MercurialSometime in the late 80s or maybe it was like 1990 they released the movie pretty woman with Gere and Roberts. Vivian, Roberts roll, got the most attention with Parents like mine, speaking out against “romanticizing” prostitution. But there was another message in the movie and it had to do with gears role as a neo capitalist game player in company consolidation. The fairytale ending was unrealistic on two parts. Or more. There was an undercover class critique. #prettywoman #neocapitalism
maybe less of a class critique then the manifestation and release of a pressure valve in which people are encouraged to believe in the idea of exceptional individuals who choose love over capitalism. In real life, Vivian would be a drug addict and would leave him once the withdrawal set in and he would resend his decision to reduce profit by maintaining small company sovereignty
unfortunately, the main message that got through to me at 14 years old or 13 or whatever was that thigh high boots could make men so in love that they would rescue you from poverty, and you could become a teacher even though you were white trash and that love changes men into generous creatures
and once the movie was accepted by the public, thigh high boots were everywhere not just on the hooker corner
but unfortunately, thigh, high boots or angle, boots or no boots at all, profit remained Lord of all
I think about this movie a lot, and I think about how Vivian’s character was actually kind of a simpleton, and if you substituted her perfect, looks with the giant smile with someone with down syndrome the behavior would be the same except maybe they couldn’t drive the way she was supposed to be able to drive. She was attractively stupid. Men love when we do that. Oh look how stupid I am can you please save me? But complicated by the fact that she knew how to drive the car he didn’t appreciate
and I think that the part about understanding cars are not was supposed to exonerate or add some value to people people who have mechanical awareness and knowledge, working class, knowledge,, fixing things, and that this movie was critical of class stratification and it was allowed to exist because she was a sex object.
Women took the L, as usual, as a survival strategy, and prince who rode up on a shining horse, could play piano, but he couldn’t drive a race car, yet she could. The sexual joke she made about being able to drive stick made it palatable to mass audiences.