To Be or Not To Be
Friday, October 28, 2011
CLARA BOW AND THE IT GIRL
Based on the Clara Bow documentary screened in class, it is clear that "it" does not merely mean sex appeal but also a certain inexplicable magnetism or spark. It is also important to acknowledge the way that Clara Bow helped channel certain significant trends particular to her historical moment. Looking back over the past five or ten years, who would you say is our "it girl" today and why? ....or Alternate Question: What point or idea from the documentary left the biggest impression on you? What stays with you, when you think about the topic?
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Though she may be getting older and hasn't made anything of quality in her career Jennifer Aniston in my eyes has been "America's Sweetheart" over the last decade or so. Despite her aforementioned lack of critical success Aniston continues to sell movie tickets due to that intangible quality. I believe this effect is due to her everyday, girl next door appearance. While she's undoubtably attractive she doesn't seem unattainable. I would argue Angelina Jolie but she's just too polarizing of a figure to be considered for this title.
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The first three to come to mind would be Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Megan Fox. Because there are so many more big name stars today I think it is hard to have just one "it" girl. Sandra Bullock is more of America's sweetheart and not so much scandalous. Julia Roberts is a little older, but her part in Erin Brockovich and being the only female star in the Ocean's series makes her stand out. Again, she is not really a sex symbol though. Megan Fox is much more of a sex symbol and more scandalous, but isn't really a great actress. Angelina Jolie is a good example, but I agree with what joshua said about her being a little bit too polarizing. Kim Basinger comes to mind as more of a sex symbol especially when you think of her role in LA Confidential and her scandals in the media, but she would be "it" for more than 10 years ago. She posed for playboy and was a bond girl; two things that an "it" girl would certainly do in today's time.
ReplyDeleteWhat impacted me most about the documentary was the way it kind of glossed over Clara Bow's issues, replacing it with a kind of glamorized tragic tale. Her life was certainly full of both good and bad experiences but the documentary tried to heavily point out her successes while kind of just acknowledging her failures. This was particularly highlighted because her failures and shortcomings were such a big part of why she became the "It" girl, without them she wouldn't have have to push through and she wouldn't have been able to be such a soulful actress. Though the documentary does mention her problems, it quickly moves to show the lighter parts of her life and it would have been much more enriched had it explained and showcased her darker side more.
ReplyDeleteLooking over the past few years I would say our “it girl” isn’t an actress at all, but rather Lady Gaga. You might not like her (I’m not too fond of her myself), but she is widely popular and fairly trendsetting, at least in influencing other celebrities to dress in increasingly absurd and nonsensical outfits. She is also known for her attitude and scandalous antics. The public finds her sexy, but they also find her appealing because of her passion, energy, and boldness. Overall, she projects an image of reckless extravagance akin to “it girl” Clara Bow’s flapper image in the 1920s.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest impression this documentary left on me was that, after Clara having 'everything' in life she found herself completely lost. Leaving suicide notes and checking into institutes and getting diagnosed with schizophrenia; I think this is very sad. Sometimes the media forgets that these artists are people with their own dilemmas and think their public life is everyone's business. Like Nadia said the documentary did show good parts in Clara's life.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, it's Carlos Martinez here!
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that the "it girl" of today would have to be Amanda Seyfried. She's personally not my favorite actress, but that doesn't mean that she's not good at what she does. Now who would have thought that she would have emerged into what is she today from the classic, "Mean Girls"? I definitely didn't see that coming. But I'm glad she did continue her career successfully from there because I was able to see the talent that she truly possessed aside from playing "the dumb one". Her next debut is entitled "Gone" with is a thriller film scheduled to be released in theaters on February 24, 2012. Looking forward to watching it and her future projects!
One of today's "it girls" is Natalie Portman. She's obviously gorgeous, but unlike a lot of other Hollywood starlets, there's more depth to her. She comes off as very intelligent and articulate in interviews You can't take your eyes of her when she's onscreen. Natalie perfects every type of performance, whether in a blockbuster like Star Wars, or in an indie like Garden State. She was haunting in Black Swan and hysterical while rapping in an SNL digital short. Even though there isn't scandal surrounding her like there is a lot of "it girls," the bit of mystery she leaves us with makes her all the more intriguing of a figure.
ReplyDeleteI'd say our "it" girl at this very moment is Emma Stone. She's probably our first ginger "it" girl, and there's a freshness and about her different from the rest, maybe it's because she's not as dull as others and in her films she portrays a girl with a head on her shoulders with a surprising sense of humor, which a lot of female stars lack. She seems to play a similar witty sophisticated older than her age humorous character in all of her films yet she's clearly talented. Stone's been in ten blockbuster hits since her stepping stone Superbad, and she's currently starring in four films so far, next year.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the person who best represents the "It" girl today would be Jennifer Aniston. She has the personality, looks, and appeal that Clara Bow also personified. Over the years Jennifer Aniston has been the prototypical American Sweetheart. She has captured the heart of millions of Americans through her TV shows and continues to do so in all her movies. It seems that all girls want to be with her (in terms of personality and sex appeal) and all guys want to be with her. Additionally, the media is obsessed with her, sometimes in a positive way but also many times in a negative light. Without a doubt she is the modern Clara Bow.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I found most interesting from the documentary was how Clara Bow could make herself cry on command. She would produce real tears on her own. I cant remember exactly what it was, but she would think of something sad from her childhood and automatically cry. Also, one actress I would consider our "it" girl that no has mentioned yet is Scarlett Johansson.
