Stage Beauty

Once again I must admit defeat, the deadline is fast approaching and I must blog quickly.  No drawings today then.  However, the reason that I ran out of time was that some friends were visiting whom I don't get to see very often.  We watched a movie called Stage Beauty, which, if you were paying attention to the title of this post, is today's topic.

The movie is about the era when all female theater roles were played by men.  I don't want to say much more than that because the movie is something that deserves to be discovered on its own.  What I'm about to write is true of any movie, but the less you know going in, the happier you'll be.  It's not critical to go in without reading the back of the DVD case, but I know I was happier that way.

Anyway, the movie is one of the most interesting studies of gender I've seen in a long time.  It is a movie that could be read as either highly problematic or very unproblematic in its portrayal of gender; I tend strongly toward the latter.  Now, before you run away, I am not usually a person who goes for gender studies issues; however, the movie impressed me because it put the issues in an interesting context and wove them skillfully into a good story.  I very much enjoyed the movie and would strongly recommend it, whether you're looking for something to think about or whether you just want to have fun.