Hollywood's Eye

We are born into a world where, for females the concept of beauty is extremely important. It is deathly. As if that’s all that matters. Being beautiful means having it all for women. Unfortunately no one realizes that “all” only covers up what Hollywood‘s eye sees. What it admires, desires, envies or wants to have, to show us, women, what is wanted. What is beautiful or ugly. But Hollywood doesn’t see what’s inside. It only sees what’s visible. It doesn’t pay attention to the other side of women. It doesn’t care about their personality and emotional behavior. Being beautiful is the key to being accepted by Hollywood. If you are not beautiful, you simply get rejected. You are ugly. All you could get back is pity. Everyone makes sure you know it. It’s all thrown at you. There is no mercy. Being beautiful makes the difference between being happy or miserable. Hollywood only focuses on portraying what their concept of beauty is. As Frankie Lennon, the author of the novel The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman's Life, states in her narrative essay, “Woman Dreams”, that beautiful are Hollywood movie stars. That’s exactly the concept Hollywood trained her to learn and accept as true. And yes, Hollywood movie stars did teach her what the concept of “beauty” is.

In “Woman Dreams” the narrator explains how when she reaches the age of twelve, she becomes fascinated with “MGM musicals with dancers like sexy, red-haired Rita Hayworth, or dark haired, curvaceous Cyd Charisse” (Page 51). Also women “Like Susan Hayward, clever and untamable. Hedy Lamarr, mysterious and tantalizing. Ava Gardner, dangerous and unpredictable, or Jane Russell, wanton and voluptuous.” (Page 52) These women have one thing in common, they are all white. This comes to show what Hollywood wanted. These women were shown in Hollywood movies and so that’s what the narrator became to see and admire as beautiful. She also explains that she became to favor what Hollywood showed her. She began to learn what was desirable. This was “not the sweet, simple-minded blondes, but the dark haired femme fatales-the bad girls who were gutsy and headstrong” (Page 52) and every one of them were men’s dream women. They were women that would turn anyone crazy and to desire what they looked like. These women were temptation.

Characteristics like the ones mentioned above were all emphasized by Hollywood movie stars. These characteristics of women were the narrator’s definition of beauty. It became so easy for her to believe in them since that’s all she ever saw until the day Carmen Jones, a musical, was being shown. Dorothy Dandridge, a movie star was being featured and she had set the narrator on fire. This was due to the fact that as the narrator mentions, “She was bad. She was beautiful. And she was black.” (Page 54) “Dandridge was knock-down-drag-out beautiful…Dandridge’s eyes were those of a woman who knew all about temptation and seduction” (Page 55). The concept of beauty the narrator has still doesn’t change. Dandridge is pretty much like the other white actresses mentioned in “Woman Dreams”. All these women have several things in common. They are all movie stars, an example of what is desirable, they are bad, and most impacting they are sexual temptation to men.

These movie stars had an impact on the narrator’s view of beauty. She would even imagine herself “all aglitter in magnificent gowns, shoes, furs, and jewels, cozily ensconced in a Manhattan penthouse apartment…” (Page 53). Notice how all these are thriving, expensive, and luxurious things. The gowns, furs, and jewels would make them give the impression of a higher class. The shoes were no regular shoes of course. They were high heels. Wearing them made them sexy and bad, not innocent but naughty. Not leaving behind the Manhattan penthouse apartment which would give any women the pleasure of having a good time. “Going against the grain”, like the narrator says. All these things are things no one can afford unless working a great amount of time. These are things movie stars would wear to tease those who could be teased. And it all comes down to Hollywood enforcing these ideas into women’s heads.

Hollywood has impacted the narrator’s life and many other lives as well. Hollywood just has a great way of showing what the “perfect beautiful women” looks like. No one escapes from Hollywood’s stereotypes. These stereotypes grab you without you wanting to be held. There is no exception. Even the narrator believed in Hollywood’s concept of beauty. Hollywood taught her that beauty is found in movie stars.