#old hollywood influences

[the-far-bright-center]

The Searchers (1956) dir. John Ford // Attack of the Clones (2002) dir. George Lucas

One of the major plot threads in Attack of the Clones concerns Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker’s search for his mother Shmi, who was left enslaved on the desert planet Tatooine at the end of the previous movie in the series. Plagued by nightmares of his mother’s distress and convinced these visions are prophetic, Anakin rushes back to Tatooine in the hopes of finding her. Instead, he discovers that Shmi, though briefly liberated and happily married to a farmer, was captured by the Tusken Raiders, a nomadic tribe hostile to outsiders. Anakin tracks down the Tusken camp and finds his mother just as she is dying, presumably from weeks of beatings. Enraged, Anakin kills every Tusken in sight—(in)famously “not just the men—but the women—and the children too!” This chapter of the film almost operates as a condensed remake of The Searchers. Anakin’s scouting out the camp and the later funeral scene openly quote shots in Ford’s movie. And then there’s the basic dramatic trappings: the quest for a captive loved one, the obsessed warrior driven by hatred and grief, and even, to a smaller extent, the emphasis on the individual’s psychological need for belonging in a community. Ford extensively explores that third point through the romance subplot with Laurie and his depiction of close-knit settler families, while Lucas makes those notions more implicit in Anakin’s alienation from the stoic Jedi Order and how this divide pushes him to the dark side. Everyone talks about how Anakin is meant to evoke James Dean’s red-jacketed teen hero in Rebel Without a Cause, but he shares way more DNA with Ethan Edwards. For both characters, the genesis of their never-ending rage comes from the violent death of a mother (we see it plainly in Attack of the Clones, while this bit of Ethan’s backstory is only evidenced by the information on Mrs. Edward’s gravestone). Erotic transgression troubles both characters as well: Ethan is in love with his brother’s wife Martha and the supposed-to-be-free-of-romantic-attachments Anakin is in love with Padme Amidala. For these anti-heroes, love becomes twisted into something obsessive and ugly, turning each into monsters unable to connect with anyone. In the end, both are redeemed by love, though neither will ever fully escape their isolation from the greater community. — from 'On George Lucas, the Searchers, and Cinematic Quotations'

[thursdaymurderbub]

Silver Screen magazine, April 1938

[blossoms-phan]

okay random midnight thoughts i need to release before i sleep for some fucking reason dane dehaan is on of those actors i feel such a random connection to lore about me is that i genuinely love what is widely considered (at least from what i’ve seen) to be one of the worst spider-man films (tasm2) i think i’ve seen it like 20 times and that’s kind of where it all started and then in lockdown i committed to watching his entire filmography (kill your darlings is soooooo dark academia tumblr it rocked my world and i think a cure for wellness is criminally underrated) but i unironically love chronicle so goddamn much it’s just such a 2012 movie with the fun high school found footage but also editing and action movie of it all and it wasn’t until after i watched it that i clocked the promo from the “makers of chronicle are asking what are you capable of” in the Christmas cookies video and for some reason my mind just explodes when it comes to dnp and pop culture existing in the same world like yeah i know that was 2012 and that that’s how promo used to be for these films made with actual love and contacting people making videos purely for the fun of it not paying dozens of influencers to go to your premiere that don’t actually give a fuck about the movie SIGH

[hsslilly-blog]

i know lisa is said to be 20 in canon but that is not true. she’s 18 by 2014, which is when she meets claire. which makes them 6 years apart. lisa sees claire as her older sister, and this is both good and not very good. because it’s claire

[pennyserenade]

truth be told i just go where the gays and the girls lead me so if you see me loving something know i was sent there by the light

[stairinventor]

people always talk about fatherless behavior, but nobody ever talks about grandfatherless behavior

[jccheapalier]

Celebrities are over.... but they don't know it yet.

