johnny watch.

Johnny gives Helen his good luck bear. Helen kisses Johnny several times, but only

kisses Ned on the cheek. Helen gazes into Ned's eyes, as if for the last time, and says

"good-bye." She rushes out and down the stairs, while Ned and Johnny sadly bid her

good-bye from the landing. Helen clearly cherishes her son, evinced by the repeated

kisses she gives him. However, she does not offer Ned the same passion. It seems

that Helen is more devoted to motherhood than to wifehood. This transgresses the

power structure of the traditional family, as Helen is not deferential to her husband.

She gazes into Ned's eyes, as if for the last time, and bids him good-bye, a noteworthy

indication of events to come. The next shot offers a cabaret marquis that announces

"Blonde Venus." We progress through a scene in Helen's dressing room and arrive

finally at her cabaret performance where she performs a pseudo striptease from a

gorilla suit and launches into a performance of "Hot Voodoo."

The "Hot Voodoo" scene is a metaphor for this mother's breaking of the

patriarchal chains that bind her, and serves as the catalyst for all remaining action in

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 158

the film. When the scene begins, heavy percussion accompanies "natives" with dark

afros and body-sized African masks who lead a gorilla through the audience by a leash

attached to a chain around its neck. As the gorilla moves through the audience, many

are visibly upset. The gorilla finally reaches the stage and the music changes. The

music is still percussive, but it is more orchestral. In time with her musical

accompaniment, Helen begins to shed both her costume and her chains. She begins by

removing the "gloves," revealing her ivory-white, perfectly manicured hands, in a sort

Figure 4.1

of strip-tease (Figure 4.1). She then removes the gorilla head and replaces it with a

white afro that is shot through with an arrow. She finally stands and lets the gorilla

suit, and the chains that accompany it, fall to the floor. She wears a sequined leotard

with animal furs hanging from the waist that appear, at first glance, to mimic the

phallus. The camera depicts Helen with a straight-on shot as she disrobes. After she

emerges as the Blonde Venus, and throughout the song, she is depicted with a low-

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 159

fi , y
- >
*
•* «

Figure 4.2

angle shot (Figure 4.2). Helen appropriates masculine power visually through

costume and mise-en-sc£ne, but this appropriation is not recognized because we are

distracted by the costume and the cabaret performance.

Helen is fully aware of the fact that she controls the audience's gaze, just as we

suspect Dietrich knows she controls the camera's gaze.3 Helen is clearly a spectacle.

I would argue that she is not only the object of the gaze, but the subject who intends

to use both her objectivity and the gaze for her own benefit. In this case, we might

suspect that she intends to lure the attractions of one of the rich men in her audience

3 Dietrich claims that she participated in all aspects o f her image and performance,
including making her own costumes, applying her own makeup, and participating in
editing. Thus, Dietrich was keenly aware o f the fact that she controlled the camera's
gaze, and used it to her advantage as a means to resist patriarchal ideology. Dietrich's
daughter claims that Dietrich had a full-length mirror positioned next to the camera to
ensure that" ... whatever von Sternberg's camera saw, so did Dietrich's peripheral
eye. She used it constantly, adjusting, correcting anything and everything she
considered imperfect in any way" (126).

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as a means to provide a cure for her husband. In fact, she does, for it is during her

performance that we detect Nick Townsend's (Cary Grant) attraction to her.

The spectacle of the Blonde Venus, coupled with a musical crescendo when

she begins to sing, distracts us from the subversive lyrics of the song she sings:

"Hot Voodoo"

Did you ever happen to hear a Voodoo

Hear it, and you won't give a damn what you do
Tom-toms put me under a sort of hoo-doo
And the whole night long
I don't know the right from the wrong
Hot Voodoo—black as mud
Got Voodoo—in my blood
That African tempo has made me a slave
Hot Voodoo-dance of sin
Hot Voodoo—worse than gin
1follow a cave man right into his cave
That beat gives me a wicked sensation
My conscience wants to take a vacation
Got Voodoo-head to toes
Hot Voodoo-bum my clothes
I want to stan dancing
Just wearing a smile!
Hot Voodoo—I'ma flame
Fm really not to blame
That African tempo is meaner than me
Hot Voodoo make me brave
I want to misbehave
I'm beginning to feel like an African Queen
Those drums bring out the devil inside me
I need some great big angel to find me
Hot Voodoo—get me wild
On fire and save this child
Fm going to blazes
I want to be bad!

The lyrics of the song clearly imply sexual behaviors that were thought to be

inappropriate by censors of the time. The musical accompaniment, however, nearly

drowns out the words. Audiences would have had to listen closely to hear the lyrics,

which is plausible given media coverage of the dispute between von Sternberg and the

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 161

censors.4 The first two lines indicate that hearing a "Voodoo" is responsible for a lack

of control that makes the hearer unable to distinguish right from wrong. This is, in

and of itself, innocuous, but Helen's smile and bodily movements (she stands with her

hands on her hips, shaking her hips side to side in order to make the furs move and

dance around her groin) indicate that underneath the lyrics is a sexual impulse that is

difficult to restrain. Of course, we do not consciously recognize the sexual impulse,

because we are distracted by her costume and her movements. Moreover, the image

of the Blonde Venus--the white afro with the arrow shot through it~is humorous, and

so we do not expect a subversive message to lurk beneath the surface. Instead, we

chuckle as we watch the woman emerge from a gorilla suit and then parody the

African natives who dance behind her.

From the beginning of the song, Helen controls not only the audience's gaze,

but also their desires. Moreover, the song claims that Hot Voodoo is the dance of sin;

in this case sin implies adultery and forecasts the actions that will follow, which is

supported two lines later when she claims that she "follows a cave man right into his

4 In an effort to make the films they wanted to without losing the messages inherent
to them, von Sternberg and Dietrich devised clever ways to work around the system
o f censorship. According to Lea Jacobs, practices of censorship approached the film
narrative as a whole and depended on conventional narrative modes, "on generic
formulas, on the establishment of stable unities of character, and an unambiguous
linkage of cause and effect" in order to identify the immoral and offensive aspects of a
film (Wages o f Sin 86). But this approach enabled von Sternberg to bypass the
limitations imposed by censors through the manipulation of the narrative. Thus,

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 162

cave." The wicked sensation she mentions in the next line is clearly a sexual desire,

and the next line confirms that she is aware that her actions might carry with them

ramifications. Nevertheless, her "conscience wants to take a vacation." At this point

we see Nick Townsend looking Helen up and down. The camera depicts Nick with a

straight-on shot, while the shot-reverse shot sequence continues to depict Helen with

a low-angle shot Helen therefore controls Nick’s gaze, and maintains her power

throughout the song. The remainder of the song offers a series of shot-reverse shots

that suggest a developing relationship between these two characters. Later lyrics

insist that she is not to blame for her behavior. This, too, mirrors Helen's actions

because they are meant to provide a means for her husband to receive the medical

treatment necessary to save his life. At the same time, she claims that she needs

"some great big angel to find [her]" and that she wants "to be bad." This is the

invitation Nick Townsend needs to enter her life. . . and he does. When the

performance ends, Nick Townsend visits Helen's dressing room. A word-play occurs

that insinuates a potential sexual encounter. This is followed by a close shot o f Nick's

hand as he writes Helen a check for $300.00, after which Nick returns Helen to her

home. We know that Helen arrives late at night. . . nearly morning. She wakes Ned

and tells him that they must prepare his passage to Germany, and claims that her

manager gave her a salary advance.

increased volume in the song such that the lyrics could not be heard, and distraction as

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Here, Helen has re-claimed the power she had as a performer prior to her

marriage. She has also appropriated masculine power by securing the financial means

to provide her husband the treatment he needs, where Ned was unable to do the same.

Finally, she has used her objectification to her advantage by attracting the rich

politician, Nick Townsend. Her actions might be deemed immoral or sinful, but her

motivation is moral and pure. We do not perceive her power, however, because we

are distracted by the apparent infidelity that has transpired. Instead, we perceive

Helen as an adulteress who has transgressed the most sacred social and cultural mores.

Yet this transgression might also be perceived resistively, as Helen refuses to be-

constrained in her attempt to provide her husband with medical treatment.

When Ned departs for Europe where he will receive his medical treatment,

Helen and Johnny move into an apartment, apparently with Nick Townsend. We

periodically see Helen enter the Faraday apartment, open the shades, close the shades,

collect the mail, and leave. Helen and Nick eventually take a vacation during which

they boat and ride horses. This is intercut with shots o f a ship entering a harbor on

which Ned searches the crowd for Helen and Johnny. They are not there. Ned

returns to their apartment to find that it has been unoccupied. He desperately

searches for Helen and Johnny. Meanwhile, Helen enters the apartment and discovers

the result o f costume and setting may have enabled the song to escape censorship.

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 164

that Ned has returned. Ned enters and rushes to Helen. They embrace. Ned then

questions Helen and she admits that she had an affair to pay for his treatment.

NED: Well, what's next?

HELEN: I'm here . . . if you'll have me.
NED: Go on as before, eh? You saved my life and I'm very happy. Let us go and
thank this gentleman for his kindness towards us! Or would you rather I
shoot him dead?! Oh, it doesn't matter. He's not to blame. The minute I
was out of sight you took up with the first man who could give you the
things I couldn't. What puzzles me now is why you should want to come
back to me?
HELEN: I love you, Ned.
NED: Oh, send Johnny back here and clear out! (pause) Go on! What're you
waiting for?!
HELEN: Are you going to take Johnny away from me?
NED: You've been a ro tten mother to him. You're through with him. The law
will give him to me if you don't. If you and your friend try to put up a
fight for him 111 take this case to court. And youll find out soon enough
who's entitled to the custody of the child."
HELEN: I've been a good mother to Johnny.
NED: Let's not dispute that point, Helen. Johnny’s all fve got left. Bring him
here or tell me where he is and 111 get him myself!
HELEN: No, HI bring him here.

Ned's words are unbearably cruel, especially since there is no indication that

Helen has, indeed, been a bad mother. The vehemence of Ned's anger is evident in his

aggressive stance and periodic use of his walking stick to threaten Helen. Helen's

remorse is evident in her eyes which are turned downward. Her remorse turns to a

rigid determination, however, by the end of the scene, but may go unnoticed due to

the swelling non-diegetic music that distracts attention. Helen overtly resists Ned's

power when she says that she has "been a good mother to Johnny." This scene also

reveals indirection in the form of hedging. By saying, "No, I'll bring him here," Helen

employs a litote that negates her apparent compliance. "No" indicates that she does

not intend to return the child to Ned.

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This scene dissolves to a shot of Helen and Johnny on a quay. She stops to

look behind her. Whereas Helen has previously worn predominantly light clothing,

she now wears a dark hat and coat, and the surroundings are mostly dark and

shadowed. The darkness symbolizes the danger, the doom, and the transgression of

this mother. The scene is shrouded in shadows, yet Helen and Johnny are lit from

above. This light represents hope amidst a world of darkness, female power amidst a

world of oppressive tradition (Figure 4.3). We do not readily recognize female power,

however, because we are distracted by this mother's transgression. Again, she

transgresses social and cultural mores as she kidnaps her son and leaves her husband.

This transgression—Helen's choice to take her child and leave her husband-empowers

this mother. Without Ned, Helen is free from the patriarchal constraints that bind her.

Figure 4.3

After Helen and Johnny board a train, we wipe to a police station where Ned

files a missing persons report. The Wanted poster displays a photo of the Blonde

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 166

Venus. This shot dissolves to the marquis of the Star Cafe, which then dissolves to a

high angle shot of Johnny looking through a newspaper and wearing a large

"grotesque" mask on the side of his head. As Johnny looks through the paper, he

discards the pages over his shoulder and onto the floor. He pauses to study a picture,

after which he looks at Helen. The camera tracks backward to reveal Helen who

applies stage makeup for a performance. Johnny crosses to Helen and shows her the

picture of the Blonde Venus. Helen rips the picture out of the paper, rips the picture

into pieces, crumples it and tosses it into the trash. Johnny questions her actions to

Figure 4.4

which she replies, "it was such a bad picture." Johnny says, "I thought it was pretty

good." This scene reveals both distraction and indirection. Johnny's mask distracts

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 167

the audience from Helen's actions not only because it is grotesque, but because it

dominates the frame (Figure 4.4).s Our eyes are drawn to it.

The distraction masks Helen's more resistive actions which occur in the form

of juxtaposition. Helen rips the photo of the Blonde Venus~a persona created by her

former manager and clearly a symbol of male fantasy-and tosses it into the trash. She

thus discards the male fantasy and the symbolic power associated with it. In so

doing, Helen demonstrates that she will no longer submit to the constraints of cultural

and societal tradition.

Throughout the scenes during which Helen and Johnny are on the run from

Ned and the authorities we rarely see them apart. We eventually see them riding a

horse-drawn hay wagon. Helen holds Johnny on her lap and sings a German lullaby.

We do not understand the lullaby's words, but we recognize that Helen here rejects

the constraints of her American family in favor of her German heritage. This scene

employs distraction in that the song masks Helen's rejection of Ned's

paternal/patriarchal power.

O f the scenes during which Helen and Johnny are on the run, one is

particularly interesting when viewed through the lens of distraction. It involves

Helen's appearance in court. The bailiff presents Helen with a charge of vagrancy.

5 See Peter Stallybrass and Alton White. The Politics and Poetics o/Transgression
for a discussion of the grotesque and its transgressive potential, especially during
carnival.

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The judge's bench is well-lit while Helen stands in the shadows, her clothes tattered.

The judge asks for her plea, to which Helen replies "not guilty." The judge orders her

to pay $30 or spend 30 days in jail. Helen says she can not pay, but begs the judge

not to send her to jail, telling him that she has a 5-year-old son. The judge asks where

the boy is. She tells him her son is at the Plantation Hotel, alone and asleep.

JUDGE: A woman who leads the sort of life you do has no right to he custody of a
child.
HELEN: I do the best I can. I haven't been able to find work in days.

The judge releases her with the stipulation that she leave the city within 24 hours.

Here, the weight o f patriarchy bears down upon this woman, evinced by the judge

telling her that she has no right to the custody of her child. We also learn that the

patriarchal "system" is punishing this woman because it does not allow her the means

to support her child. However, she resists patriarchal punishment in that she

convinces the judge to release her. She also resists the judge's degradation when she

insists that she is a good mother who has been unable to find work. Patriarchal

society undermines her efforts but she persists. In this way, she does not succumb to

the power structure, but rather uses it to her advantage. The lens of distraction helps

us understand this scene. Helen's costume distracts us from her overt resistance. She

is a single mother, which is overt resistance to patriarchal tradition. Yet her costume,

tattered rags (that do not obscure her beauty), distract us from her resistance because

they seem to imply that she is unable to care for her family. Incompetence is

apparent when Helen says she has not "been able to find work in days." This

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statement reinforces dominant beliefs about a woman's inability to care for a child by

herself, yet Helen uses incompetence to win the judge's pity and escape her captors.

Because the judge pities Helen he does not recognize her resistance; neither do we.

Instead, her incompetence distracts us from recognizing her power in this scene.

Thus, Helen and Johnny escape those who insist on conformity to cultural and

societal tradition.

Distraction proves useful for recognizing subversive messages that might

otherwise go unnoticed, yet it does not reveal the full resistive potential of Blonde

Venus. There have been instances where distraction allows Helen to appropriate

masculine power. Yet she appropriates masculine power in a variety of ways and as

the result of many choices. That said, let us now turn to an examination of visual

appropriation.

Reading the Visual through the Lens of A ppropriation

The lens of appropriation enables the viewer to recognize visual aspects of the

film that may go otherwise unnoticed. These aspects include (but are not limited to)

costume, camera angle, mise-en-scene; discrete textual cues that can be seen by the

viewer is s/he looks closely. The visual will appear to borrow, subvert or refashion

male forms in such a way that those aspects which are normally associated with male

culture will be adapted to feminist purposes.

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When the "fairy tale" bedtime story ends, we dissolve to the Faraday's work

room in which Ned works at his microscope and Helen works at her loom. They

argue about Helen's desire to return to the stage as a way to fund Ned's medical

treatment. He protests, but she tells him that she planned to return to the stage

anyway and Ned submits. In this scene Helen wears a black dress with a white apron

and a white necktie. Helen visually appropriates masculine power through costuming,

but also through blocking. When Helen approaches Ned with her request to return to

the stage he remains seated while she stands behind him. Helen appropriates power

visually by means of her costume and her physical position within the shot, and

verbally when she insists that she will return to the stage, counters Ned's objections,

and ultimately gains his compliance. In this scene, Helen transgresses the family's

traditional power structure: she inverts it and appropriates symbols of the powerful

patriarch.

Helen also appropriates and refashions masculine power during the series of

events that depict Helen and Johnny on the run, interspersed with shots of Missing

Persons reports that document her travels. Throughout Helen provides child care for

Johnny, feeds Johnny, and teaches Johnny to write. Notably, Helen teaches Johnny

to write by having him copy the word "f-a-t-h-e-r." Symbolically this scene

reinforces the importance o f father in the child's life. If we juxtapose the symbols we

recognize that this mother limits the father’s power to a word written on a piece of

paper, thereby rendering patriarchal power two-dimensional and easily discarded as it

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is thrown into the trash. This metaphorically represents the ease with which a single

mother might discard her child's father, much as Helen discarded Ned when she took

Johnny and left their home. This scene also reveals appropriation. Helen has

appropriated paternal power in this family; she cares for Johnny, provides food and

shelter, and she educates him.

Helen eventually returns Johnny to Ned in an attempt to give him what she,

by herself, cannot. She returns to Europe and builds herself into a successful cabaret

performer. At her Paris debut, Nick Townsend reappears. He enters the cabaret with

a friend, and asks about "Helen Jones." His friend says she supposedly came from

South America about five months ago, used man after man as a stepping stone, and is

"as cold as the proverbial icicle." We cut to the cabaret stage where Helen enters in

white tails and a top hat. Helen clearly appropriates masculine power visually

through costume. As dancers leave the stage, Helen innocently leans over and kisses

one on the cheek. Helen's actions are those of a man, and she clearly embodies

masculine power and agency.

Helen is depicted throughout this scene from a low angle, visually reinforcing

her power (Figure 4.5). Interestingly, she is dressed in white, suggesting her purity or

innocence. This is contrasted by the audience, most o f whom are men dressed in

black tails and top-hats. Helen begins to sing in French. While she sings, she moves

through the audience and, without realizing it, pauses in front o f Nick Townsend. He

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touches her hand and, during an interlude in the song, asks if he can go backstage after

the show. Helen replies, "I seem to remember you came backstage once before."

Figure 4.5

During this exchange Helen maintains a position of power; Nick remains

seated while Helen stands. She looks down upon him while he looks up at her,

Figure 4.6

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suggesting that she possesses power even in this romantic relationship (Figure 4.6).

When Helen's performance ends, we cut to her dressing room. Nick reads her

mirror on which is written, "Down to Gehenna or up to the throne, he travels fastest

who travels alone!" Helen enters. Nick begins to ask questions, but she tells him not

to ask questions because she does not want to talk about the past. She says she is

presently not in love with anybody and is completely happy. Nick asks about

Johnny, but she claims not to know where he is. He tries to convince her to return

with him the next day to the United States and to see Johnny so she can "break the

crust of ice around her heart." Helen refuses, claiming that she does not miss her son.

Nick insists that she loves her son more than anything, and tells her he will reserve a

cabin for her on the ship in case she changes her mind. Helen exits for her next

performance.

The importance o f this scene involves Helen's costume. She wears white tails

and a top hat. She has again appropriated masculine attire, and thereby appropriated

masculine success. In fact, her suit mirrors Nick Townsend's suit, except that his suit

is black. Patriarchy argued that this woman was worthless, but she has proven them

wrong. She has rejected their worldview and reconstructed herself in their (the

patriarchy's) image. Again, Helen's performance distracts the audience from the

transgression evident in her attire. Moreover, her costume distracts the audience from

the words of her song, "I Couldn't Care," the words o f which reject men outright

This scene also employs indirection as Helen hedges when she claims that she does

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not miss her son. Her words contrast with her facial expression and body language,

and also with everything we have witnessed previously; she did, after all, return him

to his father in order to ensure his welfare. Helen impersonates "man" through

costume and attitude—she is masculinized in this scene because she appears in male

attire, and because she adopts an emotionless attitude. This is in contrast to a

generalized understanding that women are emotional. Indirection thus allows Helen to

reclaim the power she lost when she surrendered her son to Ned.

We next dissolve to an extreme close shot of newspaper headlines that read

"Paris favorite quits show night after huge success," and "Former N.Y. cabaret girl

engaged to millionaire." This shot cuts to the interior of the Faraday apartment where

Ned and Johnny eat dinner. Ned reads the newspaper and sees the headlines. He

shows Johnny Helen's newspaper photo and asks if he knows her. Johnny holds the

paper close and examines it. He says "no." Ned then asks Johnny if he remembers

"mother." Johnny says, "sure 1 d o . . . is that her?" He looks closely at the picture,

and refuses to take his eyes off o f it. Ned failed to teach Johnny to forget his mother.

Johnny’s assertion that he remembers her, and his refusal to take his eyes off her

picture indicate that, in this instance, her symbol persists and that her authority has

transgressed patriarchal authority. Because she appears only in a photo, however, her

authority and power are trivialized and thus rendered innocuous.

We cut to an exterior shot of a ship entering the harbor, which wipes to the

stairwell o f the Faraday apartment Nick and Helen stand at the top of the stairs,

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outside the apartment Helen wears an extravagant black and silver overcoat and a

black beret under which her hair is completely hidden. Mick knocks on the door,

while inside the apartment Ned washes the dishes. Ned yells to the door and Nick

enters. Johnny attempts to enter as well, but Ned ushers him back into his room and

closes the door. This is immediately followed by a shot of Helen on the landing, as

she responds to Johnny’s voice. She presses her ear to the door in hopes of hearing

the conversation. Alter a heated discussion, Nick invites Helen into the apartment.

She enters, but avoids eye contact with Ned and again subverts his authority. He

turns his back to her. She crosses to Johnny's room.

