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The SHOCK of 'Olympia' (Inspired by 'Venus of Urbino) Eduoard Manet (1865)

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The SHOCK of 'Olympia' (Inspired by 'Venus of Urbino) Eduoard Manet (1865)

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Culture Shock: The TV Series and Beyond: The Shock of the Nude: Manet's Olympia

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The Shock of the Nude presents a complex view of Manet. A member of Paris's upper-middle class, the artist was the only one of his contemporaries who didn't have to sell his paintings to earn a living. He enjoyed the benefits of his social position -- living where he chose and keeping company with cultural icons of the time.

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Not the Official Site for Uffizi - An Unofficial Guide to the Uffizi Gallery

This site uses cookies, both our own and third parties, to provide a better experience. By browsing our site, you agree to their use. OK Read More

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Venus of Urbino by Titian at Uffizi Gallery Florence

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Not the Official Site for Uffizi - An Unofficial Guide to the Uffizi Gallery This site uses cookies, both our own and third parties, to provide a better experience. By browsing our site, you agree to their use. OK Read More

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Restrictions of the 1950s: 'Carol' (2015)

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Restrictions of the 1950s: 'Carol' (2015)

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Carol and Therese in the store at Christmas time. STUDIOCANAL

An insistent clamour of bells and horns recurs throughout Carol, evoking the stifling, heavy atmosphere of conformity that overlay early 1950s America. An older woman, the wealthy, strikingly beautiful Carol (Cate Blanchett), starts an affair with young salesgirl and aspiring photographer, Therese (Rooney Mara). Carol is going through a divorce from her heavy-set, WASP-y husband, Harge (Kyle Chandler) - and at first it's far from clear what either woman wants from the relationship.

The two meet in the toy department of a large store, where Carol is looking for a particular doll for her daughter, Rindy's, Christmas present. In the event, the doll has sold out and Therese persuades Carol to buy her daughter a train set instead. But Carol leaves her gloves on the counter and, when Therese mails them back to her, Carol - for reasons that are delicately opaque - phones the department store to ask Therese if she can take her to lunch as a thank you. For Carol, though, the affair will turn out to be dangerous: her husband sets out to use evidence of her "moral failing" to claim sole custody of Rindy.

Carol is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt, which incorporated semi-autobiographical elements. The novel was originally published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan: 1950s America was not a time for an aspiring author to publish such a novel under her own name. Though it is not explicitly mentioned in the film, the 1950s saw the frenzy of McCarthyism sweep America - and homosexuality was almost as bad as communism in the eyes of McCarthy's witch-hunters.

This was a period when different understandings of homosexuality could come into conflict. It could be seen as a "moral" (or immoral) choice. It could also be seen as a mental deficiency or illness - and by that definition, it could perhaps be "cured". In one of the most moving scenes of the film, Carol's lawyer seeks to suggest that through psychotherapy, she has in fact been "cured", and is once more fit to have custody of Rindy. Much hinges in the emotional economy of the film on whether Carol will tell this lie about herself.

STUDIOCANAL

Lurid novels

Though Highsmith published in 1952 under a pseudonym, novels about lesbianism were not as uncommon as we might expect in 1950s America. In fact, there were many lurid "pulp" fiction examples, the (ostensible) purpose of which was to warn women that lesbianism was perverted, degenerate, or evil; that lesbians ended up lost, lonely, and suicidal; that they were wracked by self-loathing. Typical were lines such as this from Edwin West's Young and Innocent, published in 1960:

A sword of self-revulsion, carefully shielded, slipped its scabbard now for one second to stab deeply to the exposed core of her lesbianism.

The idea of lesbian love as a doomed affair appears earlier, too. The Well of Loneliness, a 1928 novel by British author Radclyffe Hall, presented lesbianism (or "inversion" as Hall thought of it) as natural, and not deserving of persecution. Yet Hall seemed to call on her audience to pity the unfortunate invert, who has only loneliness to look forward to.

