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March 5, 2008 10:41 AM Subscribe
Bert Stern took pictures of Marilyn Monroe over 3 sessions [nsfw] in 1962. They're called the Last Sitting as she died of an apparent overdose 6 weeks later. In February 2008, he recreates the shoot using Lindsay Lohan [nsfw]. Not willing to let a good opportunity to spoof celebrities fly by, Village Voice's Michael Musto recreates Lindsay Lohan's photo session [nsfw].
The wife just caught me looking at the Michael Musto shoot, now she's got questions.
posted by mattoxic at 10:46 AM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by mattoxic at 10:46 AM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
mattoxic, just tell her you're thinking of voting Republican, she'll understand.
posted by maxwelton at 10:50 AM on March 5, 2008
posted by maxwelton at 10:50 AM on March 5, 2008
Do you have answers? GOOD ones?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:50 AM on March 5, 2008
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:50 AM on March 5, 2008
I can't seem to stop being bored by people snarking on celebrities.
posted by srboisvert at 10:53 AM on March 5, 2008
posted by srboisvert at 10:53 AM on March 5, 2008
The 3 sessions link makes me feel like I have an insect right eye.
posted by nicolin at 10:54 AM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by nicolin at 10:54 AM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
I can't seem to stop being bored by people snarking on celebrities.
Thanks for alerting us, we were dying to know.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:56 AM on March 5, 2008 [5 favorites]
Thanks for alerting us, we were dying to know.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:56 AM on March 5, 2008 [5 favorites]
Thanks for alerting us, we were dying to know.
See, you broke the mold by snarking at another user, instead of a celebrity.
Bravo.
posted by kbanas at 10:58 AM on March 5, 2008
See, you broke the mold by snarking at another user, instead of a celebrity.
Bravo.
posted by kbanas at 10:58 AM on March 5, 2008
LINDSEYLOLHAN
posted by DU at 10:59 AM on March 5, 2008 [3 favorites]
posted by DU at 10:59 AM on March 5, 2008 [3 favorites]
Well, the double in question was actually a deleted thread that was set up kind of poorly and went downhill fast; this is better put together and the Musto stuff is something else entirely.
There is sort of the larger question of aping Monroe after the fact, something that I was kind of hoping would come together in this post, actually (I talked with Stynxno a little bit about the implications and timing of an expanded do-over): what young starlet, bombshell, whoever doesn't take some sort of Monroe riff at some point, some one-off nod to the icon?
And what's the motive force that makes it keep happening: the women themselves, having always wanted to do Marilyn? The old photographers, wanting to catch a glimpse of the good old days? The young photographers, wanting to steal some of that sense of history? Or just canny producers, knowing they can sell the memory to the older folks or the mythos to the younger, or both if their demo supports it?
Monroe has become the Bob Dylan cover of the model/starlet photography world.
posted by cortex at 11:00 AM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
There is sort of the larger question of aping Monroe after the fact, something that I was kind of hoping would come together in this post, actually (I talked with Stynxno a little bit about the implications and timing of an expanded do-over): what young starlet, bombshell, whoever doesn't take some sort of Monroe riff at some point, some one-off nod to the icon?
And what's the motive force that makes it keep happening: the women themselves, having always wanted to do Marilyn? The old photographers, wanting to catch a glimpse of the good old days? The young photographers, wanting to steal some of that sense of history? Or just canny producers, knowing they can sell the memory to the older folks or the mythos to the younger, or both if their demo supports it?
Monroe has become the Bob Dylan cover of the model/starlet photography world.
posted by cortex at 11:00 AM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
Whoever did Musto's makeup did a damn better job than whoever was in charge of Lindsay's.
posted by kkokkodalk at 11:00 AM on March 5, 2008
posted by kkokkodalk at 11:00 AM on March 5, 2008
I don't need no hands and no Lindsay Lohan
On the same program as Britney, are ya wit' me?
posted by porn in the woods at 11:04 AM on March 5, 2008
On the same program as Britney, are ya wit' me?
posted by porn in the woods at 11:04 AM on March 5, 2008
and the Musto stuff is something else entirely
That's an understatement.
posted by horsemuth at 11:05 AM on March 5, 2008
That's an understatement.
posted by horsemuth at 11:05 AM on March 5, 2008
Gah. Musto... must be... unseen.
Looking at those pictures is like when you accidentally get some pet-control ultra-bitter spray on your hands and then in your food and you have this awful taste in your mouth that you just can't get rid of... gah.
posted by GuyZero at 11:05 AM on March 5, 2008
Looking at those pictures is like when you accidentally get some pet-control ultra-bitter spray on your hands and then in your food and you have this awful taste in your mouth that you just can't get rid of... gah.
posted by GuyZero at 11:05 AM on March 5, 2008
Monroe>Lohan>Musto> ??? , um???, well, !!! OK, Let me go get the makeup on, one of you get the camera.