ReplyDeleteI must first confess that I had never heard of Clara Bow before the documentary presented in class. As mentioned in a previous post, the documentary didn’t leave me satisfied; I, too, felt certain parts of her life were hastily rushed out the door to make way for the more glamorous shine of it all. Nevertheless, this introduction to the life and work of this woman was wholly worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteWhat will stick with me the most of Clara Bow will be her ability to vivify a scene. When asked to recall her, I invariably think of a magnetic smile etched across a luminous face. Though that may be the default image drawn from the thin mental catalog I now have of Bow, I see flashes of her mastery of expressing the breadth of human emotion there, too. Whether in tears or in shock, in terror or in sexual seduction, she strikes me as unique, forceful, and utterly convincing. She looks alive.
I think Clara Bow is unfairly robbed of some of her depth and humanity with her “sex symbol” label. How fortunate for me, then, that I find her, on the whole, sexually disagreeable. I’ll invest that energy in someone a little more deserving, like Scarlett Johansen; now there’s a gal that seems like you get what you see (which doesn’t seem like an awful much).
When watching the documentary and then reflecting afterwards, the one aspect that made the biggest impression in my mind was the way in which the media treated Clara Bow. She already seemed to be a mentally fragile person with a tough life growing up and a difficult background to overcome, then she was absolutely vilified by the press in a horrendous way. Obviously this is "star scandal" industry has been growing ever since and is bigger than ever today, but I was curious as to whether this was the first major movie star related incident of the gossip columns. i think that she really let it affect her more than she should have because of her emotional sensitivity, which allowed for great acting range and ability, left her vulnerable. I think that maybe she might have had more confidence moving into sound if she didn't have to deal with having her self esteem blasted all of the time. Of course, this goes along with the success of fame, but she was still a human being. And now we take most of these Hollywood gossip stories with a grain of salt, but I don't know how skeptical people were in the 1920s, maybe her fans believed everything.
ReplyDeleteI think the it girl of today is Kim Kardashian...........just kidding. I agree with a bunch of the answers above, and I think it just shows how the it girl is never really a constant, it just kind of rotates with the trends and movies and tv shows coming out. Currently, it seemes like Emma Stone is an it girl, as shes quirky and beautiful and has been starring in movie after movie the past year or so, but who knows how long that will last. Earlier this year it was Natalie Portman, a few years ago it was Katherine Heigel, in the 90s it was Jennifer Aniston. I think the it girl is just a trend and it just changes from time to time.
ReplyDeleteWhat stuck with me the most about Clara Bow's life was how awful her upbringing was. Despite this, she was able to keep that part of her life behind her as she lit up the screen time and time again. What I also found interesting was how much the invention of sound and the microphone affected her career. For someone as talented as her to become so flustered by an object quite amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhat left the biggest impression on me from Clara Bows life was the fact that despite her awful childhood, she accomplished so much with her life. She had been through very time times when she was a child, and to go from that to the "It" girl showed how strong she truly was. Even though her childhood somewhat led to her downfall, Clara Bow was so strong and really assertive to achieve way she wanted.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick an 'It Girl' of today, it would probably be Lindsay Lohan. She was one of the biggest female starlets at one time...never really was a great actress, but had the charisma, good looks, and personality that charmed everyone. Throughout her spiral downwards (which looks similar to Bow's, albeit a lot more extreme, draped in scandal and other issues)it seems like a lot of people still care and possibly want her to have a comeback. She was once a huge celebrity and fell from the graces of Hollywood into a tabloid celebrity life. Her and Bow's story have many similarities.
ReplyDeleteThe modern "it girl" for me is tough to determine, I haven't felt there has been a consistent actress that could be defined as the it girl. It has changed over the years. In my opinion the it girl is a successful actress that can adapt to her role and is an innovator in the fashion world as well as being a role model off the camera that others can look up to. Meryl Streep has personified this model throughout her career but because of her age it is tough for the younger audiences to relate. Emma Stone could fill this gap if she continues with her success in reaching out to all ages in her various roles.
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to say is its really hard to say who is the modern"it girl", because it really hard to find one person that can fit this name very well for me. girls are stranger then before. But if I must pick one, I will pick Clara Bow, she was strong and she knew what to do and why, but this and her career too.
ReplyDeleteThe point that stuck out to me the most in the documentary is how easily someone can be forgotten when Hollywood chooses not to recognize them. Clara Bow paved the road for people like Marilyn Monroe to find their place in the spotlight and yet before the documentary I had never even heard her name. When I walked out of the classroom I was completely captivated by her bubbly personality, dedication and most of all the mystery behind an actress who deserved to be remembered. It seems that in comparing the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Clara Bow, Clara chose a better path. Marilyn could not find peace in the middle of the chaos of the entertainment world and this lead to her demise but Clara Bow had the wisdom to walk away from Hollywood and appreciate the joy of a family life. If I were to ever hang a poster in my room of one of these ladies it would not be Marilyn but Clara.
ReplyDeleteI genuinely appreciated the documentary, it showed Clara Bow from all aspects and helped us understand her, where she came from, and why she did things. What stuck with me from the documentary was to see how well she was able to cope with things after being disgraced. She was a fantastic actress yet paparazzi continued finding problems with her. She moved on to build a family in an attempt to be happy. She was a strong woman and even though she led a difficult life, she was able to overcome the pressure and live on until the 1960s
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