GLEN OR GLENDA, but first...

As a side note, I am realizing that I am talking/thinking/analyzing about movies. should the discussion about movies occur under "narratives?" - or might they more appropriately be located under "reading." how I'm "analyzing" these movies might be considered reading. Reading is different from watching, because it requires the reader to be an active participant (the reader must translate text into image, or idea)- watching, you sit back and let the images come. but because the analysis is active, I think it can be considered reading.

ON TO G+G

I have recently referenced Ed Wood as one of my hero's - the reason behind which has yet to be FULLY explained. But an early movie of his is "Glen or Glenda" and I just find it so interesting that he uses a modernist (well, early modernist) argument (function over form) as why a man wearing womens clothes should not be thought of as wrong. It also relates back to scale as well - while some might think its a BIG deal, Ed wood does not. - what's is so great is that Ed wood is able to use modernist ideas of logic and reasoning to absurd outcomes.


[QUOTE FROM MOVIE]
[We were not born with wings. We were not born with wheels. But in modern world of today, it's an accepted fact that we must have them. So we have corrected that which nature has not given us. Strangely enough, nature has given us all these things. We just had to learn how to put nature's elements together for our use, that's all. Yet the world is shocked by a sex change...]

[Give this man satin undies, a dress, a sweater and a skirt, or even the lounging outfit he has on, and he's the happiest individual in the world. He can work better, think better. He can play better. And he can be more of a credit to his community and his government because he is happy. These things are his comfort.]

[But why the wig and makeup? He dares to enter the street dressed in the clothes he so much desires to wear, but only if he really appears female: the long hair, the makeup, the clothing, the actual contours of a girl...]

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OH MY - did I just get that right? I missed that the first (and second and third - got it on the fourth) time around. All Ed really wants to do is wear some women's clothes - he's not interested in "looking" like a woman. but he feels FORCED to to go all the way and dress as a women by society. He feels this is the only way he can be accepted by society. now THAT is weird, but go on...we are at the modernist argument part - but modernist in the earl corb sense (towards a new architecture).
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[Modern man is a hardworking human. Throughout the day his mind and his muscles are busy at building the modern world and its business administration. His clothing is rough, coarse, starched, according to the specifications of his accepted job.]

[At home, what does modern man have to look forward to for his body comfort? The things provided for his home, a wool or flannel robe, his feet encased in the same thick, tight-fitting leather that his shoes are made of. These are the things provided for his home comfort.]

[Men wear hats, which cut off the blood flow to their heads. Seven out of ten men wear hats. ... Seven out of ten men are bald.]

here we have the use of rational science as justification - so great.

[Just for comparison, let's go native. Back to the animal instinct." We see African natives, beating drums and dancing. Surrounding them are skulls affixed to posts. The men have fancy masks. The women are unadorned.]

[There in the lesser civilized part of the world, it's the male who adorns himself with the fancy objects, such as paints, frills and masks. The true instinct. The animal instinct. Bird and animal life. Is it not so that it's the male who is the fancy one? Could it be that the male was meant to attract the attention of the female?]

[What's so wrong about that? Where is the animal instinct in modern civilization? Female has the fluff and the finery, as specified by those who design and sell.]

and this is so great because while he is aligned with early corb ideas, he is also critical of them as well. Where is the animal instinct in modern civilization? That question is really asking about the opportunities for passion and creativity at the scale of the individual. where's the love man?

[Little Miss Female, you should feel quite proud of the situation. You of course realize that it's predominantly men who design your clothes, your jewelry, your makeup, your hair styling, your perfume. But life, even though its changes are slow, moves on. There's no law against wearing such apparel on the street, as long as it can be distinguished that man is man and woman is woman.]

again with the critique of modern theory - an early proponent of ambiguity and complexity - a forefather of Venturi, if you will.

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beware of the big green dragon that sits on your doorstep. he eats little boys. puppy dog tails and big fat snails. beware - take care - beware.