Inside, Johnny plays with a train. He sees Helen. She runs to him and they

tightly embrace. This dissolves to a close shot of Johnny and Helen during which

they embrace, rock and talk. We then see a long shot of Ned who sits in the shadows

while behind him Nick leans against the wall. Helen exits Johnny's room. She has

removed her overcoat to reveal a satin shoulderless black evening gown. Her costume

is transgressive in that it is not traditional domestic attire. We cut to a close shot of

Ned as he watches her. The sadness in his eyes reveals a hope of reconciliation. We

then cut to Helen as she prepares to bathe Johnny. Nick leaves the apartment.

We then dissolve to a shot of Helen as she combs Johnny's hair. She has

removed her beret to reveal her beautifully coifed hair. The aura cast by the light's

reflection suggests a halo, again as if a light from heaven shines upon this mother-son

relationship. After Johnny's insistence that Helen tell him the story about

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"Germany," and Helen's insistence that she can not do it without Ned, Johnny calls

Ned who enters the room. Ned's resistance upsets Johnny. Nevertheless, Helen and

Ned reenact the fairy tale. Ned's version is fraught with a cynicism, however, that

prompts Johnny to declare that Ned is "not telling it right at all." Helen rises and

crosses to Ned as the light cascades

Figure 4.7

down upon her and Ned gazes longingly at her. Next we cut to a medium-long three

shot Ned covers Johnny while Helen moves to the side of the crib. As Helen

prepares to leave, Johnny stands and whispers into her ear. She grabs a music box,

sits and begins to sing her German lullaby (Figure 4.7). During her song we see

several rapid shot/reverse shots of Helen and Ned whose gazes become more and more

affectionate. Johnny falls asleep, but Helen continues to sing, this time to Ned. He

crosses to her and wraps his arm around her. She asks Ned to let her stay, and he

replies that this is where she belongs. She presses her head against his stomach.

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Johnny awakens, sees his mother and father reunited, and reaches through the slats of

the crib to manually keep the music box playing as he turns the carousel with his

fingers. This scene appears to reinforce tradition by re-inscribing Helen into the

traditional nuclear family, while it simultaneously resists tradition. Helen's costume

distracts us from her power which is evident when the camera reveals the three shot.

Whereas Helen was previously depicted with a high angle or straight-on shot, she is

here depicted with a low angle shot. By contrast, Ned is depicted with a straight-on

shot Thus, Helen has gained power while Ned has lost power within this nuclear

family. Helen's appropriation of paternal power works to neutralize her reinscription

into the traditional family. Moreover, Helen's reinscription into the family distracts

us from her lullaby, a clear rejection of this man's American heritage.

Reading the A ural through the Lens of A ppropriation

We previously examined a scene during which Helen and Johnny are on the

run through the lens of distraction. There is yet another scene during this series of

events in which Helen is empowered. The lens of appropriation will help to

illuminate how Helen appropriates power through impersonation. This scene begins

with yet another Missing Persons report after which we dissolve to the interior o f a

room in which a chicken walks by Johnny's toy bear. Johnny blows bubbles while

Helen dresses and applies makeup. A maid enters and tells Helen that a man has been

loitering outside. Helen grabs Johnny and holds him close. We then wipe to an

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exterior shot wherein the maid speaks with the man, and then dissolve again to the

interior of Helen's room. The maid relays the man's message that he is "just browsiri

around," and Helen exits. We next see Helen outside. She flirts with the man and

entices him to follow her into a saloon. During their discussion Helen both smokes

and drinks beer (something she has not previously done), and he reveals that he is a

detective in pursuit of a woman and her child.

DETECT.: You sympathize with her, don't you? Well, i don't. She oughta get wise
to herself. The way she's living now isn’t doing that kid any good. Some
people might call it mother love but I don't.
HELEN: What does a man know about mother love?

This question demonstrates patriarchy's (embodied by the detective) insistence that

mother love is not sufficient to care for a child. With that, Helen invites the detective

back to her room.

DETECT Mind if I take off my coat?

HELEN: (Dispirited) No, make yourself at home.
DETECT What's the matter, babiy? Did I hurt your feelings?
HELEN: I haven't got any anymore.
DETECT Aw, you m ustn't talk like that. (He tries to kiss her neck.)
HELEN: You seem to be in an awful hurry.
DETECT. Well, 1 ain't exactly got a lot of time on my hands.
HELEN: (have.
DETECT. (Looking around) That your bedroom?
HELEN: Yes, warn to see it? Ill show it to you.

Helen knocks and scratches a code on the door.

DETECT.: Say, who you got in there? What're you trying to do, frame me?
The door opens.

JOHNNY: Hello, mommy.

HELEN: Hello, Johnny. Ill be right with you.
JOHNNY: All right, mommy, m wait.

Johnny closes the door.

DETECT.: Say, is that your Irid?

HELEN: fll give you three guesses, Sherlock Holmes.

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DETECT.: Oh! You're Helen Faraday.

HELEN: What a brain!
DETECT.: Gee, what a chump I was. You pegged me right off the bat.
HELEN: Yes, I pegged you right off the bat. You've got your badge on your face, not
under your coat. You and your whole crowd .. you .could never have
caught me. Not in a thousand years. And now, get out. And don't forget
to tell that husband of mine that Fm giving the kid up not because he
hounded me into it, but because Tmno good. You understand? No good
at all, you get me? No good for anything—except to give up the kid before
it's too late.

The importance of this scene rests with the fact that patriarchy has seemingly

defeated this woman. After repeated exposure to the sneers, the judgment and the

criticism of those who represent patriarchy (Ned, the judge, the detective), Helen

finally claims that she is unworthy of motherhood. However, this scene can be

interpreted not as reinforcing patriarchal domination, but as Helen's impersonation of

patriarchal language. She has chosen to return her son to Ned for reasons that are

unknown. In fact, she tells the detective that they never would have caught her. She

escaped them before, and then lured the detective who did not recognize her until she

revealed herself to him. Therefore, her claim that she could have escaped again is

believable. She uses the words of the patriarchal authorities and thus appropriates

patriarchal language to her own advantage. She tells the detective she is "no good"

Whether or not she actually believes this, we do not know. However, we suspect that

Helen has a plan. Because Helen chooses to return the child, she creates for herself an

agency the authorities sought to deny her. Rather than allow her child to be "taken

away," she "gives the child back." These are two fundamentally different actions,

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with fundamentally different implications. Impersonation enables Helen to

appropriate patriarchal power, and appropriation enables Helen to obtain masculine

Figure 4.8

agency. Moreover, Helen's perceived incompetence at a traditionally feminine role

(motherhood) enables Helen to appropriate a masculine identity that relieves her of

the constraints that patriarchy sought to enforce. And yet she appears beautiful,

despite her appearance in tattered rags. We recognize this litote, as her appearance

contradicts her message (Figure 4.8).

The next scene reveals Helen, Johnny and the detective at the train station.

The train approaches and the detective greets Ned. Johnny runs to him and hugs him.

Ned purchases one and one-half tickets for the next train, and tells Johnny to stay

put Ned then goes to Helen and sits on the bench next to her. We cut to a medium

shot from behind Ned and Helen. Both are wearing black, perhaps signifying the

demise of their relationship, perhaps signifying a sort o f mourning (for the loss of

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their relationship), perhaps signifying the evil that lurks in anger and resentment or,

perhaps signifying the demise of each as individuals. Ned sits next to Helen, looking

at her intently. Helen, however, does not look at Ned. She looks down and away,

and refuses to submit to Ned's patriarchal authority. Ned reaches into his coat and

hands Helen an envelope.

NED: In this envelope are fifteen hundred dollars. I've been wanting to pay it for a
long time. It's what I owe you for my life. It would have been bener,
Helen, if you'd let me die. And you might as well know what that money
means to me. It represents my life's work. Had I been able to exploit it
properly I could have made a fortune, but I sold my rights and now we're
quits. Stay away from Johnny, for good! Give him a chance to forget you.
That's the only way you can be a good mother to him now.

Ned and Johnny board the train without looking back. When the train leaves

the frame Helen rises and crosses to the tracks. She stands in the middle and watches

after it. This shot wipes to an extreme close shot of a note card from the Bureau of

Missing Persons that states, "Subject gave up child voluntarily. Left vicinity a week

later. Whereabouts unknown." The card is filed.

This scene is important in that it depicts father as worthy o f single

parenthood, while it insists that mother is unworthy. Patriarchy (Ned) declares that

the only way Helen can be a good mother is to let her child forget her. Such a cruel

statement reinforces the belief that this mother has in some way harmed her child. On

the surface, then, patriarchal tradition has prevailed. We must remember, however,

that this woman surrendered her child voluntarily. She possessed agency in this

action. Despite the troublesome nature of the agency exhibited in this scene, it offers

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single mothers the hope that they, too, will have agency in the choices they make.

This identification is trivialized, however, as a result of Johnny's return to the father.

We next see an extreme close-up of a note card firom the Bureau of Missing

Persons that reads, "Subject gave up child voluntarily. Left vicinity a week later.

Whereabouts unknown." The card is filed. This dissolves to a sign outside a "Ladies

Only" flop house. Helen enters the flop house drunk. She approaches another drunk

who says she is going to kill herself tomorrow. Helen says, "Me, t oo. . . because I

feel like it." The other drunk says that is not a good reason, and says, "I don't have a

dime, never have and never will." Helen gives the drunk an envelope.

HELEN: In this envelope are fifteen hundred dollars. It represents my life's work.
Had I been able to exploit it properly I could have made a fortune, but I
sold my rights and now we're quits. I'm not going to stay in this dump
anymore. I'm going to find myself a better bed. Don't you think I can?
Just watch.

This scene reveals Helen's refusal to allow patriarchy to destroy her, and employs

juxtaposition, distraction and impersonation in order to enable Helen to appropriate

masculine power. The flop house is a "ladies only" establishment On the surface this

flop house represents women's failure, but it simultaneously represents resistance to

the masculine by prohibiting men from entering it The establishment's exclusion of

men is not readily apparent, in that it juxtaposes blatant resistance with visual failure.

However, women are free to choose their destinies in this establishment, just as Helen

decides to "find. . . a better bed." Moreover, this scene is dimly lit, most of it

occurring in shadows, and the women in it are disheveled and unkempt This distracts

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 183

the viewer from recognizing the resistance inherent in it, as we focus more on the

women in the establishment and their miserable lifestyle. Our eyes focus on the

poverty and unhappiness in the scene, rather than the rigid determination of a woman

(Helen) who refuses to allow patriarchy to control her. Helen has refused to use the

money given to her, and instead vows to succeed on her own terms. Finally, Helen

utilizes impersonation as she recites Ned's speech and gives its contents to the drunk

in the flophouse. She clearly rejects Ned and all he stands for as she gives his money

away, thereby rejecting patriarchal domination. Helen thus appropriates masculine

power through language and action as she appropriates masculine language (Ned's

words) and resolves to find herself a better bed. She recognizes a challenge to her

abilities when she exclaims, "Don't you think I can? Just watch."

Conclusion

Blonde Venus is a tale of mother-love and mother-sacrifice. It is the tale of a

mother who struggles to find her place in society without losing her identity. The

choices she makes along the way provide an opportunity to examine feminine power

in ways not previously identified. We first see Helen Faraday in her role as actress,

followed by her role as mother. She chooses to return to her career, which results in

the loss o f her son (remember, she chose to return him). She rebuilds a successful

career, but then returns to her family. Helen Faraday is a mother who loves her son

deeply, and would do anything to protect him and her right to motherhood. Never

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does she neglect him. Rather, she sacrifices herself in order to provide for him. First

she takes Johnny and runs away from Ned, hoping to perform in cabarets. She then

turns to prostitution in an attempt to earn enough money to provide food and shelter

for Johnny. Eventually she gives Johnny to Ned, and suggests that she is be unable to

provide for him as a single mother who is bound by the constraints of patriarchal

authority. After she remakes herself in Paris, she returns to the United States where

she returns to her son. Her devotion to her son and her willingness to care for him

provides her with the opportunity to participate in the reenactment of the opening

fairy tale, the mechanism by which she and Ned are reunited. Her love for her son,

evinced by the joy she finds in bathing him and singing her lullaby, enable her to

return home. Throughout, Helen appropriates patriarchal symbols through costume,

impersonates patriarchal language, distracts audiences from her subversion of

tradition, juxtaposes artifacts and performances, and relies on feigned incompetence to

resist societal and cultural expectations about single motherhood. Helen acts in such a

way that she violates social and cultural codes that are deemed proper. That is, she

embraces single motherhood in a society that demands adherence to tradition.

Blonde Venus depicts a mother who, in the end, appears to assume her

"rightful" place within the family, but the lenses of appropriation and distraction

reveal many challenges to traditional assumptions about women's place. The lens of

distraction enables us to illuminate the subversive lyrics o f "Hot Voodoo" and to

recognize the sexual impulses in the song, despite the fact that the music's volume and

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 185

Helen's bodily movements distract us from them. This lens also enables us to

recognize the power Helen appropriates when she escapes punishment from the

judge. But the lens of distraction is not sufficient to reveal the depth and breadth of

resistance in Blonde Venus, and so we turn to the lens of appropriation to expand our

understanding of this mother's choices and her power.

The lens of appropriation enables us to examine how Helen appropriates

power both visually and aurally. Visually, Helen is frequently depicted with a low

angle shot-a shot that is designed to ascribe power to the subject In fact, throughout

the scenes during which Helen and Johnny are on the run from Ned and the

authorities, Helen is always depicted with either a straight-on or low angle shot

thereby reinforcing her equality (among the women with whom she interacts) and her

power. Moreover, Helen visually appropriates power through costume, especially

when she appears on stage in Paris wearing tails and a top-hat. She has thus

borrowed and refashioned masculine attire for her own purposes.

Finally, Helen appropriates power aurally. First, she impersonates patriarchal

language-the words she has heard repeatedly from Ned, the judge, the detective—

when she chooses to return Johnny to her husband. In so doing, she resists

domination by assuming the position of the dominators. Moreover, she impersonates

Ned when she gives the envelope with fifteen-hundred dollars in it to the woman at

the flop house. In this way, Helen refuses to be constrained by patriarchy, and

instead uses patriarchal language to her advantage.

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 186

Helen ultimately returns to her family. Scholars criticize this move and argue

that it is Hollywood's attempt to recuperate the traditional family. But it is

important to recognize that Helen chooses to return. She orchestrates the return and

defines her life according to her own desires and her own will. This is subversive,

because the powerful remain convinced of their power (the traditional family is

recuperated), while the subordinates recognize maternal agency and, by extension, the

maternal power inherent in her choice. In fact, Helen appropriates and re-

appropriates power. She appropriates masculine power, but she also re-appropriates

a feminine power that enables her to rise above the constraints of masculine power

and to create her own destiny. Blonde Venus leaves the viewer with the sense that

Helen Faraday has accomplished something very grand: she has chosen motherhood,

and motherhood is power.

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 187

REFERENCES

Abel. "Blonde Venus." Variety!! (Sep 1932): 17-18.

Arbuthnot, Lucie & Gail Seneca. "Pre-Text and Text in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

Issues in Feminist Film Criticism. Ed. Patricia Erens. Bloomington: Indiana UP,

1990.112-125.

Blonde Venus, dir. Joseph von Sternberg, with Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and

Cary Grant. Paramount, 1932.

"Blonde Venus." Time (3 Oct 1932): 36-37.

Carson, Diane, Linda Dittmar, & Janice R. Welsch, eds. Multiple Voices m Feminist Film

Criticism. Minneapolis: U Minnesota P, 1994.

Erens, Patricia. Issues in Feminist Film Criticism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1990.

Hall, Mourdant. "Marlene Dietrich and Herbert Marshall in a Film Which Caused a

Studio Disagreement." The New York Times (24 Sep 1932): 18:4.

Hardy, Forsyth. "Blonde Venus." Cinema Quarterly I (Winter 1932): 116.

Haskell, Molly. From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment o f Women in the Movies.

Chicago: U Chicago P, 1987.

Jacobs, Lea. "The Censorship o f Blonde Venus: Textual Analysis and Historical

Method." Cinema Journal 27 (Spring 1988): 21-31.

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—. The Wages o f Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1928-1942. Berkeley:

U California P, 1995.

Kaplan, E. Ann. Motherhood and Representation: The Mother in Popular Culture and

Melodrama. London: Routledge, 1992.

—. Women & Film: Both Sides o f the Camera. London: Routledge, 1983.

—. "Fetishism and the Repression of Motherhood in Von Sternberg's Blonde Venus

(1932)." Women & Film: Both Sides o f the Camera. London: Routledge, 1983.

49-59.

Peripatetica, Marlene. "The Current Cinema." The New Yorker {1 Oct 1932): 54-55.

Photoplay 42 (Nov 1932): 58.

Radner, Joan N. and Susan S. Lanser. "Strategies of Coding in Women's Cultures."

Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture. Ed. Joan Newlon Radner.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993. 1-30.

Radner, Joan Newlon, ed. Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993.

Rodriguez, Jose. "The Blonde Venus." Rob Wagner's Script (24 Sep 1932): 8.

Stallybrass, Peter & Allon White. The Politics and Poetics ofTransgression. Ithaca:

Cornell UP, 1986.

Studlar, Gaylyn. In the Realm o f Pleasure: Von Sternberg, Dietrich, and the Masochistic

Aesthetic. New York: Columbia UP, 1988.

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 —. "Masochism and the Perverse Pleasures of the Cinema." Movies and Methods. Ed.

Bill Nichols. Berkeley: U California P, 1985. 602-621.

"The Screen." Vanity Fair (Nov 1932): 58.

Weiss, Andrea. "'A Queer Feeling When I Look at You1: Hollywood Stars and Lesbian

Spectatorship in the 1930s." Multiple Voices in Feminist Film Criticism. Eds.

Diane Carson, Linda Dittmar, & Janice R. Welsch. Minneapolis: U Minnesota P,

1994. 330-342.

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 190

C h a pter 5

MOTHERHOOD IS POWER H: READING BAB Y BOOM THROUGH THE

LENSES OF APPROPRIATION AND DISTRACTION

Baby Boom (1987) provides a forceful and conspicuous challenge to the belief

that career and motherhood are mutually exclusive, or that women are unable to

balance work and family. In the decade following the film's release this country

witnessed a boom in home-based businesses. Clearly, there is not a demonstrable

causal relationship between Baby Boom's release and the increase in home-based

businesses, however the film's release coincides with an increase in home-based

businesses, many of which are similar to that depicted in the film. An "all dates

available" search of Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe using keywords "home based

business" with additional term "women" retrieved 109 documents dated 1981-1999,

only fourteen of which are dated 1981-1987. Of these sixteen documents, fourteen

deal specifically with technology, and only two discuss the businesses themselves.

An additional "all dates available" search of Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe using

keywords "home based business" with additional term "mother" retrieved 46

documents, only three of which are dated between 1983-1987 and only two of which

discuss the businesses themselves. A search of Periodical Abstracts revealed similar

results. Thus, popular acknowledgment of and discussion about home-based

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businesses coincides with the film's release, discussions that support the film's

assertion that career and family can co-exist.

The film's popularity is unquestionable. It rose to #4 on the Billboard charts

during its box-office run,1and rose to #5 on Billboard's rental charts within two weeks

of its video release.2 In addition, Diane Keaton was nominated for Best Actress in a

Musical or Comedy Movie, and the film itself was nominated for Best Musical or

Comedy Movie.3 Moreover, Diane Keaton was a runner-up for Best Actress at the

annual National Society of Film Critics awards meeting.4

Baby Boom is both socially relevant (historically) and conspicuously resistive.

This film's mother appropriates patriarchal power in a way that is explicit. But she

also appropriates maternal power. That is, although the film's mother appropriates

masculine power she is not, ultimately, masculinized. Instead, the film reinforces

femininity in a way that is truly subversive; feminine power provides this woman the

means to refashion traditional societal beliefs about single motherhood.

The lenses of appropriation and distraction reveal the various ways that the

film's mother claims masculine agency, as well as the ways that she uses feminine and

1 See Julie A. Doherty, "Currents." Doherty compiled this information from the 23
November 1987 issue of Variety.
2 See Dennis Hunt, "Entertainment Desk: Schwarzenegger, Keaton Zoom to Top."
According to Hunt, "Arnold Scwarzenegger's 'The Running Man' and Diane Keaton's
'Baby Boom' both made it to the Top Five of the Billboard magazine rental chart in
just two weeks."
3 United Press International. (S Jan 1988).

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maternal power to create feminine agency. Throughout this analysis, I will

demonstrate how the lens of appropriation enables the film's mother to visually adopt

a masculine identity. I will also identify how maternal power remains largely

unnoticed by audiences who are not reading the film resistively, and how the lens of

distraction enables the spectator to recognize, understand, and celebrate feminine and

maternal power within the larger narrative.

Remember that Radner and Lanser describe distraction as, "strategies that

drown out or draw attention away from the subversive power of a feminist message"

(15). Remember, too, that distraction may occur visually or aurally. The lens of

distraction enables us to see beyond the "noise," and reveals images and words that

subvert the dominant narrative.

Radner and Lanser suggest that appropriation involves "adapting to feminist

purposes forms or materials normally associated with male culture or with

androcentric images of the feminist" (10). Accordingly, appropriation is a strategy

that allows the powerless to violate or transgress established social and cultural codes,

and provides a means to borrow or refashion male forms, to subvert them, or to

parody them with humor. As a lens, appropriation enables the viewer to read images

resistively and to recognize camera angles, costumes or words that borrow from,

subvert or refashion male forms in ways that, at first glance, appear innocuous.

4 Anders, Gigi. "Personalities." The Washington Post. (4 Jan 1988): B3.

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What follows is a brief discussion of the popular and scholarly criticism about

Baby Boom. This is followed by a close analysis of the film through the lenses of

appropriation and distraction respectively, in hopes of illuminating how this mother

both appropriates masculine agency and creates a feminine/maternal power that we

might otherwise believe she is denied.