The Price of Salt - and, in the same way, Carol - avoids the faded trope of doomed lesbian love. This was what made The Price of Salt different from the "pulp" lesbian fiction of the 1950s. Exquisitely paced, the film does not attempt to offer a complete resolution; we dwell with the characters as their love affair unfolds, and witness in its full horror the consequences which follow for both. And without revealing too much, we're left with a glimmer of the potential for future happiness.

STUDIOCANAL

Spurning stereotypes

But Carol isn't just a film about lesbian love in the 1950s - it powerfully evokes the restrictions placed on all women in the America of that time. Gender shapes every aspect of Carol and Therese's lives.

When the two women meet in the toy department, Carol is looking for a particular doll for Rindy, and Therese informs her of the doll's attractive features: among them, the fact that it wees itself. Thus are little girls prepared for their role in life.

Later, Therese visits Carol at her home in New Jersey. There are lingering shots of the imposing house in the snow, the elegant drawing room with its tasteful Christmas tree, Carol wrapping Rindy's train set by the fire, all serving to show us how little sense these scenes make when peopled by two women. These are the idealised images of an American family Christmas. They only work with a man in the picture, or about to arrive home, jovial and commanding, from a long day at work in the city.

STUDIOCANAL

It would have been easy to portray this missing man, Carol's husband Harge, as nothing more than the stereotypically domineering, brutish husband. But this doesn't happen. Even as he bullies and commands and demands and coerces, we get glimpses of his suffering, too. He appears to us as a man cut off from his emotions, and now suddenly, painfully deprived of one of the most important coordinates of his masculinity: his beautiful wife.

The film also does well not to present Carol and Therese as existing in a world with no lesbian subcultures. 1950s America was, despite (or perhaps because of) its frenzies of homophobia, the backdrop for the development of more clearly defined and self-conscious subcultures than had ever existed before. When Therese is checked out by two fashionably dressed young women, we get a glimpse into a hidden world where lesbians met each other relatively openly - playing on softball teams or frequenting gay bars.

In the end, though, this is really a film about Carol and Therese and the slow, cautious, confused, confusing unfolding of their love for each other. It is also about how they constitute themselves as individuals in a culture which attempts to profoundly restrict their ability as women to do that.

In not falling into any of the stereotypes or traps to be expected from it, Carol is highly, highly commended.

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Carol review: stunning 1950s tale of two women in love

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An insistent clamour of bells and horns recurs throughout Carol, evoking the stifling, heavy atmosphere of conformity that overlay early 1950s America. An older woman, the wealthy, strikingly beautiful Carol (Cate Blanchett), starts an affair with young salesgirl and aspiring photographer, Therese (Rooney Mara).

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MODERN FAMILY CLIP - GOOD COP BAD COP. On Blu-ray and DVD NOW.

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Uploaded by FoxHomeEntertainment UK on 2013-02-18.

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Last week, I read that a Texas teenager made $300,000 the old-fashioned way: Maya Van Wagenen wrote a memoir about her experiences following the advice from "Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide" - an etiquette book published in 1958 - and then got a movie deal.

Cornell's book details all the essentials a girl needs to know to be popular in the 1950s - from diet to clothing to being a proper hostess.

I was intrigued. Would a guide to becoming a popular teenager in mid-century America still be relevant to someone like myself - a 14-year-old high school freshman living on the Upper East Side in 2013? I had to find out.

However, the first challenge was finding an actual copy of the book, which hasn't been in print for decades. I finally tracked one down at the New York Public Library. In the dated book, Betty made this promise:

"I don't care who she may be, every girl wants to be attractive and popular. To get to be that kind of girl, all you have to do is try some of my suggestions."

