Review of Now, Voyager (1942) by Veronique K — 09 Apr 2010

The GAYNESS in now, voyager...

Chuck Kleinhans in "Rehearsal for a Theory of Subtextual Readings" notes on Now Yoyager:

"Consider Now Voyager. The plot portrays the gradual emergence of repressed mousy spinster (Bette Davis) into a sexually active matture woman under the tutelage of a wise older man (Claude Rains). This emergent butterfly metaphor. while certainly being a universally understood pattern within our culture, has a special resonance for amany gay men who themselves have experienced or who are experiencing the conditions of discovering and exploring one's sexuality which has been repressed within the family and other insitutions. In other words, identification with the character and situation is very strong. This is visually enhanced because of the changes in the Davis character are signalled in changing dress, hair, style, and physical bearing - precisely those areas which gay men often publically present their resistance to dominant heterosexual norm.".

Andrew Ross' "use of camp" notes:

"it was Davis' willed evasion of this fate that her fans saw reflected in the nervous and impetuous intensity with which she invests the celebrated "bitchiness" into her roles . . . While the wide range of her mannered repertoire is often reduced in camp caricature to the famously over-used cigarette, or her wildly rolling eyes, it is clear that the sense of irony she conveyed through such gestures was more of a performance about the performance of her roles, rather than one which comfortably interpreted these roles. In contrast to Joan Crawford's earnest control over her roles, Davis could separate voice and body, image and discourse, and play off one against the other. But Mae West is the star who most professionally exploits the ironies of artifice when, like a female drag queen, she represents a woman who parodies a burlesque woman, and then seems to take on the role for real, as a way of successfully fielding every kind of masculine response known to woman. West pioneered a new bold, no-nonsense, no-romance relation with sex, while the sexual ambiguities of Garbo, Dietrichm and Hepburn all produced variations of androgyny-as-spectacle: prince of passivity, bird of paradise, and go-getter.".

Good to read some prestiged author announces bette is actually CAMPIER than joan...LOL. since joan is just "earnestly controlling" her roles. imagine now, voyager as a drag, gee, that would be fun!