God I love American Pop Culture....!!!!
posted by HuronBob at 11:11 AM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
God I love American Pop Culture....!!!!
posted by HuronBob at 11:11 AM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
The resemblance is uncanny.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:18 AM on March 5, 2008
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:18 AM on March 5, 2008
He's got a better body than I would have suspected. His faces near the end of the slide show are hilarious.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:21 AM on March 5, 2008
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:21 AM on March 5, 2008
The old photographers, wanting to catch a glimpse of the good old days?
I think it's about the pure delicious and terrible irony in this case.
Marlyn at least had am iconic career before she became an iconic tragedy. She at least blazed some new ground. She at least tried for something above and beyond the sexy bombshell. And then she at least made it to 36 years old.
Lohan, at only 21, already aping the worn out and ultimately doomed ex star. And imitating Monroe's not in her vital prime but at her tragic incoherent end. And Lohan looks WORSE. Lohan behaves even more erratically and is certainly less sympathetic than Monroe was. It's not as if this is a new script for Lohan. For Christ sake she is walking off a cliff with both eyes open and the crowd is cheering. At this rate Lohan isn't making 26. Damn. It's sad.
posted by tkchrist at 11:34 AM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
I think it's about the pure delicious and terrible irony in this case.
Marlyn at least had am iconic career before she became an iconic tragedy. She at least blazed some new ground. She at least tried for something above and beyond the sexy bombshell. And then she at least made it to 36 years old.
Lohan, at only 21, already aping the worn out and ultimately doomed ex star. And imitating Monroe's not in her vital prime but at her tragic incoherent end. And Lohan looks WORSE. Lohan behaves even more erratically and is certainly less sympathetic than Monroe was. It's not as if this is a new script for Lohan. For Christ sake she is walking off a cliff with both eyes open and the crowd is cheering. At this rate Lohan isn't making 26. Damn. It's sad.
posted by tkchrist at 11:34 AM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
And what's the motive force that makes it keep happening: the women themselves, having always wanted to do Marilyn?
I recommend you rent "Wonder Boys".
posted by spock at 11:39 AM on March 5, 2008
I recommend you rent "Wonder Boys".
posted by spock at 11:39 AM on March 5, 2008
I think people emulate Marilyn Monroe because she is such an icon. To me this photo shoot parallels all the spoofs of famous artwork, movie scenes, songs and other bits of popular culture.
What I don't understand is why Stern chose a trashy, sickly-thin celebrity to recreate someone whose image was all about class and glamor and whose sex appeal was rooted in her curves. Is he making a statement?
posted by easy_being_green at 11:39 AM on March 5, 2008
What I don't understand is why Stern chose a trashy, sickly-thin celebrity to recreate someone whose image was all about class and glamor and whose sex appeal was rooted in her curves. Is he making a statement?
posted by easy_being_green at 11:39 AM on March 5, 2008
tkchrist, I think I was typing my answer as you posted yours. Excellent point on Lohan as a tragic figure.
posted by easy_being_green at 11:41 AM on March 5, 2008
posted by easy_being_green at 11:41 AM on March 5, 2008
Marilyn Monroe bores the hell out of me. I'm not the least bit attracted to her, I think maybe she's so archetypal as to be devoid of interest. Seeing her in movies is even more dissappointing, since she's so mediocre as an actress. The dopey, awkward, alluring ponyish attributes of hers, I like, but it's not really the way she's presented as an icon, and it's so tied to her seeming submissive, too. I don't mean to hate on her, but whenever people give me the whole "you're a big, beautiful bombshell like Marilyn" thing, I just go "feh." Thanks, but feh.
So, in that regard, Lindsay and Marilyn have tons in common. Why Lindsay is such a paragon of hawtness eludes my understanding entirely. Give me Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan (heavens to Betsy nsfw) Amy Adams... I could go on and on, but there's better glamourpusses out there than that boyish, hipless Disney frecklechild.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:43 AM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
So, in that regard, Lindsay and Marilyn have tons in common. Why Lindsay is such a paragon of hawtness eludes my understanding entirely. Give me Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan (heavens to Betsy nsfw) Amy Adams... I could go on and on, but there's better glamourpusses out there than that boyish, hipless Disney frecklechild.
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posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:43 AM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
I apologize for linking to a bikini photo, but you could take Lohan in these new photos, compare them to a Vanity Fair shoot that's maybe four years old, and have a compelling anti-drug commercial.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:43 AM on March 5, 2008 [3 favorites]
posted by Bookhouse at 11:43 AM on March 5, 2008 [3 favorites]
The wife just caught me looking at the Michael Musto shoot, now she's got questions.
posted by mattoxic at 1:46 PM on March 5
Just tell her you that you have no interest in Lindsey Lohan as a person, you are simply objectifying her sexually. Specifically, you wanted to evaluate her primary and secondary sexual characteristics against those same characteristics on other women you know currently or have known in the past. Furthermore, you want to correlate your findings with the comparative level of sexual arousal that Lohan's expression of those characteristics induces in you relative to other women's.