Reviews and Criticism

1987 saw the release of Baby Boom, the tale of successful business woman-

tumed-single mother, J.C. Wiatt. It appears to have presented popular critics with

contradictions that led to several insightful commentaries. The film left many with

the sense that it undermined women's progress. For instance, the critic for Films in

Review stated, "There are several viciously funny scenes which Keaton services

perfectly, but the underlying feeling that a woman is out of place in the big city

corporate environment because she can not juggle both career and child keeps

surfacing, leaving the film with a bitter aftertaste" (Fiorillo 99). David Denby, the

critic for New York Magazine, stated:

Filmmakers are always cutting heroines down to size for the mass

audience, many of whom may not want their heroines diminished. The

conventionality of Meyers and Shyer’s wisdom is infuriating. We're

meant to understand that J.C.'s terrific business career is based on the

denial of her womanhood. Raising the baby, on the other hand, makes

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her a woman for the first time and a better person—she can accept sex

and love. The filmmakers' assumptions about what people really need

could come close to enforcing mediocrity. How can Meyers and Shyer

be so sure they know what's best for a woman? Some women just

don't have a vocation for motherhood. (91)

Perhaps more telling is the sentiment revealed by Judith Williamson, critic for New

Statesman:

But in the discussions about whether or not we can "have it all" no one

has thought to challenge the very terms of the question. For the

concept is a totally consumer one in the first place. Why not consider

whether one can be all those things (a worker, a mother, a lover etc)—

which one obviously can-or whether one can do all the things one

wants (which does involve choice, being mainly a question of time).

Why is the whole issue of job, partner, child characterised as one of

what you can have!

Williamson argues that the film foils to deal with the real issues, opting instead to

glamorize and consumerize motherhood.

Besides a perception that Baby Boom undermines women's achievements,

other critics disliked the film because of its failure to depict reality. The critic for

Variety claimed, '"Baby Boom' tries to be a lot funnier than it actually is, and

handsome production design and cinematography do little to compensate for its

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annoying over-reliance on comball action montages and a dreadfully saccharine

soundtrack score" (Gold 13). Similarly, the critic for the New York Times claimed,

"Without Miss Keaton-or even with Miss Keaton, in one of her more fluttery

incamations-none of this would be believable for a second" (Maslin C24).

There were many positive reviews. Kevin Thomas, critic for the Los Angeles

Times claimed:

What the Shyers are finally saying is that a woman—or a man for that

matter-can in fact have it all but that you had better be prepared to

make some crucial adjustments as the price exacted We're also

reminded of the old truth that sometimes you get something you

thought you wanted badly only to discover you didn't want it after all.

"Baby Boom" starts out as a comedy about a career woman coping

with an unexpected and initially unwanted motherhood, but then the

child becomes a catalyst in transforming an individual's priorities and

entire way of life. (I)

Thomas' was perhaps the most idealistic of the popular reviews, but it nevertheless

represents a reading that is sympathetic to a resistive reading. Pam Cook, too,

recognized the resistance in Baby Boom. An extended quote will reveal the resistive

potentiality of this film:

. . . in the meantime (the 60s and 70s) something (the Women's

Movement) has happened J.C.'s aspirations to happy single-

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parenthood may come unstuck, but they are given a positive value

which would have been impossible without those feminist-influenced

70s movies (Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More, An Unmarried

Woman) which explored the possibilities for women making it on their

own. Baby Boom may appear to be a retreat, confirming a conservative

fantasy of the family as woman's natural place. J.C., after all, does

reject a million-dollar deal with a prestigious food chain who want to

buy out her successful, but small-scale, baby-food business for a life in

the country with Elizabeth and a delectably taciturn veterinarian]

(Sam Shepard). But this family is entirely woman-made, hard-won in

the face of adversity and, moreover, a conscious choice on J.C.'s part

after she has proved she can make it on her own. (71)

Thus, popular critics recognized in this film its resistance to a conservative ideology

that Susan Faludi labeled the "backlash" of the I980s.s Even Roger Ebert claimed that

although the film does not represent reality, it offers a glimpse of the way things

should be.6

5 See Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women.
6 See Roger Ebert, "Baby Boom." Ebert stated, "The flaw in "Baby Boom" is that
the Keaton character ends up not having sacrificed a single thing by leaving the
business world to become a mom. In fact, she becomes a millionaire as a direct result
o f keeping the baby. It doesn't often happen that way, but of course it should."

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Of course, there are many other popular reviews, both positive and negative,

but those mentioned above encapsulate the popular views and critiques of Baby

Boom. Scholarly attention to this film is sparse, which is surprising given its overtly

feminist (or anti-feminist, depending on the perspective) tendencies, but there are a

tew notable discussions worthy of mention here.

Susan Faludi devotes several pages to a discussion of Baby Boom, but does so

to support her claim that the film's director and producer sought intentionally to

undermine women's progress. Faludi takes issue with the fact that the heroine leaves

the corporate workforce rather than challenge the assumption that women can not

balance family and career. According to Faludi, "It never occurs to the highly

educated Tiger Lady that her treatment might constitute sex discrimination. Instead of

proceeding to the courtroom, she quits and moves to the country.. . . she soon

softens up, learning to bake and redirecting her business skills to a more womanly

vocation ..."(131). Faludi argues that, although the film takes issue with the

corporate system from which J.C. Wiatt is excluded, it abandons this issue in order to

demonstrate women's proper place in the workforce. Faludi claims, "It [the film]

pretends to reject the '80s money ethic without ever leaving its orbit" (131).

Interestingly, Faludi's journalistic talents allowed her to interview the woman on

whom the film is based. Faludi claims that the Tiger Lady was modeled on a

management consultant with a Harvard MBA who did not give up work. Instead, she

managed to balance work and family without much difficulty and, according to Faludi,

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was bothered by the film's assumption that the only way to deal with the situation

was to have its heroine pack up and move to the country (131-32). To be sure, this is

a sticking point in the film's narrative, but I hope to demonstrate that even this can be

read resistively.

E. Ann Kaplan also devotes several pages to a discussion of Baby Boom,

however she does so by grouping it with other similar films of the 1980s that she

argues present images o f" ... women fulfilling themselves through bearing children"

(194). This, claims Kaplan, is contrary to images of the 1970s that celebrated

women's choice to devote herself to her career. She argues that films such as Baby

Boom" ... begin to image satisfaction in mothering, and the choice of mothering over

career..." (194). Kaplan argues that the film assumes motherhood as natural for

women. She states," ... since women are still assumed to be linked to child-bearing

and rearing, the film shows Keaton quickly altering her personality and life-style;

indeed, the focus of her life changes completely to absorption in the baby and neglect

of her work, until she is fired" (197). Kaplan misrepresents the film in many ways,

including the narrative itself; she either mis-remembers, or pays little attention to

accuracy in favor o f her argument Nevertheless, she presents compelling evidence to

support her claim that," ... the depressed mother, of course, needs only sex and

romance to bring her to life again. Keaton soon finds this in the figure of the local

animal doctor..." (198). Finally, Kaplan neatly summarizes the film's denouement:

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Keaton hits upon the idea of producing healthy home-made baby

apple-sauce, and soon has a highly successful business. So much so,

that her old corporation pleads for her to come back and bring them her

business. Again, in tune with an old American fantasy for small free

enterprise (a fantasy that here conveniently fits in with the desire for

heterosexual coupling), Keaton refuses, choosing her country life,

motherhood and her horse-doctor to hectic city strife. Of course, her

city entrepreneurial skills come in handy, but the family is

reconstituted safely in the film’s end. (198)

Again, Kaplan misrepresents the film's narrative. Keaton's character does not "hit"

upon the idea of producing healthy home-made baby applesauce; rather, she attempts

to sell it out of financial desperation. Kaplan's assertion about the film's need to

reconstitute the traditional patriarchal family, however, is accurate. However, 1 would

argue that this, too, can be read resistively.

Like Kaplan, Susanna Danuta Walters claims, "As popular wisdom would

have it, contemporary women are now caught in the binds their foremothers

unwittingly made for them; In renouncing traditional values of mom and apple pie

(especially mom), today's woman is a lost soul, a career woman who, in climbing to

the top, has lost touch with that essential part of her femaleness: motherhood" (6).

Walters argues that two popular films of the late 1980s demonstrate Hollywood's

desire to recuperate motherhood. In FatalAttraction, the bad woman is childless and

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attempts to seduce the good husband in order to steal his family and make it her own.

The good woman, contrasted with the bad woman, is the mother. Baby Boom treats

motherhood differently, however Walters claims that the film,"... lets us all know

the deep dissatisfaction o f women at work and lays bare the budding mama lurking

behind every gleaming corporate desk" (6). But does it? Perhaps the film lays bare

the absurdity of the assumption that women can not balance work and family, that

women can not choose one over the other-or that women should even have to choose,

for that matter. Perhaps these scholars have missed the crucial element that

transforms this film firom one of oppression to one of resistance and celebration:

choice. Choice involves agency, and enables women to appropriate power that many

seek to deny them. What follows is a close analysis of Baby Boom intended to

demonstrate how this single mother simultaneously appropriates masculine power

and creates feminine and maternal agency.

BABY BOOM

Baby Boom is the tale of J.C. Wiatt, a management consultant with a Harvard

MBA who unwittingly inherits her late cousin's child. She initially attempts to place

the child for adoption, but she recants and chooses instead to raise the child herself.

Her live-in lover, however, has no desire to be a father and abandons J.C. and baby

Elizabeth. Despite a partnership offer J.C. is demoted as a result of motherhood and

resigns her position. She and Elizabeth move to a Vermont country estate with a 64-

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acre apple orchard. Due to unforseen repairs, J.C. finds herself in financial trouble. In

an attempt to resolve the situation she attempts to sell the applesauce she has made

with apples from her orchard. The business becomes very successful, and J.C.

branches adds other fruits and vegetables to the stock. Soon, her company is the

largest employer in Hadley and her former employer lobbies to acquire the company.

J.C. rejects their offer, in favor of her newfound lifestyle-one replete with the

satisfaction of a corporate career and the intimacy of a family-owned, home-based

business.

Reading Power through the Lens of A ppropriation

Baby Boom opens to a montage of scenes from Wall Street, bustling with the

corporate workforce. As the shots pass, a narrator introduces us to the importance of

this film:

NARRATOR: 53% of the American workforce is female; three generations ofwomen that
turned a thousand years of tradition on its ear. As little girls, they were
told to grow up and marry doctors and lawyers. Instead, they grew up and
became doctors, and lawyers. They moved out of the pink ghetto and into
the executive suite. Sociologists say the new working woman is a
phenomenon of our time. Take J.C. Wiatt, for example. Graduated first in
her class at Yale. Got her MBA at Harvard. Has a corner office at the
comer of 58th and Park. She works five-to-nine. She makes six figures a
year and they call her the "Tiger Lady." Married to herjob, she lives with
an investment banker married to his. The collect African art, co-own their
co-op, and have separate but equal IRA accounts. One would take it for
granted that a woman like this has it all. . .. One must never take
anything for granted.

This short narrative summary says a lot On the one hand, it acknowledges many of

women's accomplishments in the workforce. Of course, it does not mention the fact

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that women earn less than men, nor that a majority of the workforce is constituted by

service positions (e.g., nurse, food service, child care, etc.). Nevertheless, it

acknowledges some of our advances, especially in its recognition that many women

"grew up and became doctors, and lawyers," vocations that are historically male-

dominated. Speciiically, this narrative establishes the accomplishments of J.C. Wiatt

(Diane Keaton), the film's heroine. She is superior even to her male counterparts,

evinced by the fact that she graduated at the top of her class at Yale, earns six figures

per year, and has an IRA account that is separate but equal to her live-in lover. And

yet, the narrative distracts us from the subversive power of its feminist message when

it warns us that we should "never take anything for granted." This message also

employs indirection in the form of hedging, in that it weakens the message that

women can accomplish all that men can accomplish. We should not take for granted

the assumption that this woman has it all, even though it seems, at first glance, that

she does.

In addition to the words that we hear in the opening sequence (through which

the titles are displayed inconspicuously), the images depict J.C. Wiatt in such a way

that she possesses masculine power. J.C. walks along Wall Street on her way to the

office and, along the way, mirrors the men she passes and with whom she seems

easily to compete. J.C. wears a business suit that mirrors a traditional masculine suit,

although she wears a skirt instead o f slacks. This trivializes J.C.'s power, because a

skirt is a feminine sign. She does, however, wear a crisp suit jacket over what appears

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to be a crisply starched shirt with a high collar. She does not wear a tie, but her suit is

the feminine incarnation of the masculine "power suit" She walks purposefully,

carries a brief case and the Wall Street Journal, which she reads periodically as she

Figure 5.1

walks. Her movements match the men with whom she shares this prestigious

corporate street (Figure 5.1).

Another scene in which J.C. appropriates power visually reveals J.C. and

Elizabeth at the office. Fritz and Everett enter her office to discuss the partnership,

and J.C. attempts to deliver Elizabeth to her secretary. However, her secretary is

nowhere to be found. J.C. invites the men into her office, but accidentally spills baby

formula on Everett's suit jacket as she attempts to move it out of his way.

EVERETT: (To Fritz) When did she have a baby?

FRITZ: Oh, this isn't J.C.'s baby. It's her cousin's.She's just keeping her for a
few days.
J.C.: Yeah, well Fritz, as a matter of fact, as it turns out. I'm keeping her a little
longer than that.
FRITZ: How much longer?
J.C.: Oh, forever. Could I interest anybody in anything to drink:7-Up, Perrier,
formula?

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Clearly, these men disapprove of the child. J.C. again attempts to locate her

secretary, but as she does Everett leaves her office. When Fritz leaves, J.C. tells him

that this is the last time the baby will be with her at the office. We recognize in this

scene the difficulties inherent in single motherhood. We also fear that this incident

will have repercussions. Yet J.C. is positioned above the two men within the scene:

as they sit on the sofa, J.C. sits above them on the arm of a matching chair.

Additionally, their focus is on her. We are distracted by the baby, but J.C. maintains

power in this triad.

The film then moves through a series of interviews during which J.C. attempts

to hire a full-time nanny for the child. Most everybody she interviews has skeletons

in their closet or mental twists with which J.C. is uncomfortable. After multiple

interviews, J.C. hires a young woman without asking any questions. We then see J.C.

at a power meeting at The Food Chain, dominating the scene. She holds the position

of power as she stands while the men in the room sit. Their focus is on her.

Figure 5.2

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However, she appears differently than she has previously; she wears an elegant black

dress-very feminine-that is in contrast to the business suits in which we have seen

her previously (Figure 5.2). Her presentation is interrupted, however, when the

nanny calls because she can not find cleaned and sterilized nipples for the bottle.

During the telephone conversation, the nanny puts Elizabeth on the phone and J.C. is

forced to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to her daughter while the men watch in amazement

When the conversation is completed, J.C. admits that she has lost her place. She asks,

"where was I?"

This scene juxtaposes J.C.'s emergent femininity with her established

masculinity. J.C. simultaneously appropriates power through demeanor and focus

(the audiences both within the scene, and those watching the film, focus on her), and

trivializes this power through her attire and telephone conversation. Moreover, the

humor of the son distracts us from recognizing the power she appropriates-the men

are not disturbed. Rather, it appears that her ability to personalize the telephone

conversation will ultimately win her the account -and it does. We recognize that the

telephone interruption signals trouble, but we also see that this woman is attempting

to balance work and family.

These are only a few instances o f visual appropriation. Other instances will

follow, but will be encompassed in discussions that examine appropriation through

language, as well as visual appropriation that occurs but from which we are distracted.

It is useful to examine J.C.'s power through the lens of appropriation, but visual

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appropriation is not sufficient to demonstrate the extent to which J.C. capitalizes on

masculine agency. That said, let us now turn to an examination of appropriation

through language.

Reading Language through the Lens of A ppropriation

When the titles are complete, we cut to the interior of a restaurant at which we

see J.C. Wiatt with her superior, Fritz Curtis (Sam Wanamaker). The camera depicts

the pair with a straight-on shot, including during the shot-reverse shot sequences

(Figure 5.3).This indicates that, even in a business relationship with a power

differential, this woman is equal. However, her power is obfuscated by the dialogue

that occurs during this scene.

Figure 5.3

FRITZ: I want you to become a partner.

J.C.: Oh . . . oh, well . . . I accept. This is . .. uh, this is great, Fritz. This is
very exciting. Wow.
FRITZ: Course, I have to discuss it with Everett, but 111 do that on the plane.
J.C.: Wed I hope he remembers me because, you know, I only met him a few
times.
FRITZ: You reel in The Food Chain, hell remember you. I promise.

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J.C.: Wow!
FRITZ: J.C., let me ask you something. How many hours a week do you work
now?
J.C.: I don't know. What, uh, 70, 80 . ..
FRITZ: WeU, realize as a partner, the hours are only gonna get worse.
J.C.: I never complain about these things. Fritz, you know me . . . I like work.
FRITZ: I know . .. Just let me get this off my chest, OK?
J.C.: Sure.
FRITZ: Look, you know that normally I don't think of you as a woman. But in
this case, I do have to look at you as a woman-slash-partner. I mean, what
if you and Stephen decide to get married somewhere down the line? I
mean, what if he expects a wife .. .
J.C.: Fritz, first of all. . . may I? Stephen and I are not getting married.
Secondly, you know how we are . . . we both eat, sleep and dream our
work. That's why we're together. Fritz, I understand what it takes to make
it.
FRITZ: But do you understand the sacrifices you have to make? I mean, a man can
be a success and still have a personal life —a full personal life. My wife is
there whenever I need her. I mean, she raises the kids, she decorates, she..
. well. . . I don't know what the hell she does, but she takes care of things.
I guess, what I'm saying is, I'm lucky —I can have it all.
J.C.: Is that what you're worried about? Forget it. I don't want it all. I don't!

This scene makes it very clear that in order for this woman to succeed (defined

by the offer of a partnership), she will have to sacrifice a personal life. At the same

time, we recognize what will undo this woman's career motherhood. J.C. asserts that

she does not want it all. In this case, all is defined as motherhood, a role that is

trivialized by Fritz when he c l a i m s , .. she raises the kids, she decorates, she. . .

well. . . I don't know what the hell she does, but she takes care of things." This scene

makes it clear that motherhood is an ill-defined role, and that it is truly separate from

the corporate sphere. When she denies this role J.C. claims masculine power through

hedging; she says "I don't want it all. I don't!" as she shakes her head "yes."

We next see J.C. at home with her live-in lover, Stephen Bochner (Harold

Ramis). She sits on their bed surrounded by paperwork. While they discuss the

partnership offer, J.C. notices a country estate in Vermont that has sixty-one acres

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and an apple orchard. Stephen exits the bathroom and states, "people who have

vacation homes take vacations." He suggests that they get a puppy, but J.C. claims

that she's no good with living things. Stephen leans over, his green facial mask

reflecting in J.C.'s glasses, and says he thinks she is. He then asks her if she wants to

make love. She laughs and says "no." He returns to the bathroom to rinse the facial

mask off his face. When he returns to the bed, he leans to her and asks again if she

wants to make love. She asks if he does, then says, "Oh, I guess so." They begin to

kiss, and the camera pans to the left to reveal the clock radio. It is 11:56 p.m.. This

dissolves to 12:00, and the camera pans back to J.C. and Stephen sitting upright,

surrounded by paperwork. He says, "that was fantastic." She smiles.

This scene juxtaposes traditional assumptions about gender. J.C. sits on the

bed surrounded by paperwork, something we might expect a man to do. By contrast,

Stephen applies a facial mask, something we might expect a woman to do. J.C., the

practical one (again, a masculine attribute) claims that a puppy requires too much

responsibility.

Stephen asks J.C. if she wants to make love and, again, J.C.'s masculine

attributes shine brightly when she says "no" and laughs (Figure 5.4). When Stephen

returns from rinsing his face, he again asks to make love. Because he categorizes sex

as "making love," Stephen emotionalizes it, thereby rendering him emotional--a

feminine attribute. O f course, love-making takes only four minutes after which both

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Figure 5.4

turn their attention to their work. Again, however, Stephen injects emotion when he

claims, "that was fantastic." J.C. appropriates power in this scene, therefore, as she

adopts the masculine role in this relationship.

Of course, J.C.'s appropriation of masculine language is only effective while

she participates in corporate America. Importantly, her appropriation of masculine

language and, by extension, masculine power, comes full circle in the film's final

scenes. Here, J.C. turns Fritz's words back on him in order to reject the offer he and

The Food Chain have made. We see J.C. approach her former building, dressed in the

same power suit she wore during the opening title scene. This cuts to the interior of

her former company, where the employees recognize her and stare in amazement.

When she approaches the receptionist, she is immediately recognized and greeted.

She is then directed to the conference room where she is greeted by Everett who,

holding a teddy bear, asks where the baby is. J.C. says that she is at home, and

Everett (clearly assuming that she would still have child care problems) realizes that

his ploy (to ingratiate himself to her with gifts for the child) will not work. J.C.

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enters the conference room where she is greeted by Ken. When he directs her to her

seat, he leans down and whispers that she "lookfs] great." She realizes this is an

intentional move, and dismisses it. Fritz claims that The Food Chain was hesitant to

allow the company to work with them because he feared J.C. might hold some

resentment toward her former employer. He assured The Food Chain, though, that "it

is all water under the bridge." J.C. replies, "it's water under the bridge depending on

how good the offer is."

As the scene progresses, and the offer is made, we see the artificiality of the

attitudes, the laughter, and environment. We recognize that J.C. has changed, and that

she is no longer artificial. She asks if she can excuse herself for a moment to consider

the offer they will purchase Country Baby for three million dollars cash, she will

receive a three hundred fifty thousand dollar per year salary that will be augmented by

sales bonuses, they will purchase for her an apartment of her choice, plus she will

have access to the company je t Hughes Larabee claims that she could well earn one

million dollars per year. J.C. exits to the restroom where she looks at herself in the

mirror and says, 'Tm back. . . yeah, I'm back. That’s right." She is exuberant. She

heads for the conference room, but with each step rethinks her excitement We know

that with each brings her closer to Elizabeth; the music that accompanies her walk

down the hall is the same music that accompanies the images of the baby. She enters

the conference room with her decision.