[local-gemini]

ig: kariinarose

[inkykeiji]

Clariii i’m so happy to see you’ve written for tokyo revengers!! I have l-o-v-e-d the peeks you’ve given us of the haitanis i’ve read so far and i’m so curious to see them through your trademark golden age of cinema lens. I hope you have the best day 💜💜

AWW SWEETPEA!!! <33 you are so lovely!!! i am super happy to hear that you’ve enjoyed my tiny lil haitani pieces thus far!! i cannot WAIT to share more with u hehehe esp of my haitani au!! (*/ω＼*)

i did not know i had a trademark golden age of cinema lens but i am literally SO insanely flattered that i do!!! golden age hollywood is one of the areas i specialized in during school so i’m not surprised that it might influence some of my work!!

[get-back-homeward]

Any Lucille Ball fans out there?

She’s in a 1943 film of the 1939 musical DuBarry Was A Lady. It includes a Cole Porter number, Friendship, with Red Skeleton:

The song was a hit for Judy Garland with Johnny Mercer in 1940 and became a staple WW2 song:

Fast forward more than a decade later, I Love Lucy airs an episode where Lucy and Ethel agree to do a number for a women’s show. It’s fun during rehearsal:

But then they start getting egos and erupt in a fight. So they have to go on stage with these tensions, with passive aggression results:

I wasn’t sure whether 50s kids in Liverpool would have seen I Love Lucy. But it looks like ITV aired the show in 1955, and Lewisohn has the McCartneys renting a TV as early as 1953 for the coronation. So it’s possible they knew the episode.

But I think they definitely knew the song. And had made fun of it enough to riff on it. Maybe a remanent of a Hamburg or Cavern routine?

January 31, 1969, John and Paul.

If you’re ever in a jam, here I am

If you’re ever in a shit, grab my tit

That’s friendship, friendship

Another friendship to be forgot, ours will still be hot

[aphrodeiities]

ᴀꜱᴛᴇʀᴏɪᴅ ʙᴇʟʟᴀ [695]

follow for more content <3

get a chart reading done!

❦  asteroid bella [695] is an asteroid that means beauty, how and where you value beauty. this asteroid is also about your beauty on an energetic level, and how it manifests and shines.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 1H/ARIES ⟶ very in your face beauty, sharp and very bold. strong features, cheekbones are strong. head might be prominent even forehead. can value beauty a lot and even chase it. can even chase compliments. embracing sexuality, and very bombshell type of beauty. nice body and even chest. might have a beauty spot on their face or body.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 2H/TAURUS ⟶ can value beauty a lot. can only feel valued when they feel beautiful, very earthy type of beauty. like garden fairy or nymph type of attraction. very good singers, could like to kiss a lot. might buy a lot of beauty and self-care products. very feminine beauty, makes the people around them calm, and can have a really nice scent and voice.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 3H/GEMINI ⟶ the girl next door type of beauty. my friend's "sister" or like the school crush. could never see them again type of beauty. could either be careless about their beauty or could be very anxious about it. they could be the type of people to care about the trends, influencer type of essence like leah halton and can be a charming person, very flirtatious. could look similar to a relative.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 4H/CANCER ⟶ looking like your mother type of beauty, could have nice chests and cheekbones, the "i want to make you my wife or baby mother " type of beauty, beware of trappers! many beauty spots especially around chest area. classical type of beauty, like old hollywood. luscious hair and mysterious type of essence, classic television type of beauty, childhood crush and very sea mother type of energy.

♱ ASTEROID BELLA IN 5H/LEO ⟶ youthful but glamorous type of beauty. curly/big hair like starfire type of beauty. nice posture, could pose a lot, very 2000's beauty, not y2k aesthetic specifically. born for the spotlight, gold highlights and being a superstar type of essence. "i think you're famous" or "i think i've seen you before" type of beauty. stuck in your mind. could have beautiful children, creative and expressive style, many colours or dramatic makeup.

♱ ASTEROID BELLA IN 6H/VIRGO ⟶ classy type of beaut, might look for trends you could fit in. clean girl type of beauty; can chase beauty and could strive for perfection. "office girl" type of essence, glasses and cosplaying as another identity. wants to be better than other people, others could feel judged around them. work crush type of beauty. other people could envy your looks.

