Mae West: an icon in black and white
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Description
"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" Mae West invited and promptly captured the imagination of generations. Even today, years after her death, the actress and author is still regarded as the pop archetype of sexual wantonness and ribald humor. But who was this saucy starlet, a woman who was controversial enough to be jailed, pursued by film censors and banned from the airwaves for the revolutionary content of her work, and yet would ascend to the status of film legend? Sifting through previously untapped sources, author Jill Watts unravels the enigmatic life of Mae West, tracing her early years spent in the Brooklyn subculture of boxers and underworld figures, and follows her journey through burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway and, finally, Hollywood, where she quickly became one of the big screen's most popular--and colorful--stars. Exploring West's penchant for contradiction and her carefully perpetuated paradoxes, Watts convincingly argues that Mae West borrowed heavily from African American culture, music, dance and humor, creating a subversive voice for herself by which she artfully challenged society and its assumptions regarding race, class and gender. Viewing West as a trickster, Watts demonstrates that by appropriating for her character the black tradition of double-speak and "signifying," West also may have hinted at her own African-American ancestry and the phenomenon of a black woman passing for white. This absolutely fascinating study is the first comprehensive, interpretive account of Mae West's life and work. It reveals a beloved icon as a radically subversive artist consciously creating her own complex image.
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Subjects
Subjects
Acting & Auditioning
Biographies
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Entertainment & Performing Arts
Civilisation
collective biographies
Electronic books
Entertainment & Performing Arts
États-Unis -- Civilisation -- Influence noire américaine
Film
Filmkunst
Films
Influence noire américaine
Motion picture actors and actresses
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography
PERFORMING ARTS
PERFORMING ARTS -- Acting & Auditioning
Relations with African Americans
United States
USA
West, Mae
West, Mae -- Relations with African Americans
Biographies
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Entertainment & Performing Arts
Civilisation
collective biographies
Electronic books
Entertainment & Performing Arts
États-Unis -- Civilisation -- Influence noire américaine
Film
Filmkunst
Films
Influence noire américaine
Motion picture actors and actresses
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography
PERFORMING ARTS
PERFORMING ARTS -- Acting & Auditioning
Relations with African Americans
United States
USA
West, Mae
West, Mae -- Relations with African Americans
More Details
Contributors:
ISBN:
9780198026518
9780195347678
9780195347678
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 7b7aaff8-4cee-db3c-986c-071aa0a55f1c |
---|---|
Grouping Title | mae west an icon in black and white |
Grouping Author | jill watts |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-04-05 21:12:39PM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-25 22:19:28PM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Watts, Jill, 1958-
author2-role
ProQuest (Firm)
author_display
Watts, Jill
display_description
"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" Mae West invited and promptly captured the imagination of generations. Even today, years after her death, the actress and author is still regarded as the pop archetype of sexual wantonness and ribald humor. But who was this saucy starlet, a woman who was controversial enough to be jailed, pursued by film censors and banned from the airwaves for the revolutionary content of her work, and yet would ascend to the status of film legend? Sifting through previously untapped sources, author Jill Watts unravels the enigmatic life of Mae West, tracing her early years spent in the Brooklyn subculture of boxers and underworld figures, and follows her journey through burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway and, finally, Hollywood, where she quickly became one of the big screen's most popular--and colorful--stars. Exploring West's penchant for contradiction and her carefully perpetuated paradoxes, Watts convincingly argues that Mae West borrowed heavily from African American culture, music, dance and humor, creating a subversive voice for herself by which she artfully challenged society and its assumptions regarding race, class and gender. Viewing West as a trickster, Watts demonstrates that by appropriating for her character the black tradition of double-speak and "signifying," West also may have hinted at her own African-American ancestry and the phenomenon of a black woman passing for white. This absolutely fascinating study is the first comprehensive, interpretive account of Mae West's life and work. It reveals a beloved icon as a radically subversive artist consciously creating her own complex image.
id
7b7aaff8-4cee-db3c-986c-071aa0a55f1c
isbn
9780195347678
9780198026518
9780198026518
last_indexed
2024-04-26T04:19:28.654Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
primary_isbn
9780198026518
publishDate
2001
2003
2003
publisher
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Entertainment & Performing Arts
Biographies
Electronic books
États-Unis -- Civilisation -- Influence noire américaine
Film
Filmkunst
Films
Motion picture actors and actresses
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography
PERFORMING ARTS -- Acting & Auditioning
Relations with African Americans
USA
United States
West, Mae
West, Mae -- Relations with African Americans
collective biographies
Biographies
Electronic books
États-Unis -- Civilisation -- Influence noire américaine
Film
Filmkunst
Films
Motion picture actors and actresses
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography
PERFORMING ARTS -- Acting & Auditioning
Relations with African Americans
USA
United States
West, Mae
West, Mae -- Relations with African Americans
collective biographies
title_display
Mae West : an icon in black and white
title_full
Mae West : An Icon in Black and White Watts, Jill.
Mae West : an icon in black and white / Jill Watts
Mae West [electronic resource] : an icon in black and white / Jill Watts
Mae West : an icon in black and white / Jill Watts
Mae West [electronic resource] : an icon in black and white / Jill Watts
title_short
Mae West
title_sub
an icon in black and white
topic_facet
Acting & Auditioning
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Civilisation
Entertainment & Performing Arts
Film
Filmkunst
Films
Influence noire américaine
Motion picture actors and actresses
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography
PERFORMING ARTS
Relations with African Americans
West, Mae
West, Mae -- Relations with African Americans
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Civilisation
Entertainment & Performing Arts
Film
Filmkunst
Films
Influence noire américaine
Motion picture actors and actresses
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Biography
PERFORMING ARTS
Relations with African Americans
West, Mae
West, Mae -- Relations with African Americans
Solr Details Tables
item_details
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record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
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ebraryccu:EBC431362 | eBook | eBook | English | Oxford University Press | 2003, c2001 | x, 374 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. | ||
ebscoccu:ocn316719694 | eBook | eBook | English | Oxford University Press | 2001 | 1 online resource (x, 374 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations | ||
fortlewisebscoebooksub:ocn316719694 | eBook | eBook | English | Oxford University Press | 2001 | 1 online resource (x, 374 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations | ||
ebscoacademiccmc:ocn316719694 | eBook | eBook | English | Oxford University Press | 2001 | 1 online resource (x, 374 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations | ||
proquestebookwestern:EBC431362 | eBook | eBook | English | Oxford University Press, Incorporated | 2001 | 1 online resource (401 pages) |