ET 19: BOOP BOOP DE DOOP

  THE "CAVE" GRAND BALLROOM...

 SEXY SUGAR SINGS " BOOP BOOP DE DOOP"....

JOSEPHINE AND DAPHNE AKA JOE AND JERRY

          A movie that is sure to keep the audience laughing and on their feet, "Some like it Hot!" directed by Billy Wilder plays with the sexual identity of the two main characters, Joe and Jerry. After witnessing a massacre in Chicago, the two characters fled to Florida changing their identities in the most extreme ways, dressing up like girls and renaming themselves "Daphne" and " Josephine."  The movie never has a dull moment, keeping the audience entertained with a humorous storyline filled with wild gimmicks and crazy love affairs.  In the movie, the number " I Want to be Loved by You," starring Sugar Kane played by Marilyn Monroe, displays a great deal of semiotics and as well as deals with the feminist theory which we have learnt in this course.

            Marilyn Monroe is a legendary actress that is said to be an icon by many. She has something unique about her which tends to draw men's attention. The establishing shot of the scene shows a grand ballroom shaped like a cave and decorated with lights, with a chandelier hanging in the middle and Marilyn Monroe singing on stage in front of an audience which looks to be from the class of the wealthy. The establishing shot itself depicts the first sexual image in this sequence. The shape of the grand ballroom is like a "cave" which symbolizes the woman's vagina. A cave has often been used to represent the woman's genital area. If one was to observe the use of lighting in the first shot, one would see how Marilyn Monroe and the chandelier are the only things highlighted in the room and the rest of the audience and background are more of shadows. The use of chiaroscuro lighting and the emphasis of the key light and back light on the subject that is Marilyn Monroe allows such a contrast to be possible. Besides that, the audience made up of the rich and wealthy is a symbol of what Sugar( Marilyn Monroe) desires to have and to be. She dreams of marrying a rich man and leading a glamorous lifestyle. She desires for something different and chooses to not repeat her mistakes of going after saxophone players because of her bad history with them.

             In the next shot, the camera shows a closer view of Marilyn Monroe and we are able to see what she is wearing. She wears a gorgeous dress with colours that looks like they match her skin tone, giving off the illusion of her looking partly naked. The lighter tones of colour on her dress makes it look as though most of her bare chest is being revealed. The revealing limit seems to stop just above the nipples of the bosom where the lighter tones come into contact with darker tones of colour. It is a little more obvious to see the darker colours of her dress because they are covered in sequins. As the sequence progresses, the spotlight moves from highlighting her whole figure to just her face, and then slowly moves down to her chest but stops just above the "forbidden area," the breast. The purpose of the breast being in darkness is to symbolize to the audience that such an area is prohibited to us. Yet, as we watch this sequence, our eyes tend to drift from the light area that is her chest to the dark area that is her breast. We want to explore the more naughty side of things although something tells us not to go there. As the camera goes in for a close up shot of her face, the expression she wears depicts a very sexual image. As she sings, " I wanna be kissed by you, by you, and nobody else but you," her face looks as if she is inviting you, the audience, to her. Her every action and little gestures give out the message of her wanting you. As she performs, she can be seen flirting with the audience and playing around a little. A good example is when she sings "Ba dum ba dum be du dee dum poo" and sort of gives a little action of a flying kiss to the audience as she says the word " poo." It is good to keep in mind that Marilyn Monroe is not just performing and flirting with the audience in the scene but as well as she is performing for us, the audience watching this movie.

            In relating the sequence thus far to the feminist theory, Marilyn Monroe is depicted to be the sexual objectification of the audience. The audience is assumed to be made up of men and the woman's body is "objectified" to provide visual stimulation for them. Her dress highlights the fetishised body parts of a woman and sexually arouses the male audience. The males will tend to look at her breast more because her seemingly exposed bare chest will tempt them to do so and as well as the lighting effect. Their sexual desire for Marilyn Monroe will increase as they see her flirting with them. This will make them fantasize about her as they watch the scene which turns them on. According to the feminist theory, sexual objectification means  the viewing of people solely as de-personalised objects of desire instead of as individuals with complex personalities.

               The sequence then progresses to show Daphne and Josephine playing the bass and saxophone whilst Marilyn Monroe sings. It is definitely a comical sight to behold for the audience but the shot does not come without its semiotics and meanings. Although Daphne and Josephine are indeed men disguised as women, it is indeed pretty clear that as long as you have a dress on, you are at a disadvantage in the world. According to the feminist theory, males are considered to be the dominant creatures that have the power over females. The existence of females is to provide sexual pleasure for the males and serve them because they have the power. The next shot shows Osgood enthusiactically waving at Daphne with a big smile on his face.   Josephine realizes this and tells Daphne but Daphne refuses to acknowledge Osgood's presence. Josephine reminds him that Osgood is his date for the night and tells Daphne to be nice. He finally obliges and holds up his hand like a stop sign which was meant to be a wave. However, this gesture simply signifies Daphne rejecting Osgood and telling him to stay away. Because Daphne is depicted to be a female, "she" is suppose to succumb to the purpose of serving Osgood and not refusing him because he is the male.

               Next, it goes on to Josephine telling Daphne to smile and show Osgood the whole personality thing. From a feminist perspective, females tend to have to act a certain way. We have to act appropriately infront of men, by being polite with smiles on our faces and having soft gestures. We have to act in a feminine way because we are females. The sequence then moves on to show a bellboy delivering a bouquet of flowers to Daphne and Josephine and asking who the flowers are for.  The flowers were from Osgood to Daphne. As the bellboy sets the flowers down, he gives a flower to Josephine and flirts with him. According to the feminist theory, the bellboy gave Josephine the male gaze because he thought that "she" was a female and was attracted to "her." The bellboy (male) holds the gaze and sees Josephine (female) as the object that is there to provide him with visual stimulation. Besides that, the bouquet of flowers symbolizes how females are soft, delicate and weak but beautiful at the same time. In some ways, the offering of the flowers as a gift from the male to the female signifies that he will be the one to protect her and be her source of strength because she is so helpless.

             As the song comes to a close and Marilyn Monroe's performance ends, she turns to walk off the stage and the back side of her costume is revealed to the audience. The back side of her costume is designed to expose her bare back revealing a whole lot of skin. This comes back again to her being depicted as the sexual object for the male audience. The last shot could easily make the male audience sexually aroused and desire for her body.Throughout the sequence, one could say that she was partially naked.

               In conclusion, " Some like it Hot!" was a very entertaining film which I thoroughly enjoyed watching because of the interesting plot and meanings behind the semiotics. From the number " I Want to be Loved by You," one can understand how Marilyn Monroe was said to be an icon. Her beautiful face has the combined characteristics of the innocence of a child and the sexuality of a woman. Both characteristcs that are highly desirable by men. It is through her unique looks that she was able to become so famous. She was the ideal face that women aspired to be and the fantasy of every man's dream. Marilyn Monroe was truly one for the ages.