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J.C.: Oh, uh, sit down please. (She remains standing.) I think I'm gonna have
to pass.
HUGHES: Excuse me?
J.C.: My answer is no.
FRITZ: Well, which part no? No three hundred fifty thousand base? No bonus tie
in?
J.C.: No to all of it, Fritz. Country Baby is not for sale.
FRITZ: But this is a world-class deal. Itll make you richer than you ever dreamed!
J.C.: I'm sorry Fritz. I think I'mgonna have to stay right where I am.
HUGHES: Perhaps all that's happened between us isn 't water under the bridge.
J.C.: Well, no. Maybe it isn't. I mean. I was very excited about this offer. But
you know, I don't think I really thought about what it meant. And you see.
I'm not the Tiger Lady anymore. I mean, I have a crib in my office and
there's a mobile over my desk, and I really like that. I mean, Fritz, do you
remember that night when you told me about the things that I was gonna
have to give up and the sacrifices I was gonna have to make? Well I don't
want to make those sacrifices. And the bottom line is, nobody should have
to. No. I don't think this is gonna work out. And HI be honest with you.
I think Fm doing pretty good on my own. To be quite frank, if The Food
Chain can put Country Baby on every supermarket shelf in America, so can
I. I'm sorry. I just think the rat race is gonna have to survive with one less
rat (directs her attention to Ken who realizes she is referring to him). And
anyway, I really think I'd miss my sixty-two acres in Vermont. I mean,
Elizabeth is so happy there and. . . and well, you see, there's this
veterinarian Fm seeing (cut to a secretary who is smiling broadly, looking
at J.C. in awe).
FRITZ: Do you realize what you're giving up?
J.C.. Yep!
HUGHES: There's nothingwecan do to changeyour mind?
J.C.: Nope.

This scene is perhaps the most subversive in the film. It simultaneously

reinforces J.C.'s corporate power and her maternal power. But she does not possess a

masculine power, instead, she possesses a feminine power defined by motherhood.

She wears her power suit, but she is softer. Her hair is natural, and she is physically

at ease. Even her colleagues notice this, evinced by repeated statements that she

"looks great" Most important, though, is her speech. She insists that nobody should

have to make the sacrifices that Fritz insisted upon at the beginning o f the film, and

that she is happy with her life. Her life and her business are not typical. She has a

crib in her office and a mobile on her desk. This is in stark contrast to the corporate

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image. At the same time, she insists that she is fully capable of achieving the same

success that The Food Chain promises. She therefore re-appropriates the corporate

power that The Food Chain and her former employer initially denied her.

Visually, she also appropriates power, as she stands while the others sit. She

stands at the head of the long conference table, and all focus is upon her (Figure 5.5).

Figure 5.5

Throughout the speech she is depicted with either a low angle or a straight-on shot.

This is in contrast to Fritz, Ken and Hughes who are depicted with high angle shots.

Thus, J.C. not only appropriates power through impersonation of Fritz' language, she

also appropriates power visually. She is no longer the Tiger Lady, nor should she be.

She has proven that career and motherhood are not mutually exclusive and that she

can, in fact, have it all.

J.C. successfully appropriates masculine language, and turns it back on those

who seek to dominate her. But masculine power and agency are not the only means

to power. In this film, motherhood is also a means to power. What follows is an

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examination of motherhood through the lens of appropriation to illuminate how

power is achieved through a role thought to oppress women.

Reading M otherhood through the Lens of A ppropriation

If we examine motherhood through the lens of appropriation, we see maternal

power in a way not previously seen in this project or elsewhere. In fact, many

scholars do not consider motherhood empowering, and so do not seek to identify

maternal power. I previously identified maternal power, but its appearance in this

film is distinctly different from other films. In previous films, the women find

motherhood natural. In Baby Boom, J.C. appropriates power through motherhood as

she learns about it and becomes proficient at it The learning process enables J.C. to

appropriate power, much as her academic education enabled her corporate power.

After placing Elizabeth for adoption J.C. readies Elizabeth for bed but notices

that the she has a fever. J.C. immediately consults her parenting book, and places a

call to the pharmacy. The delivery person arrives bringing, "one cool mist humidifier,

one warm steam vaporizer, one baby thermometer, baby Tylenol, baby nose drops,

baby cough medicine, and valium." The valium, of course, is for J.C. The remainder

of the scene depicts J.C. rocking and carrying the child in an attempt to calm her and

get her to sleep. J.C.'s incompetence wanes in this scene as she becomes feminized.

The next day finds J.C. awakened by a telephone call from the adoption

agency. J.C. brings Elizabeth to meet her new parents, but learns that the Bible-

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thumping couple plans to move to Duluth and change the child's name to Fern. She

rejects the parents and chooses instead to raise the child herself. She exits the

building, holding Elizabeth properly; clearly she is no longer incompetent.

In another scene, we see J.C. at the park where several mothers discuss the

learning enrichment programs in which they have placed their children and plan play

groups that do not conflict with the many and varied activities in which their children

are already involved. Such activities include junior symphony, drama, French,

Gymboree, computer readiness, violin, and regular visits with a child psychologist.

Another parent arrives, distraught because her child did not get accepted into a

specific preschool. They tell J.C. that if a child does not get into the right preschool,

s/he will not get into the right kindergarten, nor the right prep school, nor the ivy-

league college of his/her choice. They also tell J.C. that if her child is not already on a

waiting list, she will not get into any of the best schools. When they realize that

Elizabeth can not hold a cup, the mothers recommend the Center for Brighter Babies.

J.C. subsequently enrolls Elizabeth in the Center, and we progress through several

sessions during which the children are schooled in art, science and music appreciation.

This scene not only suggests that J.C. is learning about parenting, it also

suggests that Elizabeth is at a distinct disadvantage in the big city environment.

Throughout, J.C. is depicted with a high angle shot while the mothers are depicted

with a low angle shot, despite the Bret that J.C. sits at the edge of the sandbox while

the mothers sit on a park bench. They are physically elevated in relation to J.C., but

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she visually maintains power. This scene also signals a shift from the power of

corporate success to the power of motherhood as J.C. learns about parenting (albeit

from a biased and arrogant perspective). Because the mothers are entirely too

melodramatic, we laugh at their arrogance and thereby trivialize the power of this

message.

We then arrive at a scene in which we see J.C.'s fondness for her child. J.C.

works at home and, while Elizabeth plays, we see J.C. gaze across the room at the

child. J.C.'s appearance is much softer and, instead of wearing a dark power suit, she

Figure 5.6 Figure 5.7

wears an ivory-colored sweater and blouse. She gazes lovingly at Elizabeth who

returns the gaze (Figures 5.6 & 5.7).

This scene indicates a significant shift from corporate power to maternal

power. J.C. is no longer seen working in the office. Instead, she works at home

where she can be near her child. Whereas the Tiger Lady was unfeeling and

emotionless, J.C. demonstrates her ability to care for and to care about another human

being. Whereas J.C. scoffed when Stephen suggested that they make love—an act that

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is usually fraught with emotion but that was devoid of emotion in their relationship--

she now expresses emotion as she gazes lovingly at her daughter. Maternal power is

clearly different from corporate or masculine power, but it enables J.C. to see the

world differently; from that perspective, change is inevitable.

The lens of appropriation helps us identify power in this film, but it is not

sufficient to demonstrate all that the film offers in the way of resistance. In order to

fully understand the extent to which this film challenges societal assumptions about

career and family, we must examine the film through the lens of distraction. Perhaps

the most vital lens for this analysis, distraction reveals the cunning ways that our

attention is distracted from the subversive message of success, accomplishment, and

motherhood. With that, let us turn our attention to those scenes that are best viewed

through the lens of distraction.

Reading M aternal Power through the Lens of D istraction

We know that as a lens, distraction enables the viewer to recognize aspects of

the film that may go otherwise unnoticed, and to examine noise, interference or

obscurity to determine if a message lurks beneath the surface. As mentioned earlier,

distraction can be visual or aural, but in Baby Boom the "noise" is typically visual.

The first scene for which the lens of distraction proves useful is when we see

J.C. at the grocery story attempting to purchase diapers for the baby. She stands in a

row of diapers not knowing which brand nor which size to purchase. Elizabeth is

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slung under her arm like a bag o f potatoes while J.C. attempts to determine how old

the she is, how much she weighs, and which diapers might be appropriate. Of course,

she does not ask anybody for assistance-a stereotypically masculine behavior.

Instead, she attempts to figure it out on her own. This is analogous to the men who

refuse to ask for directions when they are lost; this is a masculine attribute that we fail

to recognize because we are distracted by the humor or the images. J.C. then weighs

Elizabeth in a produce scale in an attempt to determine which size diaper is

appropriate (Figure 5.S).

Figure S.8

The next scene, probably the most recognizable and most memorable scene

from the film, depicts J.C. attempting to diaper the baby. She reads the instructions,

and begins to move through the steps. Not only is she unable to properly place the

diaper on the child, she has difficulty maneuvering with the diaper. She repeatedly

pulls the tabs off completely, gets the tape stuck on her fingers or in her hair, and then

can not get the tape to stick on the diaper itself. Recognizing her incompetence, J.C.

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claims, "I'm a Harvard graduate. You'd think I could figure this out." When she

finally believes she has completed the task, and after using almost an entire package of

diapers, she turns Elizabeth over to crawl away. Of course, as she does, the diaper

falls off and the baby laughs.

These scenes demonstrate J.C.'s incompetence with children. Initially she

refuses to care for the child. Had she succeeded in rejecting this child she may well

have been scorned. However, the child is thrust into her arms and her life, and we see

her inability even to carry the child properly. Because she clearly has no experience

with children, and because visually the image of the child stands in opposition to the

image of the Tiger Lady, we laugh at J.C.'s follies. Moreover, we find humor in

knowing that her fancy education has not prepared her for basic life skills appropriate

to traditional womanhood. Although J.C. is incompetent at all things maternal, we do

respect her for her professional accomplishments. We might "expect" her to be able

to perform motherly tasks, but we do not scorn her for her inability to do so. Instead,

we hope that she will "team" maternity. In the meantime, we laugh at her follies. Not

only does incompetence free J.C. from scorn, our laughter at the humor inherent in

these scenes trivializes the situation thereby rendering it harmless. Moreover, the

humor distracts us from recognizing that J.C. possesses masculine power such that

she is incapable o f performing what are assumed to be traditional feminine tasks.

The next day finds J.C. at the Department of Adoption, explaining why she

must place Elizabeth.

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J.C.: I hope this doesn't appear like I'ma terrible person for not keeping her.
AGENT: You forgot this page.
J.C.: Oh. Thank you. Goodness. Anyway, her parents . . . see, I never really
knew them, and I’m not the motherly type. I never have been and I didn't
have little brothers or sisters, so you see I didn't babysit, and . . . plus. I'm
not. . . well, you know. I'm not natural with kids. Tm a management
consultant and I work twelve to fourteen hours a day, and Ijust really feel
that Elizabeth needs a more equipped situation.
AGENT: No explanations are necessary, Miss Wiatt. I'm sure well have no
problems placing Elizabeth. You really shouldn't feel guilty. You're not
the first person to put a child up for adoption.
J.C.: Oh, 1 understand that. And I'm really very comfortable with my decision.
And . . . it's just. . . guilt's not a part of it. Guilt's not a word in my
vocabulary. Please, guilt?

As J.C. claims that guilt is not a word in her vocabulary, she places a pair of

sunglasses on her face (despite the fact that she sits inside an office). This scene

indicates that J.C. questions her decision, and that there may be a shift. J.C. is

softening. This scene cuts to the exterior of FAO Schwarz. The camera pans down

to reveal J.C., Elizabeth and a retail clerk exiting with a flatbed cart filled with toys

(Figure 5.9). They approach a taxi waiting at the curb.

Figure 5.9

JESUS: Believe me, J.C. You made the right choice. You're gonna be a partner, for
Christ's sake. Your career comes first Look at it this way. You spend a
few days with her, you get her all these toys. Seventeen-hundred dollars
worth of clothes. Come on, that's not a bad haul, if you ask me.
J.C.: Well I just want to thank you for your support, Jesus.
JESUS: (fay, no problem. Nice to meet you.
J.C.: Nice to meet you.

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It is obvious, from this scene, that J.C. is developing an attachment to the

child. It is even more obvious that her ability to purchase a flatbed cart full of toys

and seventeen-hundred dollars worth of clothes is a direct result of her career and her

success. Therefore, J.C.'s power enables this transaction, but her growing attachment

to the child distracts us from recognizing the power involved in the transaction

Again, we laugh at the absurdity o f purchasing so many toys and clothes when the

child has been placed for adoption.

This cuts to a scene in which J.C. and Elizabeth meet Stephen at the train as

he returns from a business trip. This scene is important, for it simultaneously

reinforces and diminishes J.C.'s power and agency.

J.C.: I just couldnt hand her over to a woman who called her husband "sir," it
gave me the chills. Her whole life flashed before me, and suddenly I saw
her in frosted lipstick wearing a Dairy Queen uniform.
STEPHEN: Look, J.C.
J.C.: Anyway, Stephen, I can. I really can. A lot of working women do it:
Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Pauley . .. Ethel Kennedy!
STEPHEN: Ethel Kennedy?
J.C.: Ethel Kennedy . .. alright, so she doesn't work, but a lot of people do it.
STEPHEN: I just don't think you know what you're getting into. You have no
experience.
J.C.: My mother had a doctorate in parenting. You learn. Fm telling you, you
should see me diaper her now. I am so totally brilliant at it.
STEPHEN: I appreciate what you’re going through, I do. But for me, I just. . .
J.C.: Go ahead.
STEPHEN: I just. ..
J.C.: You can be honest.
STEPHEN: I just. . . (shakes his head no)
J.C.: No?
STEPHEN: I cant.
J.C.: O.K.

This immediately cuts to the apartment where Stephen moves out, taking his half of

the belongings with him.

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 This scene enables J.C. to appropriate power, in that she fully assumes the

role of primary provider when Stephen steps out of the relationship. At the same

time, it diminishes J.C.'s power in that Stephen rejects her based on her desire to be a

mother to this child, and as the camera depicts her with a high angle shot in relation to

Stephen. Therefore, Stephen possesses the power in this scene, unlike the previous

bedroom scene, adopting a masculine persona that contrasts with our previous

interactions with him. J.C. maintains her composure, and uses well-known and

powerful women to support her claim that she can succeed at this, too. Moreover,

she claims that her mother "had a doctorate in parenting," thereby ascribing power to

her mother and, by extension, mothers in the audience. Finally, she acknowledges that

motherhood is not necessarily "natural," that it must be learned. Because we know

that she is well-educated, and because we have witnessed a transformation, we believe

she will succeed at this endeavor just as she has succeeded in others. The camera

depicts her as having less power than she previously had in relation to Stephen, and

yet she appropriates power through association with other powerful women. We are

distracted from this when we witness Stephen's dismissal o f her. His rejection

distracts us from recognizing that, by virtue of his choice to leave, J.C. assumes—

appropriates—full control o f her life, Elizabeth, and their future. Moreover, Stephen's

dismissal of Ethel Kennedy distracts us from recognizing the power associated with

Eleanor Roosevelt and Jane Pauley, two women who successfully balance(d) career

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and motherhood. If we look more closely at the association, we might believe that

J.C. will also learn to balance career and motherhood.

In another important scene, J.C. enters her office to find Ken, her bright,

young upstart, sitting at her desk with his feet propped up on it.

KEN. J.C.. . . uh . . . I thought you were taking the day off today. What brings
you back so early?
J.C.: Fate, I think.
KEN: Fate? Well, uh, we had a breakfast meeting in here this morning . .. uh .
You have so much more room in here.
J.C.: Big, isn't it?
KEN: Yeah . . . I'll be out of here in just a minute. Sorry.
FRITZ. (enters) Do you know anything about. . .
J.C.: Fritz!
FRITZ: Oh. You're here . . . uh. . . Listen, uh, Larabee's all over me about that
target list. Do you have any idea when itll be ready?
J.C.: Oh, I'm finishing it tonight and I'm gonna have it on your desk first think
in the morning.
FRITZ: O.K.
KEN: Well, uh, J.C., I roughed out a draft of it while you were at that, uh, baby
thing . . . do you mind?
J.C.: No, not at all. .. it wasn't due until tomorrow, but if you have it done ..
I think that's great.
FRITZ: Teirific!

(The phone rings. Ken reaches to answer i t J.C. slams her hand on top of his.)

J.C.: Ken . . . this is my office! J.C. Wiatt It’s for you.

This scene indicates that J.C. is losing control at the office. Her role as mother

is trivialized when Ken refers to her activities as "that, uh, baby thing." Moreover, he

undermines her when he offers the target list to Fritz, implying that J.C. is unable to

complete her assignments on her own. J.C. is depicted with a low angle shot in this

scene, whereas Ken is depicted with a straight-on shot. Her power is thereby

rendered less conspicuous, and this scene demonstrates that his power is growing.

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The next day, J.C. enters the office and asks the receptionist to have her

secretary see J.C. as soon as she gets in. The receptionist informs her that her

secretary, Robin, is already in due to a morning meeting. The conference room

empties, and J.C. learns that Ken has changed procedures that J.C. established.

J.C.: Oh, no no no. wait a minute now Since when is Ken calling the shots
around here? Ken!
KEN: Yeah.
J.C.: I asked Robin for the Food Chain flash report, and apparently you've made a
decision that Fm not aware of.
KEN: Well, we talked about this the other day. I mean, our figures are on track
for the year.. .
J.C.: Robin, will you excuse us for a moment please?
KEN: Thank you, Robin . . . The figures are on track for the year, you know.
There aren't going to be any surprises, and we feel that it's counter­
productive, so . . .
J.C.: The Food Chain is my account, and Fm the person who's gonna decide
what is and what is not counter-productive.
KEN: J.C., you're over-reacting. I think you're taking this personally.
J.C.: You bet I am! I'm your superior in this company, and will not be
countermanded!
KEN: (turns to walk away) O.K.
J.C.: (Grabs his arm and pulls him back) Don't walk away from me you little
pisher. If it wasn't for me, you'd be selling shirts at Barney's, you know
that?
FRITZ: J.C., can I see you for a minute?
J.C.: Ofcourse.

This scene demonstrates J.C.'s loss of power in the office. She exerts her

power verbally and physically, but we recognize that she no longer possesses the

power—and the respect—that she once did. And we know this is a direct result of

motherhood. J.C. is depicted with a straight-on shot, even with Ken. Therefore,

Ken's power has risen to J.C.'s level, while J.C.'s power has diminished. In the midst

of J.C.'s attack, Fritz interrupts and asks J.C. to enter his office. We then cut to the

interior of Fritz’s office.

J.C.: Fm sony, I know I went a little over the top, but, this guy's getting out of
control. I mean, I know he's inexperienced, and I know he's young, but I

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 224

cant use him on my team anymore Fritz. You're just gonna have to pawn
him off on somebody else.
FRITZ: Well, it's not that easy.
J.C.: Sure it is. Yes, you can give him to Joel or Ted. They can use him, but I
cant use him anymore.
FRITZ: J.C.! I'm turning The Food Chain over to Ken.
J.C.: No.
FRITZ: This account is too important for us to take any risks.
J.C.: Wait a minute! I mean, we have this account because of me.
FRITZ: Yeah, I know that. But you've changed, J.C. I mean, you've lost your
concentration. I dont know. . . you've gone soft.
J.C.. Fritz, a baby came into my life, and it's taken me a few weeks to adjust, but
Tm over the hump and I'mback.
FRITZ: Look, I need a solid team on this thing, and Larabee feels comfortable with
Ken. No, I think it's for the best. Fm putting you on the Ferber Dog Food
account.
J.C.: Oh. I see. I . . . I thought that I was gonna be a partner. That's what I
thought.
FRITZ: Well, maybe next year. After things have cooled down. Ah, swallow your
pride, J.C. Fetter's is a low-profile account. You'll have more time to
spend with the baby. I told you you can't have it all. Nobody can —not
me, not anybody. Look, I don't even know how many grandchildren I
have, O.K.? But I've got this company grossing two hundred million a
year. Well something has got to give. You've been on the fast track a
long time, idddo. It's O.K. to slow down. Nobody's keeping score.
J.C.: Fritz, I cant go out there now and say that I'm working on the Ferber Dog
Chow account.
FRITZ: Well I guess you're gonna have to do what you have to do.

This scene depicts J.C. with a low angle, thereby suggesting that she still

maintains power in her relationship with Fritz. However, verbally this scene strips

J.C. of the power she once had, and attributes her loss of position to motherhood.

Importantly, motherhood gains power and respect while career loses respect in this

scene, but we are distracted from noticing. Fritz claims that he does not even know

how many grandchildren he has, but he has the business earning two hundred million

dollars per year. We recognize the callous nature o f this statement, and we applaud

J.C. for caring about another human being. Additionally, J.C. is depicted in full light,

while Fritz hangs in the shadows. This, too, enables J.C. to maintain her power

visually. We recognize the discrimination inherent in this scene, which distracts us

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 225

from recognizing the power that is also evident in it. Finally, J.C. maintains her

power when she refuses to submit to this demotion, and we next see her as she exits

the building carrying only her briefcase, a small box and a painting.

J.C. purchases the Vermont country estate about which she spoke with

Stephen, sight unseen, and she and Elizabeth move to the country. We see them

rowing a boat on a pond and picking apples from their orchard. At one point, J.C.

reads "Sleeping Beauty” to Elizabeth, but changes the ending so that instead of

marrying a prince, she grows up and attends medical school. As the year progresses,

the picturesque Vermont estate falls to pieces. First the roof requires substantial

repairs, and we see J.C. carry firewood past a staircase that is covered with snow

from the hole in the roof. Then the well dries up. J.C. suffers an emotional outburst

after which she passes out When she awakens, she is on a doctor’s table. She tells

him her troubles, and says that she is lonely and has not had sex for quite some time.