♱ ASTEROID BELLA IN 7H/LIBRA ⟶ temperance card/angel type of beauty. approachable, looks like a kind person, reminds me of the type of girl you would see in a perfume advert. light colour palette. flowy hair could be straight, can be very hip when it comes to their beauty, "she's like a rainbow" type of beauty, from the song she's a rainbow by the rolling stones. very beautiful people, could be known for that, and might take care of themselves all the time and could care of the opinions of others too much. could look nice in suits.

♱ ASTEROID BELLA IN 8H/SCORPIO ⟶ striking beauty, like a vampire. van helsing/dracula's brides. or like form interview with the vampire. could intimidate other people, other people would want to know your secrets. embracing sexuality and putting dark make up on yourself with white eyeshadow, it reminds me of alexa demie and gabriette. dark hair, luscious, big fur cat, wide and sharp smile, more succubus than siren.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 9H/SAGITTARIUS ⟶ another very in your face type of beauty, colourful beauty, might be fetishised, "exotic beauty", very catchy beauty; ambiguous as well. golden skin, type of holiday romance type of crush, can look good in a variety type of make up, especially blues. dimples and a lot of beauty moles, very nice hair, the attractive person in an air port. the type to be everybody's type. easy-going energy, makes other people laugh, and their humour also makes them attractive.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 10H/CAPRICORN ⟶ another classic beauty, being a model type of beauty. slicked back hair and up do's. type to influence other people with their styles, strong and sharp features, either jaw, cheeks or eyebrows. can look good in either muted or bold colours, women in suits, intimidating beauty, cares about how they look. another indicator of work-crush type of beauty, are known for their attractive features, could have a nice body as well.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 11H/AQUARIUS ⟶ very other-worldly type of beauty, alien, mermaid and fairy. the type to rock every outfit you wear, creating trends and could gain fame on the internet because of your looks. being eccentric makes you liked by other people, could be the friend crush, or you crush on other friends. could also manifest to your friends friend having a crush on you. "i did it first" type of beauty, like make up trend other people might find weird in the beginning but as time passes they would follow it.

♇ ASTEROID BELLA IN 12H/PISCES ⟶ mystical beauty, past lover type of beauty. "i think i know you from another life." haunting and siren beauty. like a ghost, has the type of essence that'll make other people want to drop everything for you. but could chase compliments/people. others could envy your beauty. glamour magick type of attraction. could be watched a lot, can draw people in easily. people could stalk you because of your looks. could remind other people of the fae, could be the one that envies other people.

masterlist

get a chart reading

♇ pluto

[whinyskeleton]

Haven’t seen this yet so I’m gonna talk about it. The majority of people Elisabeth/Sue talk to throughout the movie are men. Elisabeth talks to women 1) on the set of her job before she gets fired and 2) when a waitress asks for her order. Every influencing voice and relationship she has is men.

Her boss telling her she’s too old to be in the business anymore, the other substance user who turns her on to it, her old classmate from high school who she turns to for a last ditch grab at validating her self worth. Her dealer on the phone is also a male voice.

Underlying her deep rooted self hatred is a desperate grab for male validation. When she’s Sue, her boss will do anything to keep her on the show. Society even reinforces his decision to fire Elisabeth by rewarding him with higher ratings. The men around her are obsessed with her to a comical degree (the line read on “youre even more beautiful than before” is practically goofy) while in Elisabeth, they either ignore her or treat her with disdain, even going so far as to get unnecessarily violet (what even was that reaction from the motorcycle guy?)

But despite all of this, in BOTH bodies, she hardly speaks. Men talk at her, not to her. The majority of her lines are when she’s alone, to herself or to the voice on the phone. When decisions are made, it’s without her input. The biggest source of control she has is choosing to take the substance and how she uses it.

All of this really made the movie feel like, to me, a depiction of the gruesome things women do to themselves in an attempt to chase male approval, whether or not they realize that male validation is the thing they are chasing. Elisabeth was chasing an impossible beauty standard that she herself spent her life perpetuating, and it was men at the top deciding what that beauty standard was.

It felt like a reflection of the countless arguments I’ve seen across many a social platform- “I wear makeup every day because /I/ want to” “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my nose shape, I just don’t like how it looks on /my/ face” - but who taught you these things? what put those ideas in your mind in the first place? Who was influencing the person who was influencing you?