With that in mind, I proceeded to spend a week in the squeaky-clean shoes of Betty Cornell's ideal teenager. Here, I share my experience:

"Hair"

Normally I wash my hair every other day, but Betty recommends washing it at least once a week, so I gave myself a two-day break in between shampoos. She also says to brush your locks 100 times before bed and set your hair with rag curlers at least once a week. "Beautiful hair is about the most important thing a girl has," she writes. I attempted the rag curlers, but apparently I didn't do it properly because I woke up with them scattered all around my pillow. I was religious with the 100 strokes, even if it meant staying up an extra five to 10 minutes every night. I did notice a change in my hair about halfway through the week - it became considerably glossier. It has never looked better, so I might continue this.

"Skin Problems"

As a busy teenager, I just scrub when I remember to, which is pretty sad. Betty warns, "The two big troublemakers in skin conditions are diet and dirt. Too much chocolate and too little soap and water are the basic irritants." Since I don't eat too much junk food, I figured I'd have to concentrate on the washing. The book suggests massaging a generous amount of cleansing cream into the skin, letting it sit for at least two minutes and then washing it with soap and water.

This was perhaps the most laborious part of my new lifestyle. I would wake up every morning 10 minutes earlier than usual just to carry out the prescribed steps. First, I had to rinse my face under hot water, to open up the pores. Then I had to thoroughly scrub my face with soap (I used a regular face wash) for a few minutes, making sure to massage my face to keep circulation moving. Finally, I had to wash the soap off with cold water to close up the pores. The book even recommended using ice cubes to get the soap off. I did not try this.

I did get more frequent 'hurry up' banging on the bathroom door than usual from my parents. Though none of my friends noticed my new glow, my skin did feel a lot better after this thorough scrub twice a day, although I admittedly did not use a cleansing cream before the ritual, as recommended - I couldn't find it anywhere.

"What To Wear Where"

Most days, I wear jeans, a sweater and Uggs. However, the book suggests something more polished - the illustrations show a fuller skirt with fitted sweater, so I relied on below-the-knee skirts, Peter Pan collars, sweaters and dresses - mostly in Betty's suggested neutrals of navy blue, gray or green. She also instructs teens to wear saddle shoes to school, but my interpretation - Oxfords and short heels in brown and black - were a little strange for a modern teenage girl to wear. All of my outfits were accented with a strand of pearls because Betty says, "Fads come and go, but a simple string of small pearls is still a young girl's best friend."

At first I got lots of strange looks from my friends. Halfway through history class, someone asked me why I was dressed like a history teacher. There were a few whispers and some laughing, but I didn't mind. The Oxfords were stiff and gave me blisters, so I had to ditch them in favor of ballet flats. Still, I felt really feminine since my usual jeans and sweaters aren't very gender specific.

Playing dress-up was both the most difficult and most fun part of my experiment. Though I couldn't help but wonder how anyone could become popular by wearing Peter Pan collars and long skirts to school. Even though I felt very elegant, I did miss my jeans. A lot.

"Teen-Age Exercises"

I am a swimmer, so getting exercise is never an issue. I like to be fit and toned so that I feel healthy, but Betty suggests it's more about looking like a model. "What we're all striving for is a well-developed, well-proportioned figure, straight shoulders, small waist and hips, well-shaped legs and thin ankles, so you too can stand up - smile and be proud," she says.

The book showed an array of exercises, which seemed similar to Pilates and good old-fashioned stretching. The model demonstrating it in the book is wearing an Audrey Hepburn-style black outfit with a neckerchief. The moves consisted of extending and alternatively lifting your legs off the floor to tone them, rocking back and forth on your hips and circling your ankles to slim them.

The exercises were fairly ridiculous. My fourth-grade gym class was more taxing than these. I swim regularly and exercise on top of that. But if I had to rely on just these movements, I'd have to cut back on my snacking even more. And who wears a neckerchief to work out!?

