risque, cliche, equalite

With Geo gone for a few days, I caught up with a few old movies I had not yet seen.
Finally viewed Animal Crackers. I was surprised at the risque undertones; I guess I didn't expect this from a 1930 film. Many long scenes, mostly vignettes. I liked the Art Deco and the fashions of the late 20's early 30's. I noted similarities in those styles with those of today with the sheer uneven hemlines and sleeves. It must have been thoroughly modern and trendy in its day, like VOGUE on screen.
I also watched Philadelphia featuring Tom Hanks. Great performance, an okay movie. I was disappointed in all the cliches depicting overt discrimination of gays and HIV, and would have preferred to see more of the subtle discrimination. But then this was a 1993 film and made an important statement in its day. There's been rapid societal change since then. Of course, discrimination still exists.
Addie K, I finally saw Mona Lisa Smile - from beginning to end. I came away thinking that this film is actually underrated. It does a pretty good job of showing expectations of women in the early 50's. I actually remembered some of the products in the advertising clips at the end...During WWII, women took the places of men in the factories. When the men came back from the war, women left the workplace to marry, have families and become fulltime homemakers. Many families, however, needed that second income, and women continued working outside the home.
Grandmother worked at G&H making airplane parts. After the war when she married, she continued working as a waitress and then returned to factory work because it paid better. She worked all of her adult life until she retired when she was 65. Women are still striving for equality in the workplace: equal jobs, equal pay, equal opportunity for leadership and promotion.
How about a woman as President of the United States? Isn't it about time? That's why I'd like to see the race between Hillary and Condi. But that's the subject of another blog.