Because yes, it was Elisabeth’s decision to take the substance. But would she have taken it at all if she wasn’t a part of the hollywood beauty industry- one that specifically focuses on what women’s bodies are “supposed” to look like?

[horrifichoodedfigure]

one of the reasons we call people who aren't old, old, is because we dont have a word for older than you person beside old

it may just be on me, but is there even an english word for just someone who isnt your peer because of their slightly older age and or status but also isn't your mom or your grandmother

being 15 and you feel like everything takes forever, and you know 15+15 is 30, no wonder 30 feels old, it feels forever to get there

[hydrateyoursharks]

Adrian designed the gowns and wardrobe for 20 out of Garbo’s 27 films. His fashions contributed greatly to the image we have of Greta Garbo.

Costume designed by Adrian for Greta Garbo in Queen Christina, 1933.

[hotvintagepoll]

Don Knotts (The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Ghost and Mr Chicken, The Reluctant Astronaut)—Just look at him. He’s just a lil scrungly guy. Also he started entertaining as a ventriloquist, and there’s nothing scrunglier than a ventriloquist. In all seriousness, Don Knotts’ career is singularly unique. His speaking voice was iconic, and he used it to his advantage and played it up – see also the included YouTube link to his small role in No Time for Sergeants [link]. He not only played second fiddle comedic character roles, but also played leading comedic character roles. He didn’t need a sidekick for his movies but he could *be* the sidekick if needed. That’s key to Scrungly Little Guy™ behavior, in my opinion. Knotts undoubtedly influenced many comedians and sitcom characters in both his lifelong film and TV career – and I do mean lifelong, as his final role was in 2006, the year he passed away! In the 70s, he became a frequently used actor in live action Disney comedy films for kids like The Apple Dumpling Gang and appeared in many children’s programs. Knotts was said to be one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, which is important for Scrungly Little Guy™ lore.

Conrad Veidt (The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, The Man Who Laughs)— oh my god look at him in Caligari. I specifically said that he's from this because him as Cesare is just. MMMMM. he's so wet and sad and scrungly. and little. he's like a kitten left alone in a dark alley except he's also killed people (not his fault). something wrong with him (Cesare). as for Conrad himself. oh my god look at him... them big ole eyes and the walk of some fucking thing creature

This is round 5 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you’re confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Don Knotts:

TBH, I was first introduced to Don knotts in things like three's company, the og Scooby-Doo cartoons, and later on that Disney chicken little movie. He's probably most remembered from his time on the Andy griffith show. But just look at him! Don't you just wanna put him situations?

When you say scrungly his face is just what immediately pops into my head

Don Knotts plays in most if not all of his filmography someone who is kinda dull-witted, afraid of his own shadow, or kind of cowardly. He is the scrungliest of scrungly people!  

Conrad Veidt:

I mean just look at him. The wet cat energy. The ghostly eyes. He did the monster mash before anybody. Where would we be today without him, he even has one (1) song on spotify. I regularly forget he's dead and wonder what his next movie will be. He slays in any role. The Ultimate Skrunkle.

He's the ultimate scrungly to me, the basis for many of our scrungly guys today. he's so skinny and pale and he wears so much eye makeup

He was THE bisexual goth tumblr sexyman of early film. Seriously the old timey Tumblrinas would send him fanmail about wanting him to choke them. He inspired the designs for the Joker and Jafar,and was nicknamed the “Demon of the Silver Screen” for his horror roles. His first wife divorced him for crossdressing. Hitler sent him hate mail for speaking out about antisemitism. He really loved his wife and told the Germans to go fuck themselves when they threatened his job if he didn’t divorce her for being Jewish. Just look at me and tell me this guy isn’t scrungly he’s like a personification of the emo kid from Horton hears a who

[cw the below clip depicts assault/abduction and could be scary for some viewers]

[bishiedoll]

Western literature & shoujo manga.

If you're, like me, someone whose passion is old shoujo manga, you may have noticed that at least one or more of your favorite mangaka has written manga adaptations of famous American and European novels. But why ?

