Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Dangerous Beauty

One Saturday night (or it might have been Friday, I don't really remember, but that's beside the point), I watched Dangerous Beauty with some friends from the class.  To our surprise, we thought it was an interesting film, and it kept our attention all the way through - however, for most of the movie we were trying to figure out where we had seen the actor who played Marco before (it's A Knight's Tale, in case you were wondering).  I have to admit, I felt pretty bad for poor Veronica.  All she wanted was to be with Marco, and things kept pulling them apart.  However, she did do pretty well for herself, selling her body aside.  And I also think that Marco was a little bit of an idiot, first turning her down, and then wanting her all to himself after she became independent.  Make up your mind, man!

It shocked me at first that the most educated women were the prostitutes, but I guess they would need some substance for the pillow talk with their high-end clients.  To be perfectly honest, I also thought it was unfair.  If a woman wanted to learn, her best chance was to become a courtesan.  It sort of stifles the woman empowerment a little.  Also, I thought that the "learning how to be seductive" lessons mirrored slightly etiquette and "how to be a lady" lessons, minus the "how to touch a man" and "how to eat bananas" part.

I was also appalled that Veronica's mom encouraged her to become a prostitute, but after reading the Roper reading it made more sense to me.  Not only was it the only way she could ever hope to get with Marco, but she also earned a great deal of money for her family.  On a similar note, I was surprised that the mother, who was once a courtesan, was able to overcome the stigmas associated with her former profession and become a respectable woman.

Finally, I noticed that, like in the readings and in lecture, the local prostitutes were made available for visiting dignitaries.  But then again, what else would you expect for a visiting king?  Bring out the fine china, bake the best food, make the most desirable prostitutes available.  You want to make a good impression, after all.

No comments:

Post a Comment