mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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One of my gentle readers, Rick, brought the movie It’s Always Fair Weather to my attention in our discussion of the femme fatale archetype. This 1955 production features some superb dancing, including Gene Kelly doing an early version of Stomp, tap dancing with trash can cover on one foot. WWII changed social roles and put women into the workplace for the war effort. After the war they were expected to be housewives without careers, and without support other than from the man of the house. I can imagine how the most popular actresses who portrayed femme fatale roles must have envied by every housewife in America. Who did not want to be Marilyn Monroe? Cyd Charisse, dancing above, plays a powerful business woman in the movie. She vamps a bit in her dance with the boxers, but she is only a warm up for the real feminist power performance.
The amazing dance number Rick pointed out from the movie is much more outlandish than Diamonds are a Girl’s Best friend or anything Marilyn ever did. Midnight with Madeline is the funniest camp vamp tribute to this character stereotype I have ever seen. Dolores Gray is over the top marvelous in this spoof (??) on Broadway musical style. There had to be at least a few women who enjoyed watching her take control of all the guys in suits. A romp through Hollywood history shows us that the femme fatale role can include socio-political meaning, and satire. Thank you, Rick, for bring this to my attention. It is classic.
Tara is the magical center of the Emerald Isle. Maeve is the goddess of Tara. A self affirming magical Irish legend, Maeve was the sensual primal woman. Her name means intoxicated woman. She rules sovereignty as well as sexuality. As a symbol of the sovereign, she temporarily married the Kings of Ireland, and rejected those not up to the job. She is perhaps all legend and may have been a real queen.
Celtic women did not suffer the same unequal status as other Euro women. They held property and went to war. Queen Maeve granted sexual favors to the most valiant members of her army as part of standard operating procedures. She, like Cleopatra, was said to have had a multitude of lovers. Her husband had extramarital activity also. They went to war with each other over a bull. She felt the need to have exactly as much property as her husband, and allowed her lusty passion to turn to war. Her story, not recorded, but passed down in Celtic mythology, warns that hot passion can go either way. This wild, drunken, sexy queen had her way with Ireland, and perhaps still does.
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