"Figure Problems"

Junk food has never been an issue for me. Usually I eat yogurt for breakfast, salad for lunch and chicken for dinner, with lots of fruit in between. I do eat a lot, but my food choices, like tons of fruit, would get the thumbs up from the first lady. I am not so sure about Betty Cornell. She suggests no snacking in between meals. Cornell recommends never skipping breakfast and forgoing salad dressings and chicken, avocado and tuna fish on your salads (too oily). Sample meals consist of proteins like ground-beef patties or lean roast beef with spinach and stewed apricots. Meals were taken with tomato juice and milk.

Per Betty's suggestion, I ate soft-boiled egg for breakfast, a salad for lunch and a ground-beef patty for dinner. The book really focused on cutting out snacks such as cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ice cream, which is a very good idea.

I had a very hard time surviving from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a soft-boiled egg and a piece of toast - "watch that butter!" warns Betty. I was famished. I felt full in the evening, though, and I really enjoyed my soft-boiled eggs. But I missed granola. And the ground-beef patties were probably the bane of my existence. Also, a glass of milk with meat is just inhumane.

"The Mail in Your Life"

The book devotes a lot of space to the art of writing a letter. According to Betty, "Letters are still, in spite of telegraphs and telephones, one of the most pleasant things in life." But like most modern-day teenage girls, I usually send e-mails to everyone I need to get in touch with. In fact, I don't remember the last time I wrote a letter that wasn't a customary "thank-you" note. I couldn't forgo texting and e-mailing altogether, but I tried my hand at a few letters to friends and my aunt in Vermont.

Writing a letter almost felt entirely new to me. My handwriting isn't the best, so I had to work on it a lot with an old ballpoint pen that was in the house. Even though I did not write a lot of letters, the process itself was quaint and elegant. I quite enjoyed getting out my stationary that I bought at Barnes and Noble and some cutesy cards I have from Hallmark, and sitting down at my desk with my laptop closed.

Conclusion

Although I wondered how this lifestyle could possibly make anyone more popular, I did feel a lot more elegant, composed and energized by the end of the week. It was a lot of fun to step into the shoes of a 1950s teenager - but for me, the experiment had a shelf life. If I knew there was a six-figure book deal behind a year's worth of this proper behavior, I'd be Betty Cornell's most devoted pupil. But since this idea is already taken, I think I'll adopt some of the hair and skin tips and pass on the daily ground-beef patties, rigorous primping and stiff saddle shoes."

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Last week, I read that a Texas teenager made $300,000 the old-fashioned way: Maya Van Wagenen wrote a memoir about her experiences following the advice from "Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide" - an etiquette book published in 1958 - and then got a movie deal.

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Angel is a writer on the Original Content team at LittleThings. Check out her articles about crucial tips on female and doggie health. She loves to take long walks, volunteer with kids, try new food, browse through burger recipes, and code in her spare time. Feel free to let her know what you'd like to see her write up next.

It's so fascinating to learn about how people used to live - especially when we discover that not much has really changed.

However, sometimes you come across some old traditions that you simply can't believe people ever followed - like these odd dating rituals throughout history.

But what women in the 1950s were expected to do for their husbands? Well, those traditions have certainly flown right out the window!

In May of 1955, Housekeeping Monthly published an article entitled, "The Good Wife's Guide," detailing all the ways that a wife should act and how best she can be a partner to her husband and a mother to her children.

It may feel a little strange to accept these rules today, but it remains so interesting to see how society once behaved.

Scroll further to see what rules mothers and housewives once had to follow, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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This 1955 'Good House Wife's Guide' Explains How Wives Should Treat Their Husbands

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It's so fascinating to learn about how people used to live - especially when we discover that not much has really changed. However, sometimes you come across some old traditions that you simply can't believe people ever followed - like these odd dating rituals throughout history.

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1950s Family Values: 'Leave it to Beaver'

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1950s Family Values: 'Leave it to Beaver'

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Wally is studying stocks and bonds, and he is having a hard time understanding them. He asks his father, Ward, for help. In addition to explaining the difference between stocks and bonds, Ward offers to help the boys learn trading. This clip is from the episode, "Stocks and Bonds."