#silent films
Mary Miles Minter and her mother, Charlotte Shelby - 1936
Mary Miles Minter and her mother, Charlotte Shelby – 1936
It only recently occurred to me that Charlie Chaplin was probably one of Golden Age Hollywood’s many secret trans people (Jean Harlow’s on the list, too). Although you think you can see him in your mind’s eye due to the vast collective consciousness seeping into your brain, it isn’t until you actually watch a movie starring him that you truly notice all of his effete features.
Those penciled on eyebrows and that smooth, fair-skinned face all contribute to a decidedly trans aesthetic. Even his mustache has the quality of being put on by a woman still trying to figure out how to look like a man. And the fact that he starred almost exclusively in silent films is telling of his/her desire to not showcase a voice that could reveal too much.
As a romantic interest in film, too, Chaplin displayed a decidedly asexual vibe. In movies such as City Lights and The Cure. Chaplin as a romantic prospect seems utterly incongruous. His trans qualities are so overt that it’s difficult to take him seriously as a leading man. Then again, it could just be his Englishness, mannerisms and fashion sense that made him so irreconcilable as a man in general.
© Genna Rivieccio 2014
more on my art books instagram page
BIRDS OF PARADISE: COSTUME AS CINEMATIC SPECTACLE
(One of the most wonderful books I’ve ever seen)
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Arf…
Thomas Edison’s film, The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots - 1895
He Who Gets Slapped - 1924
Le Squelette Joyeux- 1898
The only surviving color film of Clara Bow - Red Hair - 1928
The Silent Film Lounge Cemetery Project: Los Angeles
Sister group of The Silent Film Lounge Group on Facebook. This is a volunteer group to clean the area around silent film stars graves in the Los Angeles area, and to plant flowers and plants to beautify their plots. Majority are at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. If you would like to volunteer, please join us! Message the Group Admins for details on helping water plants once a month etc, or would just like to help by donating plants or money for flowers/plants.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesilentfilmloungecemeteryproject
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Like Silent Film? Want to Volunteer?
The Silent Film Lounge Cemetery Project: Los Angeles
On Facebook: This is a volunteer group to clean the area around silent film stars graves in the Los Angeles area, and to plant flowers and plants to beautify their plots. Above is some of the work we have done at Hollywood Forever.
(We are in need of people to water one time per month) if you are in the Los Angeles area…
Please message the Group Admin for details, or would just like to help us water the plants, please join.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesilentfilmloungecemeteryproject
Please share…Thanks!
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