Tell her that you eagerly anticipate the day when you will have collected enough nude data points (or nudals*) to present your conclusive findings to her. Communication is important in relationships, and there's no better way to communicate than through a graphic audiovisual presentation.
Once she has the study findings in hand, she can make ongoing and permanent adjustments to her physical appearance that serve to optimize her mattoxic sexual satisfaction matrix. Conclude your presentation with "You want to make me happy, don't you?"
Let's us know how it works out!
I know that "nudal" isn't a real word, but I often find myself having thoughts on a variety of topics that don't map to any known human language. See also, "breast pendularity", "victorian-era pornographs", "irritons" (fundamental unit of annoyance), "punchability", "pieliciousness", etc.
posted by Pastabagel at 11:50 AM on March 5, 2008 [7 favorites]
posted by mattoxic at 1:46 PM on March 5
Just tell her you that you have no interest in Lindsey Lohan as a person, you are simply objectifying her sexually. Specifically, you wanted to evaluate her primary and secondary sexual characteristics against those same characteristics on other women you know currently or have known in the past. Furthermore, you want to correlate your findings with the comparative level of sexual arousal that Lohan's expression of those characteristics induces in you relative to other women's.
Tell her that you eagerly anticipate the day when you will have collected enough nude data points (or nudals*) to present your conclusive findings to her. Communication is important in relationships, and there's no better way to communicate than through a graphic audiovisual presentation.
Once she has the study findings in hand, she can make ongoing and permanent adjustments to her physical appearance that serve to optimize her mattoxic sexual satisfaction matrix. Conclude your presentation with "You want to make me happy, don't you?"
Let's us know how it works out!
I know that "nudal" isn't a real word, but I often find myself having thoughts on a variety of topics that don't map to any known human language. See also, "breast pendularity", "victorian-era pornographs", "irritons" (fundamental unit of annoyance), "punchability", "pieliciousness", etc.
posted by Pastabagel at 11:50 AM on March 5, 2008 [7 favorites]
Monroe smolders SO much better. A lot of the shots of Monroe in that 'The Last Sitting' show more personality and character than the careers of so many of todays 'starlets'.
posted by ZaneJ. at 12:14 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by ZaneJ. at 12:14 PM on March 5, 2008
Seeing her in movies is even more dissappointing, since she's so mediocre as an actress.
You may want to giver a second chance. Her acting chops were admired by some pretty power weight actors and directors of the day. The Prince and the Showgirl co-starring Laurence Olivier, and directed by Olivier, she put in a very good performance. Olivier noted that Monroe was "a brilliant comedienne, [sic] which to me means she is also an extremely skilled actress."
She studied very diligently under the Strasbergs and was praised by many of her peers from the prestigious Group Theater.
Bust Stop, The Misfits, Some Like It Hot . Those were all quality performances. I don't think her potential was ever realized.
posted by tkchrist at 12:20 PM on March 5, 2008
You may want to giver a second chance. Her acting chops were admired by some pretty power weight actors and directors of the day. The Prince and the Showgirl co-starring Laurence Olivier, and directed by Olivier, she put in a very good performance. Olivier noted that Monroe was "a brilliant comedienne, [sic] which to me means she is also an extremely skilled actress."
She studied very diligently under the Strasbergs and was praised by many of her peers from the prestigious Group Theater.
Bust Stop, The Misfits, Some Like It Hot . Those were all quality performances. I don't think her potential was ever realized.
posted by tkchrist at 12:20 PM on March 5, 2008
whenever people give me the whole "you're a big, beautiful bombshell like Marilyn" thing
I don't know you or what you look like, but it does kind of seem to me that you live your life like a candle in the wind.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:27 PM on March 5, 2008
I don't know you or what you look like, but it does kind of seem to me that you live your life like a candle in the wind.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:27 PM on March 5, 2008
Bust Stop
Talk about one typo undermining the whole argument
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:28 PM on March 5, 2008
Talk about one typo undermining the whole argument
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:28 PM on March 5, 2008
Talk about one typo undermining the whole argument
I would think it would enhance the whole argument. Perhaps serve to lift and separate it, as it were.
posted by tkchrist at 12:33 PM on March 5, 2008
I would think it would enhance the whole argument. Perhaps serve to lift and separate it, as it were.
posted by tkchrist at 12:33 PM on March 5, 2008
Hell, I even found Musto's photo shoot to be hotter than Lohan's.
I am also seeking some answers now.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:39 PM on March 5, 2008
I am also seeking some answers now.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:39 PM on March 5, 2008
And what's the motive force that makes it keep happening: the women themselves, having always wanted to do Marilyn? The old photographers, wanting to catch a glimpse of the good old days? The young photographers, wanting to steal some of that sense of history? Or just canny producers, knowing they can sell the memory to the older folks or the mythos to the younger, or both if their demo supports it?
