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Too Much of a Good Thing
Mae West As Cultural Icon
by Ramona Curry
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Book Presentation:
The first examination of Mae West's meaning in American popular culture.
Before Madonna, before Marilyn, there was Mae. The impact of Mae West—through her films, attitude, and aphorisms (“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful”; “Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”)—continues to reverberate through American popular culture fifteen years after her death. In Too Much of a Good Thing, Ramona Curry examines the interplay between West’s bawdy, worldly persona and twentieth-century gender and media politics.
Although West has remained an important figure, her image has fulfilled varied cultural functions. In the thirties, she was a lightning rod for debates over morality and censorship. In the seventies, the complexity of her portrayal of gender made her a controversial figure for both the gay rights and feminist movements. Curry analyzes the symbolic roles West has occupied, arguing that she represents a carefully orchestrated transgression of race, class, and gender expectations, a transgression expressed through West's spectacular costumes, her distinctive performance style, and her on- and off-screen relations with African Americans and gay men. In addition, Too Much of a Good Thing takes a historical look at West’s disruptive power as a comedian, a primary source of her continuing appeal.
Moving beyond a detailed examination of Mae West’s place in American popular culture, Curry illustrates how icons of pop culture often distill contested social issues, serving diverse and even contradictory political functions. Curry then proposes a model for cultural studies that integrates history, media, and feminist theory. A pithy and innovative look at what Mae West means, Too Much of a Good Thing is must reading for fans, film buffs, and anyone interested in how popular culture evolves and circulates in the United States.
See the publisher website: University of Minnesota Press
See the complete filmography of Mae West on the website: IMDB ...
> On a related topic:
She Always Knew How (2010)
Mae West: A Personal Biography
Mae West (2008)
by Dominique Mainon and James Ursini
(in English, French and German)
When I'm Bad, I'm Better (1997)
Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment
The Sex Goddess in American Film, 1930-1965 (2009)
Jean Harlow, Mae West, Lana Turner, and Jayne Mansfield
The Divo and the Duce (2019)
Promoting Film Stardom and Political Leadership in 1920s America
Subject: Actor > Rudolph Valentino
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