At this point the next patient enters: a horse. J.C. is very upset yells at the doctor,

and goes on her way. Because of the many repairs she has had to finance, J.C. runs

low on money. In an attempt to earn some money she asks the local store to sell the

applesauce she has made with apples from her orchard. She claims that it is "baby

applesauce." The store owner says he will display i t but does not know if anybody

will buy it. Just then, several yuppie tourists from the city (we assume they are from

New York based upon their accents) enter the store. They spot the applesauce, and

order several cases. J.C.'s business is up and running.

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In an attempt to better market her business, J.C. visits the Bennington College

library to research marketing strategies. While she sits in the library, she spots the

veterinarian, and attempts to hide from him. When he spots her, she immediately

packs up her research. He mentions that he teaches a course at the college, and she

mentions that she is researching business strategies in hopes of returning to New

York. On her drive home, she gets a flat tire. While she attempts to change the tire,

the veterinarian pulls up behind her and offers help. She refuses, and claims she can

take care of herself. He stands and watches.

These scenes demonstrate the difficulty this mother encounters as she tries to

adapt her lifestyle in order to devote herself fully to her family. Her frequent

emotional outbursts indicate that she does not adapt easily, and trivializes the power

this mother has in her family. Moreover, her emotional outbursts distract us from

recognizing that her ability to purchase this house, maintain it, and survive are a direct

result of her successful career and her education. When she successfully makes and

sells applesauce we might recognize her ingenuity. We are more likely distracted,

however, by the apparent romance that is blossoming between J.C. and the

veterinarian, Dr. Jeff Cooper.

The next scenes move us through a montage of images that depict the rise of

Country Baby. This business that began with applesauce grows to include other

fruits and vegetables. J.C.'s market prowess skyrockets her business to the top,

evinced by articles that appear in prominent newspapers and magazines. We

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 227

recognize the success of this business, but we might not recognize the power this

mother possesses. It is not a power borne of business savvy, but a power that is

borne of a successful balance between work and family. Although we see many

images of sales charts, newspaper articles, demonstrations, advertising and public

relations photos, money . . . we miss the images that simultaneously dissolve in and

out of the montage that depict this mother's office: a home office with a desk that has

a baby mobile on it and a crib next to it (Figures 5.10,5.11 & 5.12).

Figure 5.10

We miss the loving interactions between mother and daughter, as J.C.

recognizes that her success is the direct result of this child. The rapidity with which

Figure 5.11 Figure 5.12

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 228

the images pass before us and the constant dissolves and superimpositions distract us

from recognizing that behind them are images of a mother who is building a successful

career in spite of societal assumptions that the two are mutually exclusive.

Country Baby is the largest employer in this small Vermont town, and its

citizens support her and her efforts completely. J.C. has successfully made the

transition from city to country, from Tiger Lady to mother. We do not recognize this

because the many images that pass before our eyes that focus only on corporate

success distract us. Because the images pass very quickly, we focus on the emergence

of the business rather than the people behind it (except, of course, for the baby).

Throughout this scene we focus our attention on the business and the baby. This

focus distracts our attention from the fact that a single mother has single-handedly

built a nationally recognized home-based business.

We finally see J.C. participate in a community event-a dance. There she

reacquaints herself with Dr. Jeff Cooper (the veterinarian), and they dance. A

romance is thereby established. Jeff returns to her house, and after they gaze lovingly

into each other's eyes, they kiss (Figure S. 13). O f course, J.C. chose to attend the

dance in hopes that Jeff would be in attendance. She therefore chooses to establish a

romance with this man. This is in contrast to scholarly criticism that argues that she

must be "recuperatedn into a traditional family.

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Figure 5.13

The next morning, as J.C. and Jeff emerge from the bedroom, the phone rings.

It is J.C.'s former employer. They offer her a business opportunity. She prepares to

travel to New York, and Jeff realizes that she may leave the tow n. . . and him. Of

course, J.C. rejects The Food Chain's offer and returns to Vermont where we see J.C.

enter the doctor's office. Jeff asks if she's back. She says the offer "just wasn't that

good." He asks if that means shell be staying in Hadley. She says "yeah," and invites

him over to "watch the farm in front of the TV." They kiss. We then cut to the

exterior of J.C.'s estate. She enters and tells the nanny not to say anything. She

enters the living room where Elizabeth greets her with, "mama!" J.C. picks her up,

sits in the rocking chair by the window, picks a flower through the window, and rocks

Elizabeth. The camera moves backward to reveal this idyllic setting (figure 5. 14), then

fades to black.

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Figure 5.14

This scene reveals another example of J.C.'s power. She has rejected the

corporate fast track, but her appearance assures us that she will still pursue corporate

success. She sits in the rocking chair dressed in her power suit At the same time, she

sits in the rocking chair with her daughter, picks a flower through the window, and

relaxes with the joy of motherhood. The contrasting images indicate that this woman

is in control of her destiny. She has achieved the balance between career and family

that corporate America argued was impossible. Moreover, despite the fact that she

has accepted the romance with Dr. Jeff Cooper, she has done so entirely on her own

terms. She defined its parameters (she initially rejected him), and she invited him into

her life rather than waiting for him to "rescue" her as the prince does in "Sleeping

Beauty." The final image depicts J.C. dressed in business attire, surrounded by

traditionally feminine artifacts. She has thus accepted her "traditional" role (as mother

and possibly as wife), but not without a glorious challenge to it The challenge,

however, is obfuscated by the image of the mother and her daughter. The image is a

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traditional one and thus obscures our recognition that this mother possesses agency—

both masculine, corporate agency and maternal, feminine agency—in all that she has

done and in all that she will do.

Conclusion

Baby Boom is a tale o f motherhood by choice. We first see J.C. Wiatt in her

role as corporate Tiger Lady, a position she has no desire to abandon. When she

inherits her daughter she first chooses career over family, only to realize that family is

important to her. She is unable to balance the two in the manner demanded by her

employer, and chooses family over career. She rebuilds a successful career, and when

offered the opportunity to return to the corporate fast track, chooses instead to return

to her family. Her choices offer an opportunity to examine feminine and maternal

power in a manner not previously undertaken. J.C. simultaneously appropriates

masculine power and creates a feminine/maternal power that enables her to achieve

that which patriarchy (embodied by Fritz, Hughes, Everett and Ken) sought to deny

her.

J.C. Wiatt is a successful management consultant who is married to her career.

She inherits a baby girl from her recently deceased cousin with whom she has not

communicated for many years. She is referred to as the "Tiger Lady" by co-workers,

clients and herself alike, and so J.C. accepts the baby on the condition that she will

put it up for adoption. Soon thereafter, however, Wiatt finds that her dormant

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maternal instincts have awakened She resists placing the baby for adoption, and

decides instead to raise the child herself Her boyfriend has no desire to play

"daddy," so he moves out and leaves J.C. alone, a single mother. After initial

difficulty securing safe child care, and after several episodes during which the baby

accompanies her to work, J.C. is demoted. Unwilling to suffer the humiliation of such

a demotion, she resigns from her position and moves to the country where she buys a

house with an apple orchard J.C. runs low on money because of unforeseen home

repairs and, in an effort to feed this child, resorts to making homemade baby

applesauce that, after selling at the local market, eventually blossoms into a thriving

gourmet baby food business-one her former employer lobbies to acquire. Their offer

is lucrative, but J.C. refuses to succumb to the capitalistic urge and returns to the

country where she can define her life and business as she sees fit At face value, this

film is resistant to the capitalistic, patriarchal ideology characterized by the thriving

Wall Street environment from which J.C. Wiatt was expelled This film presents an

image of mother as successful entrepreneur and, in so doing, undermines many societal

beliefs about career and (single) motherhood Throughout, J.C. appropriates

masculine power through attire and career, a power that slowly transforms to a

feminine power that not only challenges, but supersedes masculine power when she

rejects The Food Chain's offer to acquire her business. J.C. does not feign

incompetence. Rather, she is truly incompetent at all things maternal when she first

inherits Elizabeth. She acquires the necessary skills for successful motherhood,

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however, and uses both her maternal and corporate skills to re-write her life

successfully.

Baby Boom depicts a mother who, in the end, appears to assume her "rightful"

place within the family, yet the lenses of appropriation and distraction reveal many

challenges to traditional assumptions about women's place. Faludi argues that J.C.

"soon softens up, learning to bake and redirecting her business skills to a more

womanly vocation ..."(1 3 1 ). I would argue that although she resigns from her

corporate position-one from which she had been demoted—she counterbalances her

exile by building her own corporation that is similar to her previous employer

inasmuch as it is part of the food industry (her previous accounts were in this

industry). However, instead of managing others-as she did before-or letting others

manage her business as her former employer wishes to do, she uses her skills and

knowledge to retain control. And it is precisely her corporate experience that allows

her to fend off the corporate "rats" when they approach her. Therefore, her exclusion

from the corporate hustle and bustle is the means by which this mother creates

feminine agency, and it is by rejecting the corporate mindset that she appropriates its

power. To be sure, the impending romance distracts us from recognizing this power,

but J.C. Wiatt nevertheless achieves what the men around her (with the exception of

Dr. Jeff Cooper) said she could not: a balance between career and motherhood.

She was expelled from the corporate fret track as a result o f her choice to

pursue motherhood, but she demonstrates that traditional assumptions about the

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inability of women to balance work and family are inaccurate. The film often distracts

us from recognizing the subversive feminist messages that permeate this film, yet we

can not help but recognize the message that "nobody should have to" make the

sacrifices upon which her former employer insists. The contrasting images in the

film's final scene leave the viewer with the sense that this mother has accomplished

something quite remarkable: she chose motherhood, and motherhood is power.

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REFERENCES

Anders, Gigi. "Personalities." The Washington Post. (4 Jan 1988): B3.

Baby Boom. dir. Charles Shyer, with Diane Keaton, Sam Wannamaker, Harold Ramis and

Sam Shepard. United Artists, 1987.

Doherty, Julie A. "Currents." Advertising Age (30 Nov 1987): 57.

Ebert, Roger. "Baby Boom." New York Post. (7 Oct 1987): 29.

Faiudi, Susan. Backlash: The Undeclared War against American Women. New York:

Crown, 1991.

Hunt, Dennis. "Entertainment Desk: Schwarzenegger, Keaton Zoom to Top.” Los

Angeles Times. (3 June 1988): 2.

Kaplan, E. Ann. Motherhood and Representation: The Mother in Popular Culture and

Melodrama. London: Routledge, 1992.

Radner, Joan N. and Susan S. Lanser. "Strategies of Coding in Women's Cultures."

Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture. Ed. Joan Newlon Radner.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993. 1-30.

Radner, Joan Newlon, ed. Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture.

Urbana: U Illinois P, 1993.

United Press International. (5 Jan 1988).

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 Walters, Suzanna Danuta. Lives Together Worlds Apart: Mothers and Daughters

Popular Culture. Berkeley: U California P, 1992.

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C hapter 6

EPILOGUE

In this study I have offered a way of interpreting several films using principles

associated with the literature of domination and resistance. I have in addition

refashioned a typology outlined in Joan Radner and Susan' Lanser's "Strategies of

Coding in Women's Cultures" to develop a critical lens through which to illuminate

discrete textual cues that can be interpreted resistively (e.g., lighting, camera angle,

costume, gesture). These textual cues are rhetorically forceful because they are open

to multiple interpretations. The lenses through which I have examined these films

enabled interpretations that challenge what values the dominant narratives ask us to

believe.

When I embarked upon this study 1 had the mistaken impression that 1 could

profitably examine at least eight films. Unfortunately, I discovered that not all films

lend themselves to an analysis through the critical lenses I have identified. In addition

to those films examined in this study, I had planned to examine such films as Stella

Dallas (1937), Not Wanted (1949), Imitation o f Life (1959) and Gas Food Lodging

(1992).

Stella Dallas is resistive in its own way, yet an analysis of it through these

lenses does not reveal resistance that would substantially challenge Linda Williams'

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essay, "Something Else Besides a Mother." Had I persisted with an analysis of Stella

Dallas, much of the discusison would have appeared forced. As a result, I am forced

to concede that the analysis offered by Linda Williams examines the full resistive

potential of this film. Not Wanted, an independent feminist film directed by Ida

Lupino, also proved difficult to examine from the perspective offered in the preceding

chapters. Because this film's intent was to resist Classical Hollywood conventions,

the lenses proved unfocused. Similarly,the remake of Imitation o f Life proved too

challenging for this scholar. It is in many ways very different from its predecessor.

Instead of celebrating the mother's achievements, it denigrates her until in the end she

concedes that she has been a rotten mother. Imitation o f Life could easily have been

examined through the lenses of appropriation, incompetence or distraction, but the

mother's acknowledgment o f her maternal shortcomings made a resistive analysis

implausible. Finally, Gas Food Lodging fell outside the parameters of this study

because the film's mother is not the central character or heroine. Although the film is

about a single mother and her two daughters' struggles to find happiness in a lonely

southwestern town, the narrative focuses on the youngest daughter and her fantasies

of romance and happiness. To examine the film's mother would have deviated from

the guidelines I established.

Each of these films is important, and is part o f a larger body of films whose

issues are in some ways relevant to this project and in other ways no t I believe that

the lenses identified in this project would be useful for examining these and other

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films, but the parameters should be revised in order to encomass them. An interesting

study would be the examination of secondary or background characters who are single

mothers, especially in narratives that are not explicitly about single motherhood. The

insights that are possible with the critical perspective used in this study could reveal a

deeper understanding of societal perceptions-and misperceptions-about single

motherhood that were not revealed in this study. Broadening the parameters in this

way would also allow for an examination of race and classs that was not possible

within the parameters of this study, as it would allow for the examination of

characters whose presence is not central to the film's narrative.

Despite the fact that this critical perspective is not all-inclusive, it

nevertheless lends new insight and is useful for identifying textual cues that provide

for a resistive interpretation. The preceding analyses demonstrate the utility of this

perspective and suggest that film can, in fact, be read against the frame. That said, let

us revisit the analyses to determine what can be said generally about them.

The study was divided into two parts: "sacrifice as power" and "motherhood

as power." The first part, "sacrifice as power," offered analyses of Applause and

Imitation o f Life, both of which depict mothers who sacrifice themselves for their

daughters. In both, sacrifice is the means by which the films' mothers claim and/or

maintain agency and appropriate masculine power.

I exaadnedApp/ause (1929) through the lenses o f distraction and juxtaposition

and illuminated the various forms o f sacrifice that ultimately empower Kitty Darling,

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the film's mother. To the unsuspecting, this film depicts maternal sacrifice intended

to uphold patriarchal tradition. However, when we re-focused the lens we discovered

maternal power. Kitty Darling is repeatedly manipulated by the men in her life and

makes a career of objectification, yet the lenses of distraction and juxtaposition

enabled us to illuminate the subversive images that empower her. The lens of

distraction revealed many instances during which Kitty visually appropriates power,

such as her performance on-stage during which she controlled the audience’s gaze, her

silhouette's dominance of the image during the scene in which Hitch Nelson attempts

to lure April into the burlesque, and the repeated "Madonna and Child" images that

invoke Christian lore. The lens of juxtaposition also revealed many instances during

which Kitty appropriates power, such as the scene during which Hitch demands that

she bring April home from the convent while his shadow repeatedly points to Kitty's

picture on the wall, the scene during which Kitty and Hitch argue about their

impending marriage while a framed picture of Kitty dominates the front of the frame,

and the poster image of Kitty that looms above April and Tony as they embrace at

film's end.

The film also likened Kitty's relationship with her daughter to the holy family.

The birth scene invokes Christ's birth; just as Christ was bom without the comforts

typically provided to women, Kitty gives birth to April backstage on a settee. Just as

Christ was laid in a manger, April sleeps in what appears to be a manger. Later, Kitty

sends April to a convent, a move intended to instill Christian values in her. After

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April's return, while Kitty tries to sing April to sleep, April recites the rosary. Just

as Christ sacrificed himself for his "children," Kitty sacrifices herself for her child.

Just as Christ's sacrifice was blessed by God, so to does Kitty's appear to be.

Finally, just as Christ arose from the dead and lives eternally, so too does Kitty

symbolically arise from the dead. In the final scene, during which we see April and

Tony's embrace, Kitty's image looms over them. In the final frames of the film we see

only Kitty's image. Like Christ, Kitty lives etemally-through the image on her

poster.

This film metaphorically depicts sacrifice as power. Just as Christ's sacrifice

empowered him and allowed him to rise and sit at the right hand of the Father, Kitty’s

sacrifice empowers her. She does not rise and sit at the right hand of the Father, but

she rises to power as her image looms over April and Tony. By film's end, the

narrative has come full circle. The film ends where it began: with a poster image of

Kitty Darling.

I examined Imitation o f Life through the lenses of trivialization and

appropriation and identified how the film's mother claims masculine agency and

power through the personal sacrifice that she makes. Personal sacrifice is the vehicle

by which Bea Pullman, film's mother, claims and retains her power. Imitation o f Life

is the tale of a mother who challenges societal assumptions about single motherhood

and succeeds both socially and professionally. To the unsuspecting it is a tale of

personal sacrifice without reward. However, when we re-focused the lens we

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discovered maternal power. Although Imitation o f Life depicts a mother who, in the

end, sacrifices her personal happiness, the lenses o f trivialization and appropriation

revealed many glorious challenges to societal assumptions about women and

motherhood, about career and family, and about women's proper role in society. The

lens of trivialization enabled us to identify masculine power that was obscured by

images and discourse, such as the scene during which Bea arrives home from peddling

syrup only to have Delilah insist that she needs a man to take care of her, the scene in

which Bea meets Stephen Archer and is unwittingly labeled a "pancake queen," and

the final scene during which Bea renunciates her love for Stephen while the camera's

focus enhances emotion moreso than rationality and agency.

The lens of appropriation enabled us to identify the ways in which Bea

appropriates power both visually and through language. Bea is frequently depicted in

a position of power in relation to the other characters with whom she interacts. Her

face is usually visible while the faces of other characters are obscured by camera angle

or focus. Moreover, Bea visually appropriates power through costume, especially

during the scene in which she works at the pancake shop where her costume imitates

masculine attire by virtue of her "bow" tie. Bea also appropriates power through

language, such as the scene during which she successfully negotiates a lease on the

Boardwalk store, then negotiates repairs and fixtures, all with no money down. She

also appropriates power when, in the final scene, she speaks rationally and logically

to Stephen amidst of his emotional pleas.

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Together, the lenses of trivialization and appropriation revealed challenges to

societal assumptions that career and family are mutually exclusive, that single mothers

cannot balance career and family. These lenses revealed many challenges to traditional

assumptions about women's place as well. Although society may believe that

mothers belong in the home, Bea demonstrates that she can successfully balance career

and motherhood.

Bea ultimately sacrifices personal happiness in order to save her relationship

with her daughter. Yet Imitation o f Life suggests that sacrifice is the means to power.

Sacrifice might be interpreted as victimization or punishment, but my analysis

demonstrated that Bea's choice to sacrifice her personal happiness in order to save her

relationship with her daughter empowers her. Because she renunciates her love for

Stephen she retains both masculine corporate power and maternal power. In the end,

we revisit the beginning. The narrative has come full circle: Bea tells Jessie the story

that was the film's opening scene.

The second part of this study, "motherhood is power," offered analyses of

Blonde Venus and Baby Boom, both o f which depict motherhood as the means by

which the heroines claim agency and appropriate masculine power. In both films, the

mothers choose single motherhood despite social and professional denigration.

I examined Blonde Venus through the lenses o f distraction and appropriation

and illustrated how the film's mother makes choices which enable her to claim power

and agency that others seek to deny her. These lenses illuminated the various ways

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that the film's mother, Helen Faraday, claims masculine agency. Maternal power

remains largely unnoticed by audiences not seeking a resistive interpretation, but the

lens of distraction enabled us to recognize, understand, and celebrate feminine and

maternal power within the larger narrative. This film depicts a mother who, in the

end, appears to assume her "rightful" place within the family, but the lenses of

appropriation and distraction revealed many challenges to traditional assumptions

about women's place. The lens of distraction illuminated the subversive lyrics of

"Hot Voodoo" and enabled us to recognize the sexual impulses in the song despite the

fact that the music's volume and Helen's bodily movements distracted us from

noticing them. This lens obscured Helen's transgression when Ned threatened to take

Johnny away from her. His ominous and threatening movements distracted us from

recognizing her facial expression when she stated that she would bring Johnny to him.

Johnny's mask distracted us from fully appreciating Helen's outright rejection of her

husband, her manager and their symbolic power when she rips the newspaper photo

of the Blonde Venus and throws it into the trash. Finally, this lens enabled us to

recognize the power Helen appropriates when, dressed in tattered rags, she escapes

the j udge's punishment by feigning incompetence.

The lens of appropriation enabled me to illustrate how the film's mother

adopts a masculine identity without sacrificing her femininity. Helen Faraday

appropriates power both visually and aurally. Helen is frequently depicted with a

low angle shot-a shot that is designed to ascribe power to the subject In fact,

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throughout the scenes during which Helen and Johnny are on the run from Ned and

the authorities, Helen is consistently depicted with either a straight-on or low angle

shot, thereby reinforcing her equality (among the women with whom she interacts)

and her power. Helen also appropriates power through costume, such as when she

appears on stage in Paris wearing tails and a top-hat. She thus borrows and refashions

masculine attire for her own purposes. Finally, Helen appropriates power through

language, such as when she impersonates patriarchal language—the words she has

heard repeatedly from Ned, the judge, the detective—when she chooses to return

Johnny to her husband, and when she gives the envelope with fifteen-hundred dollars

in it to the woman at the flop house. Helen refuses to be constrained by patriarchy,

and instead uses patriarchal language to her advantage.

Helen ultimately returns to her family. Scholars criticize this move and argue

that it is Hollywood's attempt to recuperate the traditional family, yet it is Helen's

choice. She orchestrates her return and defines her life according to her own desires

and her own will. Helen claims agency and power by virtue of her choice. In fact,

Helen appropriates and re-appropriates power. She appropriates masculine power,

but she also re-appropriates a feminine/maternal power that enables her to rise above

the constraints o f masculine power and create her own destiny. The narrative has

come full circle. The stoiy ends where it began, with the fairy tale that created-and

recreated-the family.