I think it has something to do with the idea that Monroe, despite her shortcomings and personal problems, earned her icon status, as tkchrist mentioned above. She was a bombshell and, according to some, a bit of an airhead but she was always trying to better herself. She knew her limitations as an actress and tried as hard as she could to overcome them. She took acting classes and worked with some of the biggest names out there and wanted to be taken seriously although I think she knew she never really would be. These starlets today, like Lohan, have done nothing to earn the press they get. I think they have the idea that if they associate themselves with her image some of her legitimacy will rub off on them but all it does is highlight how much more Monroe had going for her despite the fact that she was such a mess towards the end.
I think it's the same thing that drives young "singers" like Britney Spears to ape Madonna who, despite the fact that she never had a particularly noteworthy singing voice, worked aorund her limitations and used what she DID have to craft an incredibly successful career. And I think that's the key. Icons like Monroe and Madonna WORKED to become the icons they are today. Lohan and her ilk think they can just coast along on their tits and tabloid sightings and remain relevant.
There is a reason Monroe is still so popular today. She captured the imagination of the country because there really wasn't anyone like her. There wasn't anyone else who could offer the world what she did at the time. Of course, it can be argued that what she offered wasn't anything substantial but she was still unique -- and smart enough to capitalize on that. Lohan has unfortunately become just one of many young Hollywood party girls. She's nothing unique, not anymore. But someone comes along and tells her it would be a great idea to sit for photos like these and her ego is bing enough that she thinks the comparison will come out in her favor.
posted by LeeJay at 12:41 PM on March 5, 2008
I think it has something to do with the idea that Monroe, despite her shortcomings and personal problems, earned her icon status, as tkchrist mentioned above. She was a bombshell and, according to some, a bit of an airhead but she was always trying to better herself. She knew her limitations as an actress and tried as hard as she could to overcome them. She took acting classes and worked with some of the biggest names out there and wanted to be taken seriously although I think she knew she never really would be. These starlets today, like Lohan, have done nothing to earn the press they get. I think they have the idea that if they associate themselves with her image some of her legitimacy will rub off on them but all it does is highlight how much more Monroe had going for her despite the fact that she was such a mess towards the end.
I think it's the same thing that drives young "singers" like Britney Spears to ape Madonna who, despite the fact that she never had a particularly noteworthy singing voice, worked aorund her limitations and used what she DID have to craft an incredibly successful career. And I think that's the key. Icons like Monroe and Madonna WORKED to become the icons they are today. Lohan and her ilk think they can just coast along on their tits and tabloid sightings and remain relevant.
There is a reason Monroe is still so popular today. She captured the imagination of the country because there really wasn't anyone like her. There wasn't anyone else who could offer the world what she did at the time. Of course, it can be argued that what she offered wasn't anything substantial but she was still unique -- and smart enough to capitalize on that. Lohan has unfortunately become just one of many young Hollywood party girls. She's nothing unique, not anymore. But someone comes along and tells her it would be a great idea to sit for photos like these and her ego is bing enough that she thinks the comparison will come out in her favor.
posted by LeeJay at 12:41 PM on March 5, 2008
tkchrist: I'll check out The Prince and the Showgirl, I really adore Olivier anyhow, but as an amateur fellow Strasbergian and a person who's seen Bus Stop (I assistant directed the play in high school, actually), Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and All About Eve, I recognize her potential. But it wasn't realized, you're right, and it really doesn't inform her icon status either way, since few people see her acting work. She's uberfamous not for her acting, but for shamelessly making vampy, horny faces, and a tarty accessibility, basically. She took B-movie sexuality mainstream. She was perfect for the part of Cherie.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:44 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:44 PM on March 5, 2008
Bust Stop
At least you didn't type The Mistits.
Or Some Like It Breasts.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:44 PM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
At least you didn't type The Mistits.
Or Some Like It Breasts.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:44 PM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
Rose McGowan (heavens to Betsy nsfw)
I just came a little in my mouth.
posted by flarbuse at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
I just came a little in my mouth.
posted by flarbuse at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
Bosoms Are a Girl's Breast Boobie.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
This will wendell.
As a matter of fact, I'm preparing for my own photo shoot now. It just takes a long time to apply body makeup to my body. The photographer's talking about getting paid extra for overtime - or combat pay.
posted by wendell at 1:26 PM on March 5, 2008
As a matter of fact, I'm preparing for my own photo shoot now. It just takes a long time to apply body makeup to my body. The photographer's talking about getting paid extra for overtime - or combat pay.
posted by wendell at 1:26 PM on March 5, 2008
I apologize for linking to a bikini photo, but you could take Lohan in these new photos, compare them to a Vanity Fair shoot that's maybe four years old, and have a compelling anti-drug commercial.
