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https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/1O4GlUIbevSfWVEzzE-rkmUKF0FgWAIGiQfbLSqtQ7VicAEq5b_VUUUBHqkVCOfetHrS_K8MqeDpGceaLMi08VxnDDzBr3M2ZWjK_8vUQUdYBOrHY6TXo6ygHUNOJxqd-SF_BNQQhttps://sewingcircle457962555.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/tame.jpeghttps://sewingcircle457962555.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/ridiculous.jpeg
The Blue Angel (1930) follows the torrid love affair between a conservative professor and a cabaret performer, Lola Lola, played by none other than Marlene Dietrich. The professor eventually resigns from teaching to marry Lola, despite his problems with the cabaret lifestyle.
Marlene’s Lola is a lot like herself—promiscuous, independent, funny, and performative. Viewing her interactions with the professor, it seems obscenely obvious that there is zero sexual chemistry. There is a sort of sensual lethargy in every interaction. Lola is at her best when performing at the cabaret, where she is the center of attention and an object of affection for men and women.
The most important aspect of her character by far is the costume design. After deriding director Josef von Sternberg’s original costumes as ‘stupid – uninteresting, boring – nothing to catch the eye. Blank! Bo-o-o-oring!’, Dietrich’s husband asked von Sternberg if she might make her own (‘Try it – see what she comes up with. Let her put it together’), a request that was soon approved. Dietrich’s inspiration for Lola’s look came from a Berlin ‘transvestite’ Dietrich knew, who originally wore the top hat and garter. Her image in the film marks a reflection of a contemporary gender play already in existence in the film’s wider culture. Lola is feminine, yes, but with a hyper-femme, camp distinction. She really does embody a sort of drag queen persona, and this is only solidified with her comedic, over-the-top performance. This is what makes it almost impossible for her to be a male sexual fantasy—she is overtly sexual, but with a deep inner life that Marlene portrays subtly yet beautifully. The film portrays her growing discontent with the professor. His overbearing personality is endearing at first but soon becomes overbearing and suffocating. He hinders her sexual freedom. This progression is visualized through the growing ridiculousness of her cabaret costumes.
The Blue Angel marks a change in what characterized a strong female character. No longer was she a woman scorned, someone for female viewers to see as a cautionary tale. She became a sex-loving, independent vamp type, someone that young women would see on screen and wonder: do I want to be her, or be with her? In her off-screen life, Marlene would be described in a similar fashion. The legendary film star’s daughter, Maria, probably put it best: her mother used her sexuality against men as a weapon to manipulate and control them– but with women, her romantic nature surfaced and she was sincere.
The Blue Angel (1930) follows the torrid love affair between a conservative professor and a cabaret performer, Lola Lola, played by none other than Marlene Dietrich. The professor eventually resigns from teaching to marry Lola, despite his problems with the cabaret lifestyle.
Marlene’s Lola is a lot like herself—promiscuous, independent, funny, and performative. Viewing her interactions with the professor, it seems obscenely obvious that there is zero sexual chemistry. There is a sort of sensual lethargy in every interaction. Lola is at her best when performing at the cabaret, where she is the center of attention and an object of affection for men and women.
The most important aspect of her character by far is the costume design. After deriding director Josef von Sternberg’s original costumes as ‘stupid – uninteresting, boring – nothing to catch the eye. Blank! Bo-o-o-oring!’, Dietrich’s husband asked von Sternberg if she might make her own (‘Try it – see what she comes up with. Let her put it together’), a request that was soon approved. Dietrich’s inspiration for Lola’s look came from a Berlin ‘transvestite’ Dietrich knew, who originally wore the top hat and garter. Her image in the film marks a reflection of a contemporary gender play already in existence in the film’s wider culture. Lola is feminine, yes, but with a hyper-femme, camp distinction. She really does embody a sort of drag queen persona, and this is only solidified with her comedic, over-the-top performance. This is what makes it almost impossible for her to be a male sexual fantasy—she is overtly sexual, but with a deep inner life that Marlene portrays subtly yet beautifully. The film portrays her growing discontent with the professor. His overbearing personality is endearing at first but soon becomes overbearing and suffocating. He hinders her sexual freedom. This progression is visualized through the growing ridiculousness of her cabaret costumes.
The Blue Angel marks a change in what characterized a strong female character. No longer was she a woman scorned, someone for female viewers to see as a cautionary tale. She became a sex-loving, independent vamp type, someone that young women would see on screen and wonder: do I want to be her, or be with her? In her off-screen life, Marlene would be described in a similar fashion. The legendary film star’s daughter, Maria, probably put it best: her mother used her sexuality against men as a weapon to manipulate and control them– but with women, her romantic nature surfaced and she was sincere.
It's been a fun project to add to here and there.