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I examined Baby Boom through the lenses of appropriation and distraction and

identified the ways in which the film's mother both appropriates masculine agency

and creates a feminine/maternal power. Baby Boom is a forceful and conspicuous

challenge to the belief that career and motherhood are mutually exclusive. The lenses

of appropriation and distraction were useful because they enabled me to demonstrate

the various ways that the film's mother claims masculine agency and the ways that

she uses feminine and maternal power to create feminine agency.

The lens of appropriation enabled me to identify the many and various ways

that J.C. Wiatt appropriates masculine power, such as when in the opening scene she

walks along Wall Street appearing much the same as the men she passes (but with a

skirt instead of pants), when the camera depicts her with a low angle shot especially

in relation to the men with whom she interacts both personally and professionally,

when she is the focus of both the camera and the diegetic audience during business

presentations and meetings, and when she uses patriarchal language to reject the offer

she has received for her business. The lens of appropriation revealed a masculine

agency and power that was centered around the hustle and bustle of the corporate

world.

The lens o f distraction enabled me to identify how J.C. appropriates a

feminine and maternal power that is equal to, if not stronger than, the masculine

power she possesses. This occurred most deliberately during the scene in which we

witness the rise of Country Baby, a scene fOled with a constantly moving montage of

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images of sales charts, newspaper articles, publicity photo shoots, and production

lines, behind which are images of J.C. in her home office with a crib next to her desk

and a mobile on her desk, and images of J.C. with Elizabeth fully enjoying her

motherhood and her daughter. Underneath the distraction we discovered that by

virtue of her motherhood and her choice to be a mother to Elizabeth, J.C. is able to

build a business that rivals any she managed during her Wall Street days. In the end,

her maternal power enables her to reject the offer presented to her.

In the end, J.C. appears to assume her "rightful" place within the family when

she returns home to Vermont, to her daughter, and to Dr. Jeff Cooper (the

veterinarian). It appears as though she has relinquished her former corporate mindset

in favor of a traditional patriarchal, nuclear family. However, the lenses of

appropriation and distraction revealed many challenges to traditional assumptions

about women's place. J.C.'s exclusion from the corporate hustle and bustle is the

means by which she creates feminine agency, and it is by rejecting the corporate

mindset that she appropriates its power. Although she was expelled from the

corporate fast track because she chose to pursue motherhood, she demonstrates that

societal assumptions about the inability of women to balance work and family are

inaccurate. She does not "settle" for motherhood and famly. Instead she chooses to

keep Elizabeth, and she defines the boundaries within which she is willing to have a

relationship with Jeff Cooper. We can not help but endorse the message that "nobody

should have to" make the sacrifices upon which her former employer insists.

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Ultimately, J.C. achieves what the men around her (with the exception of Dr. Cooper)

said she could not: a balance between career and motherhood. The narrative has come

full circle. We end with an image of J.C. in her power suit, just as we first saw her in

the film's opening scene.

Each o f the four films discussed presents its audience with a circular narrative.

Each ends where it began, but with a slight twist. Applause ends with a poster image

of Kitty just as it began. O f course, Kitty is dead. Nevertheless, her image persists

and her maternal power is solidified by the lasting image. Imitation o f Life ends when

Bea tells Jessie the story about how she and Delilah met. The story takes us back to

the film's opening scene when, just as at the film's end, Bea and Jessie are on their

own. O f course, Bea now possesses corporate power which contrasts with the early

days when she peddled maple syrup. Nevertheless, the mother-daughter relationship

persists and Bea's maternal power is solidified by the lasting image of Jessie and her.

Blonde Venus ends with Helen re-telling the fairy tale that was the film's opening

scene. Of course, much has happened, and the family that was created out of the

fairy tale has changed. Nevertheless, the image of Helen persists and her maternal

power is solidified by virtue o f the fairy tale's ability to reconcile the family. Baby

Boom ends with J.C. wearing the same power suit she did in the film's opening scene.

Of course, J.C. no longer walks down Wall Street Her corporate power gives way to

maternal power when she sits in her business suit holding Elizabeth and picks a

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flower through the window. Her maternal power is solidified by virtue of the film's

final domestic image that hints at the masculine power she still possesses.

These four films challenge societal assumptions about single motherhood

insofar as they depict women who rise above their particular situations in order to

provide for their children. Each of the women succeeds in her endeavor, although each

may pursue different ends. The four films examined in this study offer circular

narratives that end where they began, albeit in a slightly different manner. Finally,

each o f the films ascribes maternal power to its heroine. Maternal power enables each

mother to claim masculine power in such a way that the two merge to create agency

that cannot be denied.

That said, where are we? Bonnie Dow claims, "Media, willingly or not, have

contributed to a kind of literacy about women's victimization, a widespread awareness

that women face distinct dangers in the nuclear family and in the workplace" (205).

She thus acknowledges that women are victimized in their lives, in media depictions

about their lives, and by the larger media apparatus that limits women's feminism to

the simplified images we see in various situation comedies and prime-time dramas.

Dow goes on to say th at," ... in a nation dedicated to family values and the

presumption of equal opportunity (indeed, opportunities are so equal now that we

are told affirmative action is unnecessary), the motivation to deny or explain away

that victimization is quite strong” (205). Postfeminists such as Camille Paglia,

Christina Hoff Sommers, Katie Roiphe and Naomi Wolf have thus contributed books

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designed to convince American women that the reign of patriarchy has ended and that

we are now equal, that we are no longer victims, and that feminism is actually working

against women by disempowering us and convincing us that we are victims.1 The

truth is that women are victimized, and that our victimization occurs in a variety of

ways. It is also true that we are able to see beyond our victimization and to empower

ourselves in a variety of ways, some of which are the basis for Radner and Lanser's

Feminist Messages: Coding in Women's Folk Culture. 2

Patriarchy may no longer exist, as Paglia, Sommers, Roiphe and Wolf claim,

but patriarchal ideology continues. One need only look beneath the surface of the

variety of media images to which we are exposed daily to glimpse this ideology. It is

cunning, baffling, and powerful. It is so powerful, in fact, that we rarely notice it

because we have become so accustomed to it Radner and Lanser demonstrate,

1See, for instance, Camille Paglia, Sex, Art, and American Culture; Christina Hoff
Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women; Katie Roiphe,
The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism on Campus; and Naomi Wolf, Fire with
Fire: The New Female Power and How It Will Change the 21st Century.
2 Radner*s book is a compilation of scholarly essays that apply, to varying degrees,
the typology outlined in Radner and Lanser's "Strategies o f Coding in Women's
Cultures." See, for instance, Radner and Lanser's "Women in the Patriarchal
Household," in which they claim that women find ways to manipulate their
surroundings to resist those "chores" they don't want to do. In one example, they
describe a woman who repeatedly bums dinner. After repeatedly burning dinner and
feigning incompetence at cooking-a traditionally feminine activity~the husban
becomes the cook and the woman is no longer responsible for preparing meals. This
resistance acknowledges that tradition and situation victimize this woman, but she
finds a way to empower herself and to claim agency in such a way that she succeeds
at ridding herself of this tedious and unfulfilling task.

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 251

however, that women find ways to work within this ideology to empower

themselves. I, too, have attempted to demonstrate through my analyses that film

critics can participate in the work of empowering women through textual analysis.

I chose the films for this study because they affected me. I found that I

simultaneously loved and hated them, enjoyed and dreaded watching them. My

search to discover why I had such competing responses to the films drove my

research. 1believe that Radner and Lanser's typology provided a useful tool with

which to examine the films, their narratives and their characters. I still enjoy these

films, perhaps moreso because I am now more accustomed to seeing beneath the

surface of the images and the narrative. I still have difficulty watching them, but I find

myself drawn to them repeatedly. Reflecting on her own work, Dow claims:

No feminist viewer should attempt to deny her pleasure in these

prime-time feminist visions: they offer sophisticated, entertaining,

often quite satisfying images of the personal struggles and triumphs of

women. The danger is not in enjoying them but in mistaking them for

something more than the selective, partial images that they are— the

media has been quite sophisticated in its adaptations of feminism for

its own purposes. This is why feminist analysis must be equally as

sophisticated in understanding the strategies that create mediated

visions of feminism and in reminding ourselves and our students of the

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 252

reflection, selection, and deflection of reality (Burke, 1968) on which

these visions rely. (214)

I hope to have demonstrated my own pleasure in these films, but also to have offered

a sophisticated method of analysis designed to look sideways at the images they

present to us.

Still, I must consider where we are. My sense is that, as the result of this
t
project, we are in a position to unite feminists and postfeminists. We can

acknowledge our victimization without internalizing it We can resist or reject this

victimization and find ways to act in our lives that empower us without rejecting the

principles o f feminism outright This study has been my attempt to do just that The

trick is not to deny that women are victimized; clearly, they are. Instead, we must

see how women succeed, empower themselves, and claim agency in the face o f this

victimization. Reading film against the frame doesnot demonstrate that the characters

intentionally and knowingly resist Instead, it allows the spectator to resist the

ideology that drives the film. By resisting in this way, women can succeed, women

can empower themselves, and women can claim agency. In this way, women can

resist the victimization they see so often in the media, especially in classical

Hollywood cinema. The resistance offered in this project both recognizes and

acknowledges the mothers' victimization, and enables us-as spectators--to move

beyond it; to embrace both the victimization discourse offered by feminist scholars,

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 253

and the anti-victimization discourse offered by the postfeminist authors mentioned

above.

So, where do we go from here? Clearly, there are many more films to be

examined, both those depicting single mothers (as central, secondary or background

characters) and those depicting other marginalized segments of society. I suspect

that the critical lens offered in this study will prove useful in this endeavor. And yet

this lens is not without its shortcomings. Because I was unable to examine four o f the

eight films originally chosen for this study, I must seek to determine if the films can

be understood from a different perspective, or if—as with Imitation o f Life (1959)—

other characters should instead be examined with this critical lens. I hope to examine

these films at a later date. I also hope to refine this study's critical lens, if necessary,

in order to examine media depictions of other marginalized groups. Time will tell if

this critical perspective is as useful as I suspect it is.

This study has engaged scholarly conversations in the fields of feminist film

criticism and maternal film studies, as well as to the field of rhetoric generally, and the

rhetorical analysis of film specifically. Through a systematic analysis of the cinematic

representation of single mothers and single motherhood, an area of inquiry about

which little has been written, I hope to have filled the gap that currently exists within

maternal film studies. Moreover, I have offered an alternative to existing methods o f

film inquiry, and demonstrated the utility of using principles of resistance theory as a

lens through which to enact cinematic textual analysis.

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 254

Single motherhood is a social phenomenon whose importance has fueled many

aspects of the women's movements). It continues to exist as a social reality that

cannot be ignored. Its existence, in some circumstances, is the result of victimization-

abandonment, divorce, abuse, death. . . the list goes on. Admittedly, some women

choose single motherhood. And why not? Women who have been victimized by

patriarchal ideology, in its many and varied forms, may now choose to sidestep its

authority. Regardless o f its cause, its importance as a social phenomenon, its

importance in my own life, and its depiction in cinematic narratives launched this

study. My personal experience enabled me to maintain momentum. The principles

of rhetorical resistance, specifically feminist coding, served as the lens through which I

examined this study's films. Close textual analysis allowed me to view the

particularities in the films, particularities that are evident if we look for them. I have

offered an interpretation different from traditional interpretations of these films and

their construction of single motherhood. I hope that this new perspective will

encourage scholars to pursue resistive readings of texts that strike them as somehow

different, or that leave them with conflicting and contradictory responses. I hope that

this new perspective will enable feminist scholars to find their own resistance.

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 255

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Roiphe, Katie. The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism on Campus. New York:

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Sommers, Christina Hoff. Who Stole Feminism?” How Women Have Betrayed Women.

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Williams, Linda. "Something Else Besides a Mother." Cinema 24 (Fall 1984): 2-27.

Wolf, Naomi. Fire with Fire: The New Female Power and How It Will Change the 21st

Century. New York: Random House, 1993.

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Hamilton, James Shelley. "Applause." Cinema I (April 1930): 36-37.

Hardy, Forsyth. "Blonde Venus." Cinema Quarterly 1 (Winter 1932): 116.

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"Imitation of Life." Hollywood Reporter (\Q Sep 1934): 3.

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 A p p e n d ix A

FILMOGRAPHY

A pplau se

Paramount, 1929
Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
Written by Garrett Fort
Cinematography by George J. Folsey
Film Editing by John Bassler
Based on the novel by Beth Brown

Cast of C haracters:
Kitty Darling........Helen Morgan
April Darling Joan Peers
Producer......... Jack Singer
T ony Henry Wadsworth
Hitch Nelson........ Fuller Mellish
Slim Lamont.........Paul Barrett
Extra.........William Browning
Joe King......... Jack Cameron
Mother Superior Dorothy Cumming

B l o n d e Ve n d s

Paramount, 1932
Directed by Josef von Sternberg
Written by Jules Furthman & S.K. Lauren
Cinematography by Bert Glennon
Costume Design by Travis Burton
Original Music by Oscar Potoker
Art Direction by Wiard Ihnen

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 265

Cast of Characters:
Helen Faraday Marlene Dietrich
Edward Faraday Herbert Marshall
Nick Townsend Cary Grant
Johnny Faraday.........Dickie Moore
Ben Smith Gene Morgan
"Taxi Belle" Hooper......... Rita La Roy
Dan O'Connor......... Robert Emmett O'Connor
Detective Wilson Sidney Toler
Doctor Pierce......... Morgan Wallace

I m it a t i o n o f U fe

Paramount, 1934
Directed by John M. Stahl
Written by William Hurlbut, Preston Sturges (based on a novel by Fannie Hurst)
Film Editing by Philip Cahn & Maurice Wright
Cinematography by Merrit B. Gerstad
Costume Design by
Sound Design by Gilbert Kurland
Art Direction by Charles D. Hall

Cast of Characters:
Beatrice "Bea" Pullman Claudette Colbert
Stephen Archer Warren William
Elmer Smith.........Ned Sparks
Aunt Delilah Louise Beavers
Juanita Quigley........Jessie Pullman (age 3)
Marilyn Knowlden Jessie Pullman (age 18)
Seble Hendricks........Peola Johnson (age 4)
Dorothy Black Peola Johnson (age 9)
Fredi Washington Peola Johnson (age 19)
Martin (Furniture M an) Alan Hale
Painter Henry Armetta
Landlord......... Clarence Wilson

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 266

Ba b y B oom

United Artists, 1987

Directed by Charles Shyer
Produced by Nancy Meyers, Bruce Block
Written by Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer
Cinematography by William A. Franker
Film Editing by Lynzee Klingman
Costume Design by Susan Becker
Original Music by Bill Conti
Art Direction by Beala Neel
Set Decoration by Lisa Fischer
Special Effects by John Frazier

Cast of Characters:
J.C. W iatt......... Diane Keaton
Dr. Jeff Cooper........ Sam Shepard
Steven Bochner........ Harold Ramis
Elizabeth W iatt........ Kristina Kennedy
Elizabeth W iatt........ Michelle Kennedy
Fritz Curtis Sam Wanamaker
Ken Arrenberg James Spader
Hughes Larabee.........Pat Hingle
Veme Boone Britt Leach
Narrator Linda Ellerbee
Robin Kim Sebastian
Charlene........Mary Gross
Secretary....... Patricia Estrin
Mrs. Atwood Elizabeth Bennett
Maitre d '........Peter Elbling

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 Appendix B

LISTS OF SCENES

A pplau se (1929)

Titles: APPLA USE accompanied by marching music

A deserted road with pieces of newspaper blowing in the wind. The
1 camera stops on a poster stuck to a wall: Kitty Darling, Queen of
Hearts. Suddenly a crowd gathers to watch a parade featuring Kitty
Darling riding in a horse-drawn carriage and accompanied by a grand
marching band.
Interior of a burlesque theatre. The camera pans up to reveal the legs
2 of a chorus line. Kitty and Joe enter from stage right and perform
their act. Their act completes the First Act of the burlesque show.
Backstage, Joe helps Kitty offstage. The Stage Manager delivers a
telegram to Kitty. The telegram is from Kitty's husband telling her
3 that the Governor refused his death pardon and that he will be
executed. He advises her to forgive and forget. She reads it, grabs her
side and passes out.
Onstage Joe asks if "there is a doctor in the house," but the audience
4 thinks it's part o f the act. Eventually they retrieve Dr. Leonard who
emerges from a balcony room where he is entertaining one of the girls.
Backstage Joe and the Stage Manager discuss Kitty’s poor eating
5 habits and the telegram. The doctor arrives and tells the Stage
Manager to send someone to fetch his surgical bag. He also asks one
of the girls to help him.
6 On-stage it is the Second Act.
Backstage the Stage Manager yells at the girl as she exits Kitty's
7 room. He pushes her into the chorus line where she tells the next girl
in line, "Kitty's got a baby." This progresses down the line to Joe.
When the number is finished they exit the stage.

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 268

In Kitty's room the chorus line, along with Joe, file in to congratulate
8 Kitty and to see the baby. The scene is viewed from straight above,
looking down upon Kitty, and from a high angle shot. The settee,
and the procession, remind the viewer of the manger scene of
Christian lore.
Five years later we see a young girl dancing. Kitty teaches her
daughter, April, to dance. Joe enters, gives April some beads, then
9 convinces Kitty to send April to a convent where she can "learn the
Word of God" and "grow up to be a lady." We soon discover that
the "beads" Joe gave April are actually a rosary.
10 At the convent the Mother Superior teaches April to say the Rosary
while sitting in front of a statue of the Blessed Mother.
Interior of Kitty's hotel room, twelve years later. Kitty lays on the
floor surrounded by precious keepsakes and sings while reading a
letter from April. When she finishes reading the letter she turns her
11 attention to a picture of a man, presumably the one about whom she
sings in her song, "What Wouldn't I do for that Man?" We then meet
the man, Hitch Nelson who, after discovering a picture of April
among Kitty's keepsakes, convinces her to bring April home from the
convent
At the convent the Mother Superior says a prayer for April. She
12 escorts April through the convent, past the chapel, past the lawn
where the young girls play, and to the gate where they bid farewell.
At the Train Station, April debarks and looks up to see the high,
13 iron-bar ceiling. She stands while crowds pass her, then slowly
ascends the stairs. We cut to the exterior of the train station where
April hails a cab.
14 Cab headlights speed toward the camera.
April arrives at the Star Hotel. She approaches the front desk and
asks for Kitty. The desk clerk tells her to wait at the hotel for Kitty,
while an onlooker tells April about Kitty's skill with dancing and
15 "strip teasing." April admits that she doesn’t remember anything
about the stage show because she hasn't seen it since she was five
years old. The onlooker arranges to have his brother take April to
the show.

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 269

At the theatre—April is the only woman in the audience—the men yell

because she blocks their view. When Kitty appears on-stage April
becomes very upset. She listens to the audience claim that "she's all
16 washed up anyway" and witnesses their reactions to the partially
clothed women. What follows is many quick cuts between the faces
o f the girls on-stage and the faces of the men in the audience who
sweat and drool. April leaves the theatre.
Backstage, April's escort takes her to Kitty's dressing room. Lots of
hugs follow and the reunion is very sweet. April then meets Hitch.
17 Kitty departs for her next number and April watches Kitty's
performance silhouette through the drop, while Hitch tries to
convince April to join the show. Throughout, Kitty's silhouette
dominates the frame.
Back at the hotel, Kitty sings April a lullaby. April is upset because
o f her conflicting feelings about what she was taught at the convent
and what she has witnessed during the show. Kitty tells April that
she shouldn't be ashamed of Kitty's career, and that her career made it
18 possible for April to attend the convent in the first place. The two
resolve to be together forever. Kitty sings the lullaby again while
April says the rosary. Hitch arrives and Kitty warns him not to
wake April. April has many dreams that fuse her experiences both at
the convent and in New York.
In the morning, April awakens to the ringing phone. She calls Kitty
19 who takes the call. Kitty insists that she and Hitch marry, but Hitch
insists that April start working. Although Kitty demands that April
not work in "the show business," Hitch convinces her otherwise.
At the train station, the train departs for Buffalo. Inside the train the
20 girls party. The camera pans to April sitting in her quarters on the
train. She is upset because she wants to sleep but can't because of
the noise and the raucous party.
21 Newspaper clip: SUMMER STOCK, The new "Parisian Flirts"
with Kitty Darling, will open a season of summer stock at the
Olympia Theatre. Among the principals are Hitch Nelson, Clara
Murray,. . . dissolve.

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 270

Variety sits on the table with the title, "Star gazers as guides." The
camera pans to April who rehearses with Hitch. She pushes him
away and claims that she doesn't like to be mauled. Hitch responds,
"Maybe a good maulin' would do you good for a change. The 'touch
22 me not' stuffs beginning to give me a big pain in the neck." He treats
her roughly, his behaviors implying a sexual impulse, but Kitty
enters the room and Hitch releases April. Kitty is angry that she
won't get a contract for the stock season until she has been in the
show for two weeks. She is also upset that the Stage Manager wants
her to attend a stag party with the girls.
At the Olympia Theatre, Kitty is angry that Hitch was unable to
convince the Stage Manager to release her from the stag party. Kitty
23 tells April to go home with Hitch, but April begs her not to. April
then leaves the theatre by herself and is pursued by a man. When he
tries to get physical with April a sailor rescues her and offers to take
her to a restaurant.
At the "cafeteria" they talk, laugh and enjoy each other's names; his is
24 Tony-he doesn't like it, and he believes hers sounds like it came from
a book.
25 At the hotel, Hitch enters searching frantically for April. He calls the
front desk to confirm that April hasn't arrived at the hotel. He is
angry.
26 At the cafeteria Tony tells April about the storms at sea. They are
the last customers and are asked to leave. Instead of returning home
they decide to go to the Brooklyn Bridge.
At the Brooklyn Bridge, they look out over the water, sit and talk.
They're falling in love. Tony insists that he'll spend the next four
27 days with her. They kiss. He walks her home. They kiss again
outside the hotel and April enters. Kitty arrives home and attempts
to hit on Tony but he walks away.
April enters the hotel room where Hitch accuses her of being a cheap
28 burlesque dame who does pick-ups. He insists that "charity begins
at home” and again attempts to sexually molest her. Kitty enters
again, but Hitch insists that he and April have reached an agreement.
At the Empire State Building, Tony and April look out at the sights
29 of the city. Tony tells April that he will not re-enlist in the NAVY
and that, instead, they should marry. April agrees.