I'm not quite sure this is fair. A spray or -- heavens -- a real tan, a better photographer, and a more rich and vibrant surrounding to better catch your eye then a pale white backdrop...sort of reflecting against her pale skin and producing an even odder glow... oh, I don't see the good drug/antidrug, I just see better supporting everything excluding the model.
That said, my hopes and idle prayers for Lohan that she makes it through her own family issues and then the hell that her paparazzi rich life must currently endure.
posted by cavalier at 1:34 PM on March 5, 2008
I'm not quite sure this is fair. A spray or -- heavens -- a real tan, a better photographer, and a more rich and vibrant surrounding to better catch your eye then a pale white backdrop...sort of reflecting against her pale skin and producing an even odder glow... oh, I don't see the good drug/antidrug, I just see better supporting everything excluding the model.
That said, my hopes and idle prayers for Lohan that she makes it through her own family issues and then the hell that her paparazzi rich life must currently endure.
posted by cavalier at 1:34 PM on March 5, 2008
Lindsay Lohan is my favorite young actress and has been since she became a sex symbol, arguably around the Vanity Fair cover shoot period. I'm not at all ashamed to admit this. She has beautiful breasts, an incredible body and a gorgeous face. I don't know WTF some of you are on about when you call her "sickly thin"--she went through a dangerously thin period *right around* the Vanity Fair period (hanging out too much with Nicole Ritchie) but she is certainly no longer too thin. I could see someone referring to her as 'thin' but honestly, "sickly"? I just find this bizarre.
Lindsay Lohan may be a bit of a trainwreck but she is a talented actress *and* wouldn't be anywhere without that talent (because it all began with the Parent Trap, and she certainly wasn't cast because of how hot she was)--unfortunately for Lindsay she's just plagued with an intense amount of baggage due to the classic broken home/slutty mom/alcoholic father background. I empathize with her, because I think most kids in her position with that kind of money, those looks and that laundry list of emotional problems would likely be on a pretty similar spiral.
I should also say that I am 21-year-old female--perhaps her appeal has something to do with my generation. My 26-year-old sister abhors her, though I have another good friend in my age group who adores her and most young men I know would like to fuck her. Do with that what you will.
will love Lohan till she dies
posted by nonmerci at 1:48 PM on March 5, 2008
Lindsay Lohan may be a bit of a trainwreck but she is a talented actress *and* wouldn't be anywhere without that talent (because it all began with the Parent Trap, and she certainly wasn't cast because of how hot she was)--unfortunately for Lindsay she's just plagued with an intense amount of baggage due to the classic broken home/slutty mom/alcoholic father background. I empathize with her, because I think most kids in her position with that kind of money, those looks and that laundry list of emotional problems would likely be on a pretty similar spiral.
I should also say that I am 21-year-old female--perhaps her appeal has something to do with my generation. My 26-year-old sister abhors her, though I have another good friend in my age group who adores her and most young men I know would like to fuck her. Do with that what you will.
will love Lohan till she dies
posted by nonmerci at 1:48 PM on March 5, 2008
Image 9 looks like she's channeling a drag queen who's channeling Marilyn Monroe.
Ha.
posted by itchylick at 1:51 PM on March 5, 2008
Ha.
posted by itchylick at 1:51 PM on March 5, 2008
Is it me, or are people in this thread missing the point of the FPP?
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 2:12 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 2:12 PM on March 5, 2008
A parody of a misguided homage to a classic set of celebrity photos. What could possibly have been the point, except to discuss the relative attractiveness and talent of everyone involved?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 2:27 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 2:27 PM on March 5, 2008
I believe that Kraftmatic is alluding to the concern we should be showing over the possibility of Michael Musto dying of an overdose in 6 weeks.
posted by spock at 2:51 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by spock at 2:51 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
Is it me, or are people in this thread missing the point of the FPP?
I think people are just more interested in discussing LiLo than they are in discussing MiMu.
posted by everichon at 3:01 PM on March 5, 2008
I think people are just more interested in discussing LiLo than they are in discussing MiMu.
posted by everichon at 3:01 PM on March 5, 2008
AAAGH! Lindsey Lohan + Marilyn Monroe = TORI SPELLING?! MY EYES!!!
posted by not_on_display at 4:07 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by not_on_display at 4:07 PM on March 5, 2008
"I am 21-year-old female ... most young men I know would like to fuck her" anything that has a pulse.
FTFY
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:17 PM on March 5, 2008
FTFY
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:17 PM on March 5, 2008
I'll take this one shot of Marilyn Monroe over that whole other portfolio. She's playing "Marilyn" in the Stern shots. In the Avedon, there's a vulnerability that's kind of heartbreaking.
The Michael Musto pictures reminded me of this set by Terry Donovan (which was an fpp a couple years ago.) I think it's funny, although I've always wondered why men can get away with exploiting the imperfections of their bodies for comedic effect and women can't, at least not to the same extent. Are men's bodies intrinsically funnier than women's?
As for Lindsey Lohan, she looks a bit dead eyed and rough. For an actress with her skills, I'm surprised by how inexpressive she is in this shoot. I'm also blown away by how old she looks for someone so young. Take care of yourself, kiddo.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:26 PM on March 5, 2008
The Michael Musto pictures reminded me of this set by Terry Donovan (which was an fpp a couple years ago.) I think it's funny, although I've always wondered why men can get away with exploiting the imperfections of their bodies for comedic effect and women can't, at least not to the same extent. Are men's bodies intrinsically funnier than women's?
As for Lindsey Lohan, she looks a bit dead eyed and rough. For an actress with her skills, I'm surprised by how inexpressive she is in this shoot. I'm also blown away by how old she looks for someone so young. Take care of yourself, kiddo.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:26 PM on March 5, 2008
Rose McGowan (heavens to Betsy nsfw)
Shane McGowan
posted by ersatz at 2:53 PM on March 5 [+] [!]
You just made me imagine Shane McGowan in that same pose.
I'm not OK.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:30 PM on March 5, 2008
Rose McGowan (heavens to Betsy nsfw)
My god that photo. It goes from weird to hot to...that friggen needle!!!!! Ugh. Cervical blocks are NOT SEXY.
posted by dasheekeejones at 4:47 PM on March 5, 2008
My god that photo. It goes from weird to hot to...that friggen needle!!!!! Ugh. Cervical blocks are NOT SEXY.
posted by dasheekeejones at 4:47 PM on March 5, 2008
I've always wondered why men can get away with exploiting the imperfections of their bodies for comedic effect and women can't, at least not to the same extent. Are men's bodies intrinsically funnier than women's?
I don't think so, I think it's just the power dynamic at play in making certain things amusing and certain things... less so. For example white people in blackface has a long historied tradition that was at one point the height of comedy, not so much anymore. To contrast, I've seen maybe two black comedians that get away with whiteface at all (that terrible movie and Dave Chapelle who is excellent at it) and both of those are fairly recent. People generally enjoy people in positions of some sort of power/status relinquishing some of that power/status for effect.
So: men dressing up as women = hilarious, whereas women dressing up as men = less hilarious, though it does happen and there are exceptions (Lucille ball for example). Both of these situations are open to dissertations of meta-commentary, clearly, but the short answer is that we relate to male and female forms differently, so the literature says, so that in a photoset like this it's a natural socialized reaction to think the woman is looking at you or making herself available to you, whereas with the guy, it's unclear what he's up to. I think for most people the standard reaction to the photo of Terry absent the photo above it is "Did he lose something in the couch? His clothes?"
Now this is just me having grown up in the US and gone to college and whatever, so my perspective is informed by that, but imagine these photos up on MetaFilter, or just looking at them with random friends. I can imagine the first one would get some of the same LL type responses as these photos did. People want to fuck her. Look at her tits. She's hot. She's trashy. She's underfed. She's pale. And then Terry who doesn't have rockstar looks but isn't unattractive and I don't think we're all going to talk about how we want to fuck him, that he's pale, that he's overfed, look at his dick. I mean really that's the point of his whole thing, to me.
posted by jessamyn at 5:00 PM on March 5, 2008 [3 favorites]
I don't think so, I think it's just the power dynamic at play in making certain things amusing and certain things... less so. For example white people in blackface has a long historied tradition that was at one point the height of comedy, not so much anymore. To contrast, I've seen maybe two black comedians that get away with whiteface at all (that terrible movie and Dave Chapelle who is excellent at it) and both of those are fairly recent. People generally enjoy people in positions of some sort of power/status relinquishing some of that power/status for effect.
So: men dressing up as women = hilarious, whereas women dressing up as men = less hilarious, though it does happen and there are exceptions (Lucille ball for example). Both of these situations are open to dissertations of meta-commentary, clearly, but the short answer is that we relate to male and female forms differently, so the literature says, so that in a photoset like this it's a natural socialized reaction to think the woman is looking at you or making herself available to you, whereas with the guy, it's unclear what he's up to. I think for most people the standard reaction to the photo of Terry absent the photo above it is "Did he lose something in the couch? His clothes?"
Now this is just me having grown up in the US and gone to college and whatever, so my perspective is informed by that, but imagine these photos up on MetaFilter, or just looking at them with random friends. I can imagine the first one would get some of the same LL type responses as these photos did. People want to fuck her. Look at her tits. She's hot. She's trashy. She's underfed. She's pale. And then Terry who doesn't have rockstar looks but isn't unattractive and I don't think we're all going to talk about how we want to fuck him, that he's pale, that he's overfed, look at his dick. I mean really that's the point of his whole thing, to me.
posted by jessamyn at 5:00 PM on March 5, 2008 [3 favorites]
I think there are some persistent tropes of women's bodies being used comedically, like big booties swinging around and knocking things over, and big boobies going bazoonga right into the camera, and gangly awkward comedians playing off their goofy statures, and high pitched voices, exaggerated coded-feminine expressions... I'm thinking of Amy Sedaris, Fran Drescher, Margaret Cho. These things are all anatomical ha-has. But the problem is that straight male dominated discourse and the subsequent sense of entitlement to evaluate and state desire or dismissal makes all expression of physicality, whether for comedy or something else, a referendum on fuckability.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:29 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:29 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
(and that picture of Rose that I linkes is by David LaChapelle)
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:30 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:30 PM on March 5, 2008
I apologize for linking to a bikini photo, but you could take Lohan in these new photos, compare them to a Vanity Fair shoot that's maybe four years old, and have a compelling anti-drug commercial.
posted by Bookhouse at 1:43 PM on March 5 [3 favorites +] [!]
Actually, its really just a compelling Photoshop commercial. Everything about that photo screams "airbrushing". If you have any doubt, check out these other celebrity before and afters. There is an unnatural blur/softness to the skin that only digital and porcelain objects can achieve. And that orange. Why is orange skin considered to be the height of attractiveness to retouchers?
posted by [insert clever name here] at 7:09 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by Bookhouse at 1:43 PM on March 5 [3 favorites +] [!]
Actually, its really just a compelling Photoshop commercial. Everything about that photo screams "airbrushing". If you have any doubt, check out these other celebrity before and afters. There is an unnatural blur/softness to the skin that only digital and porcelain objects can achieve. And that orange. Why is orange skin considered to be the height of attractiveness to retouchers?
posted by [insert clever name here] at 7:09 PM on March 5, 2008
So: men dressing up as women = hilarious, whereas women dressing up as men = less hilarious, though it does happen and there are exceptions (Lucille ball for example).
I think there is something more cultural going on here. It is more acceptable for men to be self-deprecating about their physical appearance in general than it is for women. A guy can be a fat bastard and say "Look at me, I'm a fat bastard!" I could rattle off five or six comedians who make their obesity a central part of their act. Furthermore, lots of male comedians will openly joke about their own impotence, lack of endowment, etc. But they go to these extremes because unattractive guys in general know they are unattractive and are comfortable with it. It is also funny to men because a lot of men are sensitive about sexual performance and penis size (or so says my spam folder). The comedian exagerrates the truth underlying the neurosis for laughs.
I don't think I can name a single female who does this, even though I think it would be funny. For example, "My breasts are so small that when I spilled Clearasil on my shirt my nipples disappeared."
Okay, maybe not so funny, but I'm not a comedian. I just don't know if women would think laughing at exaggerated physical imperfections is funny, because culture places an extraordinary amount of pressure on women to not simply look nice but to look gorgeous. Physical perfection in women is so much more prized in our culture that the lack of such perfection may be deemed by many women to be a personality flaw or a sign of failure. That is the kind of thing that when exaggerated is not funny.
posted by Pastabagel at 8:08 PM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
I think there is something more cultural going on here. It is more acceptable for men to be self-deprecating about their physical appearance in general than it is for women. A guy can be a fat bastard and say "Look at me, I'm a fat bastard!" I could rattle off five or six comedians who make their obesity a central part of their act. Furthermore, lots of male comedians will openly joke about their own impotence, lack of endowment, etc. But they go to these extremes because unattractive guys in general know they are unattractive and are comfortable with it. It is also funny to men because a lot of men are sensitive about sexual performance and penis size (or so says my spam folder). The comedian exagerrates the truth underlying the neurosis for laughs.
I don't think I can name a single female who does this, even though I think it would be funny. For example, "My breasts are so small that when I spilled Clearasil on my shirt my nipples disappeared."
Okay, maybe not so funny, but I'm not a comedian. I just don't know if women would think laughing at exaggerated physical imperfections is funny, because culture places an extraordinary amount of pressure on women to not simply look nice but to look gorgeous. Physical perfection in women is so much more prized in our culture that the lack of such perfection may be deemed by many women to be a personality flaw or a sign of failure. That is the kind of thing that when exaggerated is not funny.
posted by Pastabagel at 8:08 PM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
Lindsay, I fapped to Marilyn Monroe: I knew Marilyn Monroe; Marilyn Monroe was a crush of mine. Lindsay, you're no Marilyn Monroe.
posted by Doohickie at 9:24 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by Doohickie at 9:24 PM on March 5, 2008
I don't think I can name a single female who does this
lisa lampanelli, paula poundstone, kathy griffin, amy sedaris (especially via her 'strangers with candy' character jerri blank), janeane garofalo, sarah silverman -- they all self-deprecate about their own physicality. it's a natural part of pretty much any good comedian's act. you are permitted to mock others to a much larger degree if you mock your own shortcomings. people generally aren't looking to female comedians for their physical attributes.
