Catherine was great. But Was That Girl Boss?


Before ending in a mostly empty gesture of solidarity, “Six” simplifies and updates many of these women, transforming Anne Boleyn, a clever political actress, into a shrewd good-time girl, and framing Katherine Howard, an blatant victim of abuse. barely legal teasing. (“Lock your husbands, lock up your sons/ K-Howard is here and the fun has begun.”) A nod to pop norms, the costume design sexualizes each woman by combining her values ​​with their sexy.

In her song, Henry’s widow, Katherine Parr, reminds listeners of their success:

I wrote books, psalms and meditations,

fought for the education of women

So all my women could read the scripture independently.

I even got a woman to draw my picture

Why can’t I tell this story?

So why can’t he? Instead, the songs in “Six” center the women’s relationships with Henry, emphasizing Henry’s attraction to them (or rejection of them) more than the spouses’ achievements. “The things these women did, whether they were all married to this woman or not, should be of historical interest. [expletive] Man,” said Jessica Keene, a history professor who studies the Tudor era.

This substitution of sexuality for perfection can even extend to more enlightened shows. The sewing circle episode of “Dickinson” features a dynamic cameo from Sojourner Truth, played by the writer and talk show host ziwe. Because “Dickinson” is extremely self-aware, he jokes about Ziwe’s teenage looks (“I’m roughly 66 years old but I look good as hell”) and Truth’s 19th century sex bomb vibe (“Oh, they’ll know.” Me. I am a woman in this dress”).



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *