Monroe, Hepburn, and the "It" Factor (Sheridan Pierce Core Post #2)

In Brown's article "Audrey Hepburn: The Film Star as Event," the author describes that while the studio system was collapsing, the American economy was booming with consumerism.  The 1950s became a decade in which fashion and film became intertwined, and audiences would go see films for the clothing featured in them. I found this interesting because I find that I will often go see a film, at least in part, because of the costumes.  For instance, I thought the parade of clothing in The Devil Wears Prada was just as well crafted as the story itself.

I thought it was interesting to consider the idea of travel, and particularly travel to Europe after World War II as a way to “rebuild” the continent.  In Funny Face Hepburn travels to Paris, which is portrayed in the film as the pinnacle of fashion and culture.  Its portrayal serves the purpose of the story, but also attempts to make the audience member yearn for the glamour the city has to offer.  For instance, in the musical number “Bonjour Paris,” many landmarks of Paris are showcased, including the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Élysees, Rue Saint Honoré, and more.

It is also interesting to consider the “gamine look” that arrives in cinema, which is characterized as a female having an “interesting face” and being between “5 foot 3 to 5 feet 7 inches tall” (Brown 133).  As Palmer states, it is “indeed an intriguing alternative to Monroe and company, and does suggest a shift in taste among American audiences toward a more ‘European’ look even if… male leads tended at this time to be more rugged and ‘American’” (Brown 133).   Audrey Hepburn is characterized as a gamine, suggesting a shift in what American audiences wanted to see in their female leads.  Monroe, as Dyer points out in Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, is very much an overt sex symbol.  She is child-like in her performance, yet still manages to seduce an audience.  Audrey Hepburn, however, portrays a different kind of female lead.  Her characters are elegant, classy, and very intelligent.  Her allure, as opposed to Monroe's, is not overtly sexual.  But, as Dyer states, “Monroe did appear natural in her sexiness and with an originality that necessarily had an impact among a stream of conventionally pretty starlets and pin-ups that the studios continually produced” (Dyer 33). Both stars, while quite different in persona, do have an "it" quality.  They command an audience's attention onscreen through a combination of their looks, charm, and charisma, all while making it seem effortless.