posted by Hat Maui at 9:29 PM on March 5, 2008
lisa lampanelli, paula poundstone, kathy griffin, amy sedaris (especially via her 'strangers with candy' character jerri blank), janeane garofalo, sarah silverman -- they all self-deprecate about their own physicality. it's a natural part of pretty much any good comedian's act. you are permitted to mock others to a much larger degree if you mock your own shortcomings. people generally aren't looking to female comedians for their physical attributes.
posted by Hat Maui at 9:29 PM on March 5, 2008
*shoves Pastabagel's face nunder one of her prodigious fat rolls until he cries Uncle*
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:46 PM on March 5, 2008
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:46 PM on March 5, 2008
Female comedians make verbal jokes about the imperfections of their bodies, but men are more likely to flaunt them physically. All the women on that list make jokes about their bodies, but what I had in mind was something in the vein of what Musto is doing in the Lohan photoset - not just dressing as a woman, but flaunting his body for humorous effect.
I think you all pretty much nailed aspects what I had in mind - men have more freedom to be comfortable with their bodies, even if they are overweight, middle aged, or otherwise less than "ideal." That comfort level allows them to use their bodies to lampoon the culture of superficial physical attractiveness and overt sexuality. Imagine a woman of similar age and body type in the parody role of Musto's photos. It would be a different conversation, and probably an unpleasant one at that; about how she had let herself go, about how she was too old, about how she was overweight, about how her breasts and ass were imperfectly shaped, about how so-and-so would not hit that.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:21 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
I think you all pretty much nailed aspects what I had in mind - men have more freedom to be comfortable with their bodies, even if they are overweight, middle aged, or otherwise less than "ideal." That comfort level allows them to use their bodies to lampoon the culture of superficial physical attractiveness and overt sexuality. Imagine a woman of similar age and body type in the parody role of Musto's photos. It would be a different conversation, and probably an unpleasant one at that; about how she had let herself go, about how she was too old, about how she was overweight, about how her breasts and ass were imperfectly shaped, about how so-and-so would not hit that.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:21 PM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
I thought it was a brilliant riposte that I never would have guessed Musto had in him.
He's doing exactly the right thing, exaggerating those aspects of the Lohan photos that mimic the Monroe photos in order to remind everyone that the compelling part of the Monroe photos has less to do with the images themselves than it does with the circumstances in which they were taken.
I wonder if whoever agreed for Lohan to do this had any idea about the possible correlations lurking. Specifically that Monroe was kind of tragically going off the rails at that point. Did they want to re-create the photos with Lohan as a way of saying the same thing? Because that was the first thing that sprang to my mind.
The Lohan photos were weird, stupid pictures if you can stop oggling for a second a think about them. (I kind of wonder if the objective wasn't to make some 'iconic' images a-la Herb Ritts' photos of Madonna? Because it didn't quite work out that way.)
Did anyone else hover over the Shane McGowan link thinking, wait - he can't be posed like that Rose McGowan photo, can he?
And - about how she had let herself go, Do people really say that? I'm asking. Because then do people say that about my going bald? Man, From Bklyn is really letting his hair go...
posted by From Bklyn at 12:59 AM on March 6, 2008
He's doing exactly the right thing, exaggerating those aspects of the Lohan photos that mimic the Monroe photos in order to remind everyone that the compelling part of the Monroe photos has less to do with the images themselves than it does with the circumstances in which they were taken.
I wonder if whoever agreed for Lohan to do this had any idea about the possible correlations lurking. Specifically that Monroe was kind of tragically going off the rails at that point. Did they want to re-create the photos with Lohan as a way of saying the same thing? Because that was the first thing that sprang to my mind.
The Lohan photos were weird, stupid pictures if you can stop oggling for a second a think about them. (I kind of wonder if the objective wasn't to make some 'iconic' images a-la Herb Ritts' photos of Madonna? Because it didn't quite work out that way.)
Did anyone else hover over the Shane McGowan link thinking, wait - he can't be posed like that Rose McGowan photo, can he?
And - about how she had let herself go, Do people really say that? I'm asking. Because then do people say that about my going bald? Man, From Bklyn is really letting his hair go...
posted by From Bklyn at 12:59 AM on March 6, 2008
Ambrosia Voyeur writes "Rose McGowan (heavens to Betsy nsfw)"
OMG. I have this unshakeable image in my mind of Rose being, well maybe not wholesome but at least girl next doorish. Probably because I think of her as Paige. Then I see stuff like her "dress" at the MTV movie awards and it blows my mind.
posted by Mitheral at 9:57 PM on March 6, 2008
OMG. I have this unshakeable image in my mind of Rose being, well maybe not wholesome but at least girl next doorish. Probably because I think of her as Paige. Then I see stuff like her "dress" at the MTV movie awards and it blows my mind.
posted by Mitheral at 9:57 PM on March 6, 2008
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posted by mattoxic at 10:44 AM on March 5, 2008