Tracing the dangers and the power of beauty throughout time = double edged sword

Transition in our appreciation of beauty

Helen of Troy
Power of Beauty on men
Mythological aspect surrounding her
beauty i.e. immortalised, defining feature
Anachronistic terms used in descriptions of
her beauty
Uncertainty surrounding her fate
Possessive nature of mens appreciation of
her
They stood in line, signed, knelt beseeched,
Be Mine
Clasped in heros brawn



Cleopatra: Manipulative power of beauty
Immortalised aspect of her beauty She never aged
Power of beauty and sensuality over men His solders marched, eyes right, her way
Beauty as an enabling factor of female
dominance and power
Seen him kneel to pick her up, she had him
gibbering in bed by twelve


Monroe
Contrast with the previous two negative effect of beauty, did not give her power
Commentary on cult of celebrity, exploitation
Commodification of women
Commodification of beauty
Economic exploitation
Her hair was platinum, her teeth gems, her
eyes sapphires pressed by a bankers
thumb
her skin investors gold, her fingernails
mother of pearl, her voice champaign to sip
from her lips
Superficiality and artificiality Sponged at her puffy face, painting the
beauty on in khaki, pinks blues
Her strong resemblance to herself, the dark
roots of her pubic hair
Victim of her own beauty and its
exploitation coupled with ironic
immortalisation
They filmed her harder and harder
The filmed on, deep, dumped what they
couldnt use on the cutting room floor,
filmed more,


Princess Diana: portrayal of her innocence and purity to accentuate her victimisation
Commodification/ exploitation of beauty by the media
Commentary on the irony of the cult of celebrity
Superficiality, ironic harmful nature of the
publics infatuation
Public infatuation:
Under her spell , swore that what she wore
theyd wear, coloured their hair
To stare and stare and stare
(turns sinister) They gaped as her bones
danced gawped
historys stinking breath in her face
Capitalisation of the media
Their disrespect for her as a person, only
value her aesthetic qualities and what she
can give them
The cameras gibbered away
Act like a fucking princess, how they loved
her, the men from the press give us a
smile cunt.
The flashbulbs
Tragedy of her loss Her innocence
The far reaching grief
Her immortalisation in death
The acres of flowers