When I Grow Up, I Wanna be Just Like Them

"You're not pretty. You have an interesting face. I like it...Please don't look away. I like it."
---Alexis portrayed by Anthony Perkins in the rarely seen 1962 film Phaedra directed by Jules Dassin.

In a world of pop culture tyranny our minds are often littered with goofy pictures of celebrity "It" girls and so-called A-List stars. Women that look like lolipops. Truly big heads, with little bodies.
Since I was a wee lass, I've wanted to do nothing but be in pictures. I use to wake up at 5am to watch television before school. I can't believe my mother allowed it, but she must've known that her child was doing research from the age of 8 years old on up. I'd watch TV from the crack of dawn until TV went off. And if you're too young to know what the hell that means, then don't read my gatdamn blog.

Yeah, I watched The Smurfs and every Hanna Barbera cartoon you can think of, but I was more obsessed with the classic shows. I loved I Spy because I liked the way the men looked. I loved Julia, because I wanted to speak like Diahnn Carrol. At night, thanks to WGN and WFLD-Chicago I watched Cooley High, Carmen Jones, A Raisin in the Sun and other classic films. Looking at these images formed my view of how I wanted to look on the screen. I wanted to look interesting. Not pretty. Not Juliajoliehallewitherspoonalicious. I wanted to act in films that were so well crafted that no one walked away saying "Oooh she's so pretty." When I look at Melina Mecouri in Never on A Sunday or Diane Sands in The Landlord I know that I'm on the right track. Now in my eyes, they are two of the most wonderful creatures to be captured on film---and yes to me they were pretty pretty women. But it goes beyond that. They we beguiling to me because of their timber...how they were built that is. Both women had odd voices, expressive eyes and poofy hair. If you've never seen any of their films, just go pick them up from the local library. Or you tube 'em. I promise you after 10 seconds you'll be hooked. And subsequently reject this Hollyweird Lolipop Juliajoliehallawitherspoonalicious madness. No disrespect to those girls, but we're all a little bored with it. Well, at least I am.

Never On A Sunday directed by Jules Dassin
The Landlord directed by Hal Ashby

You can thank me later.

ciao kiddies.