Movies | February 20, 2009 | 5 comments

Oscar loves strippers and hos!

source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123507596209225865.html

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"The very first actress to win an Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences played a woman reduced to prostitution.

On Sunday night, actress Marisa Tomei could take home an Academy Award for her portrayal of a kind-hearted stripper in the critically acclaimed film "The Wrestler." Four years ago, Natalie Portman was nominated for playing a young stripper in Mike Nichols's steamy drama "Closer," and just a year earlier Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her role as a real-life prostitute-turned-serial killer (in "Monster"). In the decade before that, Elisabeth Shue, Mira Sorvino and Julia Roberts all became Oscar nominees (or winners) for playing women who sell their bodies but guard their hearts -- one of Hollywood's longtime fascinations.

Why so many big screen strippers and hookers? Sex sells, and Hollywood has built an industry marketing actors' appeal. Historically, there have been fewer edgy roles for women, and the world's oldest profession -- prostitution -- offers a natural corollary to another time-tested role, the male criminal. Another reason: Inherently flawed characters, who possess what some might see as mental, moral or physical imperfections, make for more courageous acting performances.

Voyeurism certainly plays a starring role in why moviegoers love to watch women bare it all on screen, but there's also redemptive power in many of the women's performances. Seeing ladies of the evening make good represents the universal rags-to-riches story. "You can't help but root for the girl -- it's about wish fulfillment," says Garry Marshall, who directed "Pretty Woman," the hit film about one harlot's attempt at upward mobility which landed Ms. Roberts an Oscar nod. "[Best-picture nominee] 'Slumdog Millionaire' has a lot of the same things going for it.""
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5 comments // Oscar loves strippers and hos!

  • denport
  • FredSmithson
  • Found_Avenue
    • 0
      Found_Avenue  

    • Yep,

      "Hooker with a heart of gold" is right up there with "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl" and "man avenges the loss of his family" when it comes to hollywood's most over-used conventions.

    • 3 years ago
  • nazbags
    • 0
      nazbags  

    • I think people like the prostitute/stripper thing because they can relate to them, even if that's not their line of work - a woman clocking in long hours at the office every day can feel like she is selling herself too

    • 3 years ago
  • MissG
    • 0
      MissG  

    • I think people just love the bad girl with a heart of gold myth... you know, the one that sheds some hope on the fate of the soiled women, who through meeting the right men in her most un-noble profession, finds her way from rags-to-riches?

      The interesting thing about this is that Hollywood underwent a social shift. Early films (1920s-1930s) demonized these immoral women, connecting them to tropes of original sin and the downfall of WASP morals.

      Now, instead of being viewed as corrosive, the woman as prostitute paradigm has become this strange allegory of the American dream - anyone can make it with hard work and a little networking...

    • 3 years ago
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