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 271

At the hotel April and Tony share the news with Kitty and she
"interviews" Tony to ensure that he will take care of her daughter.
They plan to dine together and Tony leaves, passing Hitch in the
hall. When he discovers that Kitty has granted permission for April
to marry Tony he tells Kitty that she is a "fat old woman" and that
her only hope for financial security is for April to take the lead in the
30 show. Kitty threatens to end the relationship with Hitch, but he
takes the lead and ends it first April overhears the entire argument,
and tells Kitty that she will not marry Tony; instead she will take
care of Kitty in repayment for all Kitty did for her. Kitty insists
that April marry Tony and makes her promise to "fix everything."
April leaves for dinner without Kitty. Kitty scans the hotel room,
and decides to commit suicide. She mixes poison with water.
At the restaurant, April and Tony watch the couples dance. Tony
suggests that they dance, but April refuses. She tells Tony that she
31 cannot marry him, that she wants to fulfill her career desires in "the
show business." Tony doesn't believe her, but she insists. He
decides to re-enlist and April offers to walk with him to the subway
station.
32 At the hotel, Kitty finishes her drink of poison. She sits back in her
chair and looks at the clock. It is 7:57 p.m. She sits and happily
waits to die.
33 At the subway station April and Tony await the train. He buys her
some gum. When the train arrives they shake hands and he boards
the train. She runs after it, crying. Then, still crying, she slowly
leaves the station.
34 Waiting to die, Kitty hears the sirens and bells announcing the
beginning of the show. She looks out the window and panics because
April hasn't yet returned. She grabs her coat and departs for the
theatre.
Backstage, the girls run down the stairs toward the stage. Kitty
enters, desperately searching for April. April rushes to her and asks
Kitty what is the matter. April escorts Kitty to the settee-the same
on which April was bom~and tells her to lay down. Kitty asks if
35 April and Tony will be married, but April says she sent Tony back
to the ship. Kitty begins to convulse, while Hitch and the Stage
Manager enter the room and accuse Kitty of being "soaked in gin."
April confronts the men and resolves to take Kitty's place. During
the argument, Kitty dies. Nobody notices.

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 272

36 On-stage, April performs valiantly. When the number is over she

exits the stage, visibly upset, but returns to the stage for an encore.
Unable to handle the situation she runs offstage. Hitch demands that
she return, but she refuses. As she walks backstage she sees Tony
and asks him to take her away "from this terrible place." As they
stand under Kitty's poster, April explains that Kitty is sick, and
Tony offers to take Kitty to Wisconsin with them. They hug as the
camera zooms in to focus on Kitty's poster. Our last image is of
Kitty.
37 The End.

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 273

Im ita tio n o f L i f e (1934)

Titles: IMITATION OF UFE

Bea Pullman bathes and readies her daughter Jessie, who wants her
"quack quack," for the Day Nursery. The phone rings. The
1 conversation reveals that Bea is widowed and attempting to continue her
late husband's maple syrup business. The doorbell rings, and we meet
Delilah, a colored woman searching for a job and a home for her daughter.
After much discussion, Bea agrees to hire Delilah; payment will be room
and board.
Bea returns from working all day to peddle maple syrup. Bea is
disheartened when she teams that Jessie is already asleep, but she goes to
2 Jessie's room to kiss her anyway. Following is a discussion between Bea
and Delilah during which Delilah rubs Bea's feet, and tells her that she
"need[s] some lovin' honey chile." Bea responds, "I’ve got Jessie. That's
enough."
Delilah cooks pancakes for Bea. During breakfast Delilah reveals her
3 mammy's secret recipe after saying that she'll die with the secret.
Bea walks the Boardwalk in hopes of selling maple syrup. She sees an
4 available store front and negotiates a lease. Bea will receive the store for
two months free, during which she will renovate the interior.
Bea rushes into the house and tells Delilah to bring buckets, rags, mops,
5 etc. and to gather the children.
At the store, Bea continues to negotiate. First she negotiates painting for
6 $193 paid in 30 days, then she negotiates $l,S00 of furniture for
monthly installments of $50. During negotiations, we see Delilah pose
for the store-front sign. The image reminds the viewer of Aunt Jemima.
Aunt Delilah's Pancake Shop. First we see the sign, then pan up to see
Delilah standing at the grille flipping pancakes. We then pan to Bea who
makes her final payment for furniture. Jessie and Peola depart for
7 school, rehearsing world capitals. Bea remarks that Peola is smarter than
Jessie. Shortly thereafter, Peola runs into the shop crying, and heads to
the living quarters. Delilah attempts to comfort Peola who insists that
she’s "not black.” Delilah insists that she must "leam to take it."
In their living quarters, Bea plays cards with Jessie who is ill. Outside
8 rages a terrible storm. Delilah enters to retrieve Peola's boots and
raincoat which she plans to deliver to Peola's school.

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 274

Intenor of a classroom. The teacher reads Little Women hoping that the
rain will subside. When Peola sees her mother outside the classroom she
hides behind her book. Delilah enters the room and asks for her daughter
9 to which the teacher responds, "I have no little colored children in my
class." We discover that Peola has been passing for white. When Delilah
reveals Peola's race, Peola runs out of the class screaming "I hate you!"
Interior of Pancake Shop where Bea flips pancakes, but the crowd is
10 sparse because of the storm. One customer notices a "window shopper."
Bea offers him a free plate of pancakes.
Interior of living quarters. Peola enters the home, soaking wet. Jessie
asks Peola if she saw her mother, and Peola answers, "yes." Jessie asks,
"But she had your rain coat and rubbers. What happened?" Delilah
11 enters, calling after Peola. Peola tells Delilah to "go away and leave me
alone." Bea enters and Delilah explains that Peola "was passing. . . and I
gave her away."
Interior of Pancake Shop. "Window shopper" offers Bea a $100,000 idea
for another free plate of pancakes. He tells the story of Coca Cola, and
12 suggests that Bea "box it" (the pancake flour). When he asks if he has
earned another plate of pancakes, Bea offers him "all the pancakes you
can eat, and a job besides."
A business meeting where Bea and Elmer explain to Delilah that the
company has earned $15,000 in 6 months, and is projected to earn
$100,000 by July. The next step is to incorporate. Bea explains that
Delilah will have a 20% interest in the business, and asks why Delilah
13 doesn't want her own house. Delilah believes that Bea is sending her
away, and claims that she wants to continue caring for Bea and Jessie.
Delilah wants to give her money to Bea, but Bea insists that she'll put it
into a savings account for Delilah. Delilah says Bea can use the money
to give her a good funeral.
Montage of business success —factory filling boxes with Delilah's
14 picture on the front We then see a neon sign depicting Delilah that
claims "32 million pancakes sold last year."
Interior of Bea's new home where Bea hosts a party. When the camera
15 settles on Bea she is surrounded by men, one o f whom wants to toast the
10th anniversary of Aunt Delilah's Pancakes.
16 Interior of Bea's home, downstairs, where Delilah and Peola watch the
party from the outside patio. Peola, frustrated, enters the house.
17 Interior o f house: the party.
Downstairs, Delilah enters the room and asks Peola what is wrong.
18 Peoia says, "I'm sick and tired of i t . . . I want to be white, like I look."

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19 Balcony of Bea's house where we see Steven Archer searching for the
doorbell.
Inside, Steven and Bea dance and acquaint themselves, while Bea plays
coy with Steven. Steven is convinced that the "pancake queen" is an
undesirable woman, and Bea plays along. Steven approaches the bar to
20 fetch two glasses of champagne, and Elmer (his long-time friend) insists
that he meet his hostess. Steven refuses, insisting that he has other
priorities. Elmer insists, and introduces Steven to Bea at which point
Steven realizes he has made an ass of himself.
The party ends and Bea sees her guests out. Steven does not leave until
21 Bea agrees to lunch with him the next day.
Delilah comes upstairs and Bea wants to "talk the party over - it's the
best part anyway." Delilah rubs Bea's feet, reminiscing about the early
days when Delilah would rub Bea's feet after long days of peddling
syrup. Delilah asks about Steven. Bea says, "Delilah, there's nothing
22 further from my mind than a husband." She pronounces Delilah an
incurable romantic. Delilah claims, "It t'aint romantic to want a man, just
natural." At the end of the scene, Bea and Delilah separate whereby Bea
goes upstairs, and Delilah goes downstairs.
In Peola's bedroom Delilah talks to Peola and encourages her to "meet
23 your cross halfway. Twon't be so heavy." She wants Peola to attend a
college for colored people, "a high toned college." Peola refuses.
24 Outside Bea's house, Elmer and Stephen meet each other as Elmer leaves
and Steve enters. There is a small disagreement regarding the relationship
between Stephen and Bea.
25 Bea's bedroom. Bea is dressed in an elegant dinner gown. Delilah croons
about Bea's elegance, claiming that it is in her eyes and her cheeks. Bea
says that Delilah is a matchmaker at heart.
26 Balcony of Bea's home. Stephen asks Bea to travel with him. Bea tells
Steve she loves him. They agree not to tell Jessie about their
relationship.
27 Stephen arrives at Bea's house and finds Jessie home early. As they talk,
Bea arrives home. Bea tells Jessie that Stephen is an ichthyologist and
asks Jessie if she understands the term. Jessie says she does.
28 Jessie enters the reading room, takes an encyclopedia off the shelf and
looks up the word ichthyologist.
29 Afternoon tea. Jessie and Stephen discuss ichthyology and Jessie reveals
that she didn't know the word. Stephen invites her to his aquarium.

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30 Bea readies for dinner in her room. Delilah enters with a letter from
Peola. We cut to the letter, then back to Bea and Delilah. They decide to
search for Peola.
31 In the living room Bea explains to Jessie that she must help Delilah
search for Peola. She asks Stephen to take care of Jessie while she's
away.
32 A train rolls down the tracks at night.
33 Interior of a restaurant. Peola works as a cashier. Delilah and Bea see
her through the window of the restaurant as their taxi pulls up to the
curb. Peola rejects Delilah, claiming not to know her. Bea chastises her
and Peola runs out of the restaurant.
34 Exterior of Bea's house. As the car pulls up to the curb, Delilah spots
Peola through the window and claims that "she's come home."
35 Inside the house Peola and Delilah talk while Bea listens (at Peola's
request). Delilah hugs Peola, but Peola explains that she wants to go
away. She says, "I know it's a lot to ask, but I've got to live my own
life." Delilah says she can't "unborn" her own daughter, but Peola says
she's got to try.
36 Bea climbs the stairs to the entrance where she encounters Jessie. She
explains that Peola has disowned her mother and hopes that nothing will
ever come between Jessie and her.
37 Inside the aquarium Steve receives a phone call from Bea, and they plan
to dine together. As soon as they hang up the door buzzer rings. It is
Jessie. She informs Stephen that she is in love with him. He tries to
convince her that it is a school-girl crush. Jessie is heart-broken.
38 Jessie returns home as Bea descends the stairs. Shortly afterward
Stephen arrives. A servant (a Black woman) calls Bea to come right
away.
39 Inside Delilah's room we discover that she is very ill. She now has her
own servant. Delilah tries to tell Bea about her wishes for her funeral.
Bea tells Delilah that she must get well because she and Stephen plan to
many. The doctor arrives and Bea refers to Delilah as a "big mountain."
40 Outside Delilah's room Bea overhears Jessie talking to Steve. This cuts
to a shot of Stephen preparing to leave. Bea climbs the stairs and talks
to Steve asking, "Mind if I don't go to dinner?" He complies and they
kiss good-bye.

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41 Bea paces in the sitting room. Jessie enters and asks to return to school
on Friday. She then asks if she can complete her final two years of
school in Switzerland. Elmer enters and attempts to get Bea to commit
to plans for a national brand. Bea claims that she doesn't want to sell,
that she doesn't want to get out of active management. When Elmer
questions her further about her emotional outburst she claims that she is
concerned about Delilah.
42 In Delilah's room a choir sings "Lord Have Mercy."
43 Jessie calls Bea to Delilah's room.
44 In Delilah's room, Delilah asks for Peola's picture. When Peola's picture
is laid on Delilah's chest she dies.
45 The funeral, full of pomp and circumstance, white horses and a horse-
drawn hearse. Peola watches from the crowd that lias gathered outside.
She pushes her way through the crowd and rushes the casket, convinced
that she killed her mother, and hoping to repent. Bea escorts Peola to the
car. A large procession follows. Inside the car Peola realizes her role in
her mother's death.
46 We see the large neon sign of Aunt Delilah's Pancakes.
47 In Bea's backyard she explains to Steve that she reveals her discovery
that Jessie loves him, and absolves him o f any wrongdoing.
Nevertheless, she explains that she can't marry him as long as Jessie
loves him and that he should return to his islands. He begs her to
reconsider and she explains that if they were to marry it would always
come between Jessie and her. Bea says that if and when Jessie gets over
him she will search for him. They kiss good-bye, possibly forever.
Steve leaves. Jessie enters and Bea states that Stephen will not join them
for dinner. Jessie asks how Bea and Delilah met. Bea laughs and begins
to retell the story about Jessie wanting her "quack quack."
89 The End
90 Cast of characters

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 278

B l o n d e Ve n u s

1 Titles: BLONDE VENUS superimposed over reflection of trees in water

during which a naked lady swims through the scene.
2 Women swimming/bathing in a pond.
Men/students walking through forest, tired. They spot a taxi and run to
3 it They ask the driver for a ride to town. The driver declines saying he
is engaged for the day by the actresses.
Women swimming/bathing in pond. Wipe to men sneaking up and
spying through the leaves. The women spot the men and scream. One
swims over and asks the men to go away. One man says they will leave
4 if the women will meet them for something to eat after their show. She
says they will do nothing of the kind and swims away, splashing.
Another woman swims away also splashing and kicking her legs.
5 Dissolve to legs kicking in water - a boy bathing in a bathtub.
6 Pan of New York City harbor.
7 Woman from first scene bathes her son Johnny.
Ned Faraday enters Doctor Pierce's office. He wants to sell his body; he
knows he is dying o f radium poisoning. Needs money for wife and son.
8 Doctor recommends a friend in Germany who Faraday studied under
duringcollege.
9 Living room o f Faraday's apartment Johnny is playing while his parents
work. It is bedtime. Johnny protests.
Johnny's bedroom. Mother tells Johnny a bedtime story - the
"Germany" story. Mother recounts the tale depicted in the opening
10 scene of the Him, with mother and father acting out the tale. Mother
sings child to sleep with a German lullaby accompanied by a music box.
Work room in apartment. Ned is at his chemistry table. Helen works on
needlepoint They discuss the cost o f medical treatment. Helen offers to
11 help financially by going back to the stage. Ned protests. She tells him
she planned to return anyway.
Agent's office. Helen is attempting to be placed with the agency. The
agent's prepare to leave for lunch and are accosted by the many waiting
12 for them. One sees Helen standing quietly off to the side and invites her
into his office.
Inside the office. They discuss Helen's qualifications. Helen denies
13 having a husband saying she has "many boyfriends." Agent says he will
change her name from Helen Faraday to Helen Jones.

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 279

Cabaret manager’s (O'Connor) office. Agent pitches Helen to O'Connor.

14 O'Connor asks for her name. Agent replies, "Jones." O'Connor says
he'll change that.
Faraday living room. Helen is hurriedly getting ready for her show.
15 Grabs a picture of Johnny to bring with her. Johnny gives her a teddy
bear for luck. Helen and Ned say good-bye as if for the last time.
16 Top of stairwell. Helen tells Ned she won't be home until late and not to
wait up for her.
17 Marquis announces "Blonde Venus."
Dressing room. Helen is getting ready for the show. Enter Taxi Belle
Hooper. They discuss their names. Taxi tells Helen about Nick
IS Townsend the politician* and shows Helen the bracelet he gave her for
doing him a favor. Says she wishes he'd ask for some other favors "if
you know what I mean."
19 Cabaret interior. A fight is brewing. Nick Townsend diffuses it by
punching the instigator. Instigator is carried out.
Cabaret stage. "Hot Voodoo" song & dance. Very extravagant. This is
inter-cut with conversation between Taxi and a bartender. Helen, dressed
as a gorilla, scares the audience. As she returns to the stage she begins to
20 disrobe (takes off the gorilla costume). This is inter-cut with Taxi
approaching Nick who is intensely watching Helen. He dismisses Taxi
and watches Helen. He is obviously attracted to her, looking her up and
down.
Cabaret interior. When the show is over, audience moves onto the dance
21 floor. Nick's table wants to go backstage to meet Blonde Venus. They
leave Taxi behind and are accompanied backstage by O'Connor.
Dressing room. The entourage enters the dressing room. Introductions
around. When offered a drink and a cigarette, Helen says she doesn't
drink or smoke to which one of the men replies that she won't last long
because she is too classy. Nick bids goodnight to the other men (makes
22 them leave) and stays will Helen. O'Connor tells her she has 20 minutes
before her next number. Flowers are delivered, apparently by Nick.
Nick asks her if he should wait for her after the show. She says she
doesn't know. He says it would be a great "favor." She asks if she'll get
a bracelet He insists Taxi is just a friend.
23 Extreme close up of a hand writing a check to Helen for $300.00 and
signed by Nick Townsend.
24 Exterior. Car delivers Helen home.

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 280

Faraday apartment. Helen enters apartment. It is late. Ned is asleep on

a chair in the work room. She pulls up a stool, sits behind him and
25 wakes him. She tells him to go to sleep because they have a big day
ahead of them; they need to get a ticket and to pack. She says the
manager gave her an advance.
26 Pan of crowd on ship. Helen says good-bye to Ned. Hugs & kisses.
Ned tells Johnny to "take good care of mommy." Ned waves good-bye.
Crowd bids bon voyage.
27 Ship sails away, inter-cut with Helen and Johnny waving good-bye.
28 Exterior of harbor. Nick is waiting for Helen and Johnny. Gives Johnny
a puppy. Offers a ride.
29 Exterior. Workers remove "Blonde Venus" from marquis.
30 O'Connor’s office. O'Connor and agent discussing inability to find Helen.
Agent discovered she's married and has a son. Taxi enters and is offered
a job. Phone rings.
31 Nick’s home. Nick tells O'Connor that Helen won't be working for him
anymore and hangs up. Nick offers Helen and Johnny a nice apartment
for the summer. Tells Helen he's crazy about her and asks for a kiss.
32 Faraday apartment. Helen enters, checks mail, opens and closes shades
and leaves.
33 Exterior. Helen leaves in a car.
34 Exterior. Two neighbors chatting on balcony/window sill. Gossip about
Helen.
Nice apartment. Nick enters. Helen tells him Ned will be back in one
month, completely cured. Nick asks if she wants to go back to him. She
says he's her husband. When asked if she will tell Ned about Nick she
35 says "no." She says Ned is not as strong as Nick, that Ned needs her.
Nick wants to end the affair right by going away for a couple of weeks -
just the two of them.
36 On vacation. Nick and Helen are on a speedboat on the water.
37 New York Harbor. A big ship comes into harbor.
38 Onboard the ship. Ned is frantically searching the waiting crowd for his
wife and son. Can't find them.
Stairwell to Faraday apartment. Ned is discussing with the landlord the
39 whereabouts of his wife. They tell him she hasn't been there for two
weeks.

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 281

On vacation. Helen and Nick are dismounted from their horses, talking.
They have to return today. Nick attempts to get Helen to go to Europe
40 with him because he can't be in the same city and not see her. When
asked how long he will be gone, he says until he forgets her. He tells her
there is trouble ahead. She says she knows.
41 Faraday apartment Ned enters. Sees mail on floor inside the door.
Looks for signs of his family. Finds the telegram he sent stating he
would be return earlier than expected.
O'Connor's office. Ned is asking about his wife. O'Connor says she
42 worked for three weeks then quit. Taxi tries to tell him about Nick.
O’Connor interrupts.
Faraday apartment. Helen enters and sees signs of someone being there.
She sits at the table and looks over the used dishes. She then finds the
telegram Ned sent telling of the early arrival. She is afraid. She searches
43 the apartment. Meanwhile, Ned enters. They hug. He asks what
happened. She tries to leave to get Johnny but he questions her about
where they've been. She tells him she has been untrue, and that she lied
to him. He tells her to send Johnny back to him and clear out.
44 On the lam. Helen is hurrying along the sidewalk, boarding a train with
Johnny.
45 Police Station. Ned wants the police to find his wife and son who have
been missing for three days.
46 A police officer posts a "Wanted" poster with a photo of Blonde Venus.
47 Star Cafe marquis.
Interior of Star Cafe. Johnny is playing while Helen gets ready for a
show. Johnny sees a picture of Blonde Venus in newspaper telling of
48 the police hunt. She rips and crumples the photo. She tells Johnny to
lock the door, that she will only be gone for a few minutes and then they
will go home. She exits and he locks the door.
49 On stage. Helen sings "You So and So." This is inter-cut with a
customer recognizing her from the newspaper photo.
50 Police officer phones Ned, telling him she is singing at the Star Cafe in
Baltimore. Does Ned want her arrested? Cut to Ned telling police not to
arrest her, that he will go after her himself.
51 Hotel interior. Clerk tells Ned that Helen checked out that morning.
Another clerk says she heard Helen "Blake" inquiring about trains to
Norfolk.
52 Extreme close up of Helen Blake signing the register at Hotel Virginia,
Norfolk, VA.

