Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye (1970) examines the effects of 1940s American white cultural hegemony on her black characters: Claudia, Pauline, and Pecola. The dominant influence of white society, specifically white ideals of beauty, are perpetuated through film, and exemplified by such actres...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: E C Koch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Boibhashik 2014-07-01
Series:Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry
Online Access:http://sanglap-journal.in/index.php/sanglap/article/view/37
_version_ 1811329673279307776
author E C Koch
author_facet E C Koch
author_sort E C Koch
collection DOAJ
description Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye (1970) examines the effects of 1940s American white cultural hegemony on her black characters: Claudia, Pauline, and Pecola. The dominant influence of white society, specifically white ideals of beauty, are perpetuated through film, and exemplified by such actresses as Shirley Temple and Greta Garbo. The terrifying nature of the Hollywood ideal is borne from its influence and ubiquity, and is highlighted by Pecola’s deranged pursuit of this impossible standard of beauty. Ultimately by attempting to realize this paradigm, blacks are disenfranchised while the ideal is recharged with the power of those who continue to pursue it. Keywords:The Bluest Eye, Racial Hegemony, Film Studies, Terror, Ideals of Beauty.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T15:47:58Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d184579563b74032ad6af683ec1ce052
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2349-8064
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T15:47:58Z
publishDate 2014-07-01
publisher Boibhashik
record_format Article
series Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry
spelling doaj.art-d184579563b74032ad6af683ec1ce0522022-12-22T02:40:56ZengBoibhashikSanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry2349-80642014-07-011137Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest EyeE C Koch0William Paterson University of New JerseyToni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye (1970) examines the effects of 1940s American white cultural hegemony on her black characters: Claudia, Pauline, and Pecola. The dominant influence of white society, specifically white ideals of beauty, are perpetuated through film, and exemplified by such actresses as Shirley Temple and Greta Garbo. The terrifying nature of the Hollywood ideal is borne from its influence and ubiquity, and is highlighted by Pecola’s deranged pursuit of this impossible standard of beauty. Ultimately by attempting to realize this paradigm, blacks are disenfranchised while the ideal is recharged with the power of those who continue to pursue it. Keywords:The Bluest Eye, Racial Hegemony, Film Studies, Terror, Ideals of Beauty.http://sanglap-journal.in/index.php/sanglap/article/view/37
spellingShingle E C Koch
Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest Eye
Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry
title Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest Eye
title_full Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest Eye
title_fullStr Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest Eye
title_full_unstemmed Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest Eye
title_short Hollywood’s Terror Industry: Idealized beauty and The Bluest Eye
title_sort hollywood s terror industry idealized beauty and the bluest eye
url http://sanglap-journal.in/index.php/sanglap/article/view/37
work_keys_str_mv AT eckoch hollywoodsterrorindustryidealizedbeautyandthebluesteye