Too Much Of A Good Thing
Mae West as Cultural Icon
Ramona Curry(Author)
University of Minnesota Press
Published on 5. March 1996
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-8166-2790-5 (ISBN)
Description
Before Madonna, before Marilyn, there was Mae. The impact of Mae West - through her films, attitude, and aphorisms ("Too much of a good thing can be wonderful"; "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?") - continues to reverberate through popular culture 15 years after her death. In this study, Ramona Curry examines the interplay between West's bawdy, worldly persona and 20th-century gender and media politics. Although West has remained an important figure, her image has fulfilled varied cultural functions. In the 1930s, she was a lightning rod for debates over morality and censorship. In the 1970s, the complexity of her portrayal of gender made her a controversial figure for both the gay rights and feminist movements. Curry analyzes the symbolic roles West has occupied, arguing that she represents a carefully orchestrated transgression of race, class, and gender expectations, a transgression expressed through West's spectacular costumes, her distinctive performance style, and her on- and off-screen relations with African Americans and gay men.
In addition, the work takes a historical look at West's disruptive power as a comedian, a primary source of her continuing appeal. Moving beyond a detailed examination of Mae West's place in popular culture, Curry illustrates how icons of pop culture often distill contested social issues, serving diverse and even contradictory political functions. Curry then proposes a model for cultural studies that integrates history, media, and feminist theory. This book is intended for researchers and students of cultural studies and film studies.
In addition, the work takes a historical look at West's disruptive power as a comedian, a primary source of her continuing appeal. Moving beyond a detailed examination of Mae West's place in popular culture, Curry illustrates how icons of pop culture often distill contested social issues, serving diverse and even contradictory political functions. Curry then proposes a model for cultural studies that integrates history, media, and feminist theory. This book is intended for researchers and students of cultural studies and film studies.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Minnesota
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 149 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-8166-2790-5 (9780816627905)
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Schweitzer Classification
Content
The sex "queen"; the prostitute, the production code and the depression; the star commodity from asset to liability; comedic performance from social satire to self-parody; the female impersonator in gender politics; merging interests.