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 282

Interior hotel room. Helen is on the telephone asking for a maid to come
to room 151 (with Johnny yelling other room numbers into the telephone
53 because he doesn't want them to be found, doesn't want his mother to
go). Helen is teaching Johnny to write by teaching him f-a-t-h-e-r. Maid
enters to care for Johnny while Helen is away.
Interior of cabaret. Owner/worker tells Helen not to try to get a job in
54 this town, shows her the newspaper, and tells her of a man who was
there earlier looking for her, thinks it was Helen's husband.
Owner/worker warns Helen to keep away from cabarets altogether.
55 Montage of trains coming and going, whistles blowing.
56 Helen is reading menus on a rain-streaked window, then enters the
restaurant. This is inter-cut with the interior keys of a piano playing.
Interior of restaurant. Helen is feeding Johnny. The waiter delivers the
bill for .850 which Helen tells the restaurateur she can't pay. He
threatens to call the police. She begs him not to, telling him she will
57 wash dishes, clean up, anything. He replies, "you gonna wash my
dishes? Go back and see the cook." Helen takes Johnny to the kitchen.
Cut to restaurateur lighting a cigar and smiling.
58 Outside. A horse-drawn hay wagon is seen from afar. But to Helen and
Johnny on the wagon sitting in the hay. She is singing a German song.
59 Extreme close up of note card from Bureau of Missing Persons. "Last
seen in Chattanooga. Impossible to confirm report from NEW
ORLEANS that they were sighted there in destitute condition."
Interior of a courtroom. Helen enters with a charge of vagrancy. She
pleads "not guilty." The judge orders her to pay $30.00 or spend 30
days in jail. She says she can't pay and begs the judge not to send her to
jail, telling him she has a 5-year-old son. The judge asks where the boy
60 is. She tells him her son is at the Plantation Hotel alone, and asleep. The
judge says, "a woman who leads the sort o f life she does has no right to
the custody of a child." Helen tells the judge that she does the best she
can, but that she has been unable to find work in days. The judge lets her
go with the stipulation that she leave the city within 24 hours.
61 Hallway of courthouse. Man says that she looked like the Venus
woman. Says he's going to follow her.
62 Night. Helen runs and enters the hotel doorway, looks around outside
and closes door.
63 Close up of footsteps on wet street
Hotel room. Helen frantically gathers their belongings and wakes
64 Johnny. There is a knock on the door. She bundles Johnny. Another
knock.

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 283

65 Outside. Helen and Johnny leave the hotel, Helen carrying Johnny. She
runs down the street, looking around, fearful.
Extreme close up of note card from Bureau of Missing Persons. "Subject
66 escaped local detective. Last definite report - worked two days on farm
25 miles west of GALVESTON."
Interior of a room. A chicken walks by Johnny's "good luck" teddy bear.
67 Johnny is blowing bubbles. Helen is getting ready. A maid enters, telling
her of a white man who has been snooping around. Helen tells the maid
to try to find out what he wants.
68 Outside. The maid inquires if the man is looking for somebody. He says
he's "just browsing around."
Helen's room. Maid tells Helen what he said, but knows he's up to
69 something. Helen tells the maid not to let anybody near Johnny; she's
going out.
70 Outside, Helen entices man, flirts.
Interior of a saloon. Helen enters, knowing the man is following her. She
finds a semi-private table. The man, too, finds the table. They order
two beers. It appears she is a prostitute. He tells her she doesn't look
like the "other women" in that part of town. She replies, "give me time."
71 Beers arrive. She guesses his profession. He shows her his detective's
badge. He tells her he is looking for a woman and her kid, saying she's
been able to elude them repeatedly. As he talks, she drinks and smokes
(not so classy anymore?). She invites him to her room.
Landing to Helen's room. Detective asks if he can take his coat off. She
tells him to make himself at home. He asks if he hurt her feelings. She
says, "I haven't got any anymore." Takes him to her room, and provides
a "code knock" on the door. He asks who she is hiding, afraid she is
trying to frame him. Johnny opens the door. The detective finally
72 realizes who she is. She tells him he never would have caught her, that
she knew who he was all along. She says she is giving the kid up "not
because he (Ned) hounded me into it, but because I'm no good, you
understand? No good at all, you get me? No good for anything - except
to give up the kid before ifs too late." She goes into her room and closes
the door behind her.

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Outside. A train approaches the train station. Helen and Johnny are
waiting with the detective. Ned gets off the train. Johnny runs to him
and hugs him. Ned tells Helen to let Johnny forget her. He gives her
73 $1,500.00 saying, "had I been able to exploit it properly I could have
made a fortune . . ." Ned tells Helen to "stay away from Johnny for
good. Give him a chance to forget you. that's the only way you can be a
good mother to him now." The train leaves with Ned and Johnny on
board. Helen's eyes fill with tears as the train leaves.
Extreme close up of note card from Bureau of Missing Persons. "Subject
74 gave up child voluntarily. Left vicinity a week later. Whereabouts
unknown." Card is filed.
"Ladies only" flop house. Helen enters drunk. Approaches another
drunk who says she's going to kill herself tomorrow. Helen says, "me
too," because she feels like it. The other drunk says that is not a good
75 reason, that she doesn't have a dime, never has and never will. Helen
gives the $ 1,500.00 to her, quoting Ned's speech. She leaves the flop
house saying, "I'm not going to stay in this dump anymore. I'm going to
find myself a better bed. Don't you think I can? Just watch."
76 Traveling across ocean.
Montage of "Helen Jones," "Super Revue," and "Paris" marquises. This
77 is superimposed over scenes of people/crowds in Paris. This is then
superimposed over a medium close shot of Nick Townsend seeing the
marquis.
Interior of cabaret. Nick Townsend is entering and inquiring about Helen
78 Jones. Friend says she supposedly came from South America about five
months ago, used man after man as a stepping stone, and is as cold as the
proverbial icicle.
Cabaret stage. Helen enters in white tails and a top hat She sings in
79 French. While singing she stops in front of Nick who touches her hand.
He asks if he can come backstage after the show. She says she "seem[s]
to remember he came backstage once before." She then sings in English.
Dressing room. Nick reads the mirror on which is written, "Down to
Geneva or up to the throne, he travels fastest who travels alone!" Helen
enters. She tells Nick not to ask questions because she doesn't want to
talk about the past. Presently she is not in love with anybody and is
80 completely happy. Nick questions her about Johnny. He tells her to
come back to die United States with him tomorrow, and to see Johnny
so she can break the crust of ice around her heart. She says no. He tells
her he will reserve a cabin for her in case she changes her mind. She exits
to return to the stage.

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 285

Extreme close up of newspaper headlines which read "Paris favorite quits

81 show night after huge success," and "Former N. Y. cabaret girl engaged to
millionaire."
82 Faraday apartment. Ned and Johnny are eating dinner. Ned is reading
the newspaper and sees the headlines. He shows Johnny the newspaper
picture of Helen and asks if he knows who it is. Johnny doesn’t. Ned
asks Johnny if he remembers mother. Johnny asks, "is that her picture?"
He picks up the paper and looks at it closely.
83 New York Harbor. A ship enters the harbor.
Stairwell of Faraday apartment. Nick and Helen are at the top o f the
84 stairs, outside the apartment. She says she can't do it. Nick says she
needs to see Johnny. He knocks on the door.
Interior of apartment. Ned is washing dishes, hears the knock and says
"come in." Nick enters alone. He tells Ned that Helen wants to see
Johnny. Johnny asks who is at the door. Cut to stairwell where Helen
hears Johnny's voice. Cut to apartment where Ned tells Johnny it is
bedtime. Nick tells Ned he is going to marry Helen. Ned says he's been
85 teaching Johnny to forget his mother and doesn't want his work spoiled.
Cut to Helen listening at the door. Cut to apartment where Nick offers
$1,000.00 to let Helen see Johnny for 10 minutes. Ned says "surely you
can afford more." Nick offers $10,000.00 to which Ned replies that
money doesn't mean anything and says Helen can see Johnny for
nothing. Nick invites Helen in.
Johnny's bedroom. Johnny is playing with a train. He sees Helen and
86 recognizes her, runs to her and hugs her. He asks where she has been and
says he thought she was never coming back. Ned closes the door. She
offers to bathe him.
Ned and Nick are waiting in the other room. They see Helen getting
87 Johnny's bath ready. Ned is sad, but fixes his gaze on her. Nick tells
Ned he is going back to his hotel, but will leave the car for Helen. He
leaves.

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Johnny's bedroom. Helen is brushing Johnny's hair. He is in bed.

Johnny asks if she is going away again. She says "of course not." He
asks if she'll be back tomorrow. She says "yes." He asks for a bedtime
story - the one about Germany. She tells Johnny to ask his father to tell
the story. He calls Ned. Johnny prompts Ned throughout, often telling
the story himself while Ned resists but responds cynically to the
88 prompts. Johnny pushes the story forward. Helen and Ned meet eye to
eye, looking lovingly. Ned tells Johnny his mother must go. She gathers
her coat Johnny asks for a lullaby. She sings a German lullaby
accompanied by the music box. Johnny falls asleep. She sings as she
looks lovingly into Ned's eyes. He goes to her. she asks him to let her
stay. He says, "it's where you belong, Helen." They hug. Johnny
opens his eyes and touches the music box, helping it to continue playing.
Fade.to black.
89 The End
90 Cast of characters

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 287

BABY BOOM

1 Establishing shots of Manhattan with titles and narration. During the

narration we see J.C. Wiatt walking along Wall Street and learn about her
background.
2 Interior of Sloane, Curtis & Co Management Consultants. We meet the
"Tiger Lady.”
Interior of restaurant. J.C. dines with Fritz who offers her a partnership,
3 but who is also worried about the "woman” thing-mainly that she might
want to get married and have kids. She says she won’t
Interior of her co-op apartment Stephen (her lover) and J.C. discuss the
partnership, vacation property in Vermont. J.C. cuts out a real estate ad.
4 They make love for four minutes after which they return to their
respective work.
5 J.C. and Stephen are asleep. J.C. receives a phone call telling her she has
an inheritance.
6 At the airport, J.C. inherits Elizabeth. She doesn’t want her and tries to
give her back, but to no avail.
7 J.C. enters a restaurant with the baby and persuades the coat check clerk
to take care of the baby. She tries to have lunch with the representative
from the Food Chain, but is interrupted by the baby’s crying. The clerk
returns the baby to J.C.
At the grocery store, J.C. attempts to purchase diapers and other
8 necessities.
Interior of apartment Stephen and Elizabeth meet Both scream. They
attempt to feed dinner to the baby-spaghetti-which she throws all over
9 the wall and floor. J.C. later tries to diaper Elizabeth, but can’t—her
Harvard MBA does her no good. Later, in bed, Elizabeth breaks
Stephen’s glasses. They try to get her to sleep.
10 J.C. places Elizabeth for adoption.
Exterior of Fao Shwarz where J.C. exits wtih a cart of toys and clothes
11 which she loads into a cab.
J.C. works at home and has visually softened. She appears to be fond of
12 the baby.
13 Night Elizabeth sneezes and J.C. notices that she has a fever. She
orders medications, and is awake all night with the baby.
14 In the morning, the phone rings. A family wants to adopt Elizabeth.

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 288

At the adoption agency J.C. meets the couple who hope to adopt the
15 baby. They plan to move to Duluth and the wife calls the husband “sir.”
J.C. can’t go through with the adoption and decides to keep Elizabeth.
16 Exterior of adoption agency, J.C. leaves with Elizabeth in her arms.
J.C. and Elizabeth meet Stephen at the train station where he returns
17 from a business trip. He is shocked to see the baby, and tells J.C. that he
doesn’t want a child in his life. He chooses out of the relationship.
18 Stephen's belongings are moved out of the apartment.
19 Establishing shots of Manhattan at night and then in the morning.
20 Interior shot of J.C. and Elizabeth.
Interior of office. Fritz and Everett meet with J.C. to discuss the
partnership. The meeting is a disaster because J.C. has Elizabeth at the
21 office with her. She tells Fritz that she plans to keep the baby forever.
Everett leaves.
We move through a series of interviews for a nanny. They all appear to
22 be fine at first, but all have some flaw. Finally, J.C. stops asking
questions and accepts a ditzy blonde.
J.C. prepares to leave for a business trip. Elizabeth is in the bathtub.
23 The nanny enters and assures J.C. that everything will be fine.
24 Exterior shot of a plane landing.
At the Food Chain, J.C. presents their offer. During the presentation she
receives a phone call from the nanny who can’t find any sterilized
25 nipples. J.C. has to sing to Elizabeth on the phone, and upon hanging up
realizes that she has forgotten where she left off.
Interior of apartment, J.C. returns home. She finds the nanny naked in
26 the living room with a man. J.C. fires her immediately.
J.C. and the German nanny exit the building. J.C. sees a newspaper
27 headline that reads, “Child Missing! Parents suspect babysitter.” J.C.
runs to the nanny and demands her social security number.
28 Interior of office, J.C. is late for a meeting.
29 Establishing shot of office building at night
J.C. prepares to leave for the day. Fritz asks J.C. in to his office where
30 he informs J.C. about a promotion for Ken—her recruit. The secretary
delivers a toy for Elizabeth.
31 Establishing shot of the skyline at sunrise.
Exterior shot Kids play in a park. Mothers talk about enrichment
32 classes and J.C. says that Elizabeth can’t hold a cup. They tell J.C. she
should enroll Elizabeth at the Center for Brighter Babies.
33 Exterior ofbuilding.

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 289

Interior of Center for Brighter Babies. The parents flash large cards at
34 the kids while they state what the image is.
35 Exterior shot of a taxi.
36 J.C. in a meeting.
37 J.C. puts Elizabeth to bed.
At the Center, the children are placed on moving rings and pushed. J.C.
38 moves to the back of the line.
39 J.C. flashing cards at Elizabeth.
40 Interior of office. J.C. works late into the evening.
41 J.C. arrives home.
42 Graduation at the Center for Brighter Babies.
Exterior shot of J.C. walking on Wall Street (or some other Manhattan
43 street) with the stroller.
J.C. works at home while holding Elizabeth. She falls asleep standing
44 against the wall.
Interior of office, J.C. enters her office to find Ken sitting at her desk
45 with his feet on it. She tells him off.
46 Interior of apartment. J.C. arrives home and Elizabeth calls to her. J.C.
picks her up out of the crib.
Interior of office. J.C. arrives in the morning to find the Food Chain
47 meeting over. She discovers that Ken has changed procedure and tells
him off again. Fritz calls J.C. into his office.
Interior of Fritz’ office. He demotes J.C. to the Ferber Dog Chow
48 account because she has “gone soft” as a result of the baby’s presence.
She resigns.
49 Exterior ofbuilding. J.C. leaves the building with her few belongings.
Interior of apartment J.C. pulls the Vermont estate ad and makes a
50 phone call.
51 Interior of empty apartment. J.C. and Elizabeth are moving to Vermont
Exterior shot of Jeep Cherokee leaving Manhattan, and then entering
52 Vermont
Exterior shots of Hadleyville where a man changes the population from
53 317 to 319. We see several shots of the town, and then see the Cherokee
pull up to the property.
Exterior of barn. J.C. exits holding Elizabeth in one arm and a bucket of
54 milk in the other.
J.C. and Elizabeth row across the lake. J.C. pauses to take in the view
55 and loses the oars in the water. She cries for help.

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 290

J.C. picks apples from the orchard. Elizabeth sits among many many
56 bushels of apples.
57 Exterior shot of house at night
Interior of house. J.C. reads a Sleeping Beauty to Elizabeth but with a
58 feminist ending. She realizes that the heater is not working.
Exterior. A repair man emerges from the cellar to discuss the needed
59 repairs.
60 Exterior of house during a snowstorm. J.C. gets wood from the pile.
Interior, J.C. enters with the wood and walks past the stairway which is
61 covered with snow from the hole in the roof. The repair man is making
repairs.
62 Exterior. Lots of snow, icicles. The sun shines.
Interior. J.C. makes applesauce. She opens the cupboard to stock it, but
63 the cupboard is full. She does not appear to be happy.
Interior at night J.C. picks up toys. She talks to herself in the mirror
64 with the toy telephone as if she is the Tiger Lady. She places dishes in
the sink and turns on the water. . . but there is none.
Exterior. The repair man climbs out of the well. It is dry. She has an
65 emotional breakdown after which she collapses.
Interior of doctor’s office. She tells Dr. Jeff Cooper about her problems
66 (emotional, financial and sexual), then discovers that he is a veterinarian.
She is angry.
Exterior shot of J.C. talking with a real estate person. She can’t sell the
67 house.
Interior of local store. J.C. persuades the owner to sell her applesauce as
68 gourmet baby applesauce. Some tourists from the city enter and like the
“quaint” idea. They order several cases.
69 Exterior shot of Bennington College sign.
In the Bennington College library J.C. does research. Dr. Cooper enters,
and she tries to hide behind a book. He approaches and she discovers
70 that he teaches at the College. She says she wants to return to New
York. As she leaves she drops the books. Dr. Cooper attempts to help
but she refuses.
Exterior. J.C. drives home, but gets a flat tire. Dr. Cooper stops to help
71 but she again refuses his help. She rants at him while he watches her try
to change the tire. He kisses her passionately. She melts. He leaves.
Interior shot of artist drawing a picture of Elizabeth. Country Baby is
72 bora.
73 __________ Montage o f scenes o f J.C. selling Country Baby.

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 291

J.C. enters the post office and encounters Dr. Cooper’s secretary. He is
74 there. They chat.
75 Exterior shot of hanging Country Baby sign on the bam.
Montage of success: factory packaging, money, national landmarks,
76 sales reports, news reports, publicity photos. We freeze on a news
headline that reads, “Baby Boom!”
77 Exterior of the Maple Syrup Festival.
Interior of festival dance. J.C. and Elizabeth arrive. Jeff Cooper is there.
78 They talk and J.C. discovers that Jeff is good with Elizabeth. They
dance.
79 Establishing shot of the full moon.
80 Interior of house, J.C. and Jeff enter. They kiss.
81 Establishing shots around the property in the morning.
Interior of house, J.C. descends the stairs in her robe. She is happy. She
82 makes coffee. Jeff comes downstairs. The phone rings. Fritz offers to
buy Country Baby from J.C. She prepares to leave for New York.
83 Exterior. Manhattan. J.C. approaches her former building and smiles.
Interior of Sloane, Curtis & Co. J.C. is greeted warmly by the staff
84 (some o f whom are shocked to see her).
J.C. is greeted by Everett at the door of the conference room with a toy
for Elizabeth. He expected her to have the baby with her. Handshakes
85 around; Ken whispers in her ear that she looks great. Everyone is seated.
Fritz and Hughes (of the Food Chain) make their very lucrative offer.
Interior of restroom. J.C. looks at herself in the mirror. She is very
86 happy. She is back!
As J.C. walks down the hall toward the conference room she rethinks her
87 decision and remembers Elizabeth.
In the conference room, J.C. rejects the offer to the shock and dismay of
all parties involved. She insists that if they can successfully market her
88 products, so can she. She insists that nobody should have to make the
sacrifices that Fritz insisted upon before, and that she likes having her
office in her house with her child nearby.
89 Exterior. J.C.’s car returning to Hadleyville.
Interior of Dr. Cooper’s office. J.C. invites Jeff over for dinner and tells
90 him she is staying in Vermont, that the offer “wasn’t that good.”
91 Exterior shot of J.C.’s car pulling into her driveway.
92 Interior. J.C. sneaks into see Elizabeth. She says, “mama.” J.C. picks
her up, sits in the rocking char by the window and picks a flower through
it Fade to black.

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 L is a R . B arry
V it a
1205 Percy St Department of Speech Communication
Albion MI 49224 Albion College
(517) 629-6168 611 E Porter St
Albion MI 49224
(517) 629-0329
http://www.albion.edu/fac/sct/LBARRY
[email protected]
EDUCATION
Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University, Speech Communication: Rhetoric, & Media Studies,
December 1999.
Dissertation: Re-Focusing the Critical Lens: Reading Cinematic Single Motherhood
Against the Frame. Dissertation Committee: Stephen H. Browne (director), J. Michael Hogan,
Michelle Miller-Day, Thomas W. Benson, Jeanne Hall (Media Studies).
M.A. University of Colorado, Communication, May 1996.
Thesis: Where, Oh Where Did Mommy Go? A Feminist Narrative Analysis o f Disney's
The Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Thesis Committee: BenitaJ.
Dilley (co-director), W. Michael Monsour (co-director), Jon Winterton.

B.A. University of Colorado, Theatre, December 1991.

AWARDS/ACHIEVEMENTS
• Top Student Paper, Feminist & Women’s Studies Division, National Communication Association,
Nov. 1999
• Top Four Paper, Media Studies Division, Western States Communication Association, February
1999
• Kathryn DeBoer Distinguished Teaching Award, April 1998
• First Place, Arts & Humanities Division, Penn State Graduate Research Exhibition, March 1998
• Most Distinguished Faculty Member, Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, March 1998
BOOK CHAPTERS IN PROGRESS
"It's Up to the Women: The Rhetorical Power of Eleanor Roosevelt" The R h etoric o f Tw entieth
C entury F irst L a d ies. Eds. Molly Meijer Wertheimer and Nichola D. Gutgold.

"The De-Mythification of Fairy Tales: A Rhetorical Analysis of Disney's The L ittle M erm aid ." R e-
M em bering M yth a n d S p irit in a P ostm odern W orld: E xploring V isions f o r the N ew M illenium . Ed. Anne
Pym.
CONVENTION PRESENTATIONS
"B londe Venus: Feminist Coding in the Cinematic Depiction of Single Motherhood." (Top Student
Paper) Feminist and Women's Studies Division, National Communication Association, November 1999.

“The De-Mythification of Fairy Tales: A Rhetorical Analysis of Disney’s The L ittle M erm aid .” Spiritual
Communication Association, National Communication Association, November 1999.

"It's Up to the Women: The Rhetorical Power of Eleanor Roosevelt" Rhetoric and Public Address
Division, Eastern Communication Association, April 1999.

"Feminist Rim Theory and Criticism, Spectatorship, and Disney: From a Child's Point of View. (Top
Four Paper) Media Studies Division, Western States Communication Association, February 1999.

"The Disposable Mother in B am bi and The lio n K ing: A Paradigm of Media Matricide." (Competitive
Paper) Feminist and Women’s Studies Division, National Communication Association, November 1996.

"Maternal Sacrifice as Liberation: Tactics of Rhetorical Resistance in Blonde Venus' (First Place) Arts &
Humanities Division, Penn State Graduate Research Exhibition, March 1996.

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