i have always been drawn to "strange women". for me the archetypal "strange woman" is empowered, thoughtful, insightful, clever, creative, very present and like a cat - not "needing me" as much as enjoying my presence for what it is.
i never met hedy lamarr but what threw her into the "strange woman" category seems to me to be connected to her strong sense of the braiding of her self and her sexuality. then also, the fact that she carries so many of those characteristics that for me define an empowered person, let alone an empowered woman!
i get the sense that she was perceived in her time as 'shocking' because her power was trivialized into something that made sense to the men of the time. i wonder how she would be perceived today?
hedy had an extraordinary life punctuated by the usual events that seem to appear with the strangest regularity in the lives of female stars. her film, "the strange woman" approaches her sexuality in such a way as to be at one and the same time an empowering piece and an exploitative piece. the viewer gets to decide.
have you got to know what you're getting into? then you can read a complete synopsis of the film right here. an excellent overview of the film can be read here.
you'll want to get the big bowl of popcorn for this film (1h. 40m) and perhaps a pitcher of something tasty.
here's "the strange woman".
12 comments:
Steven
hi there, Is this the entire film?
How long did that take to load up?
Happy days
hi delwyn, yes this is the full film. i didn't actually upload the film but rather i accessed the internet archive where a vast collection of (among many other things) films can be accessed. these are films whose copyright has expired or which are now available in the public domain. once there you have the choice of watching the film or of taking the html code they provide and embedding it in your blog entry (which is what i did). to look over their film collection just copy and paste this address into your address bar. it's a busy site and tends to be slow to load. http://www.archive.org/details/moviesandfilms have a peaceful day!! steven
Thanks for this. It'll go on my queue, but I won't see it right away, as I don't see movies very often.
hi dan, i'm much the same. i watch possibly one a month but when i do i lose myself completely inside the film - if it's a good one!!!! have a peaceful day. steven
Hmmm...although I am going through some things right now, I have been told that I am a very empowered woman, who stand on her own two feet quite well! ;)
ANYWAY...I have not heard of Hedy. I am going to do some more research on her...VERY intriguing woman. Thank you for sharing.
Well, I watched the whole thing ... way too much time on my hands, I guess. She was a very beautiful woman who was quite aware of that fact and allowed her body to be exploited when she had a keen mind, as well. The article you referenced from Wiki made me sad to read and the other one ticked me off. It was fascinating for me to go 'back in time' and spend a couple of hours with someone whose name hadn't crossed my mind for many many years.
She probably would have made a good study for some qualified psychoanalyst. I think she must have been very lonely.
If I had to chose one historical Hollywood star to be, it would have to be Hedy Lamarr...beautiful, mysterious, intelligent. She's fabulous.
(Love George Sanders, too, by the way)
amelia - check her out. she was an amzing woman who faced a lot of hardship herself. have a peaceful day. steven
hi willow . . . you know that has something of a meme about it. if you could be one historical hollywood star, who would you be? you would choose hedy! well i would choose peter o'toole. i loved his presence in lawrence of arabia and then his amazing eyes!! if i were to be a female movie star well i'd be torn between lauren bacall and hedy. both strong, beautiful, intelligent, deep presences. have a peaceful day . . . steven
hi goldenrod! it's such a tough one when you read about how amazing people's lives unfolded on and off the screen. so many times (and it seems moreso for women), they were used or allowed themselves to be used. but then i guess that word has a perspective attached to it that suggest they weren't in control of their destiny. hard to know. i think she was a fabulous actress. have a peaceful day. steven
Oh man,I eat my nails and fingers at the end,horrivle!! :O)
I luv old time stories,costumed and all. It was like someone red me a good night story,love when someone read to me.And now is nighty night,I go to sleep,sweet dreams. San
Thank you.
oh sandra you shouldn't watch films like this late at night!!!! i love night time stories. have a peaceful evening. steven
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