According to this essay by Kawabata Ariko and Murakami Riko, in the early 20th century, because there was no Internet, people had no choice but to rely on big bookstores to learn more about and to purchase foreign novels. It was therefore not common to read them. The Iena bookstore, located in Ginza, was a rare indie bookstore that sold art-related foreign books and, while unfortunately, the store has closed today, many shoujo mangaka remember going there often to look for reference material amongst foreign works.

This other essay by Oogushi Hisayo states that foreign novels were only broadly introduced in Japan for young girls in the 30s. Famous girls' magazines (which are to be differentiated with shoujo magazines) such as Shoujokai (created in 1902), Shoujo no Sekai (created in 1906) and Shoujo no Tomo (created in 1908) started introducing Western literature in their issues from the 1930s to the 1940s. Works such as "The Little Princess", "Heidi", "Little Women", "Daddy Long Legs" and more were published in these girls' magazines, making them more known to the Japanese audience and resulting in shoujo manga adaptations in the following years.

Little Women illustrated by Nakahara Junichi in the Girls' magazine Shoujo no Sekai.

Three works in particular seem to have gained a lot of popularity in the 40s: "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri and "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery. All three are coming of age stories of young girls, and all three have one theme that seems to stand out: family. In the aftermath of WW2, many Japanese lost their families and many young children became orphans. In such times, novels that showcased happy families comforted Japanese readers. The popularity of these three works did not end in the 40s though, since in the 70s and 80s, all three got their 50 episodes anime adaptation in the Calpis Gekijou series (also known as World Masterpiece Theater), which, by the way, I highly recommend watching.

It is to be noted that these three works also became popular because they showcased independent and developed female leads, which has since then become a staple of shoujo manga itself, regardless of genre.

Heidi by Macoto Takahashi, Anne of Green Gables by Sakamoto Midori (1977) and Heidi by Watanabe Masako (1966).

In the 70s, a few mangaka published works that reminded critics of the "Bildungsroman". The Bildungsroman is a literary genre born in the 1800s in Germany, and it is a sub-category of the coming-of-age story. The Bildungsroman stands out from regular coming-of-age stories by focusing on the psychological and moral growth of its protagonist. Examples of that would be Moto Hagio with The Heart of Thomas in 1974 and Takemiya Keiko with Kaze to Ki no Uta in 1976 (though she never intended to write a Bildungsroman). The West was still shown in a more traditional version in these works, as both stories take place in old catholic boarding schools.

Similarly to how Audrey Hepburn, a Hollywood actress, was seen as a fashion leader in Japan (more about that on my other post about her influence on shoujo), Japanese people at the time had an idealized view of the West and anything from the Western world seemed fashionable and trendy. A great example of that is Sanrio. If you look at early Sanrio characters, a lot of them are from the West: Hello Kitty is British, the Little Twin Stars were inspired by Christmas, My Melody by the little red riding hood, Jimmy & Patty are American etc.

This view of the West began to shift in the 80s and the western literature that inspired shoujo mangaka started to change as well. Instead of comforting, idyllic stories about family life in a traditional American or European country side or stories taking place in traditional European catholic schools, manga inspired by more realistic and contemporary works started publishing. For example, Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida (1985) draws inspiration from "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" by J.D. Salinger and two of Hemingway's works: "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" and "Islands in the Streams". All three of these focus on either modern issues like overconsumption or darker themes like death and loneliness. The change can also be seen in the gender and age of the protagonists. Instead of being about young teen girls that shoujo readers could identify with, Banana Fish is about adult men. The inspiration is also a lot more loose, and instead of an adaptation, there are only references to J.D. Salinger and Hemingway's works throughout the manga.

The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio (1974), Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida (1985) and Alice in Wonderland by Mutsu A-ko (1983).

To conclude my post, I really wanted to include this line from the essay by Oogushi Hisayo: If America (can apply to the West as a whole) was once the backdrop of stories for those who yearned to read about "somewhere that is not here", it has, from the 80s onward, become the backdrop of stories for those who yearned to read about "the now and here".