Payton Ewalt - Core Post #1

When reading Brown's piece on Audrey Hepburn, the phrase that kept returning to my mind was "the People's Princess." Even though the phrase was first publicly said about Princess Diana, I couldn't help but think that Hepburn was the blueprint, or at least a perfect fit for the phrase. Her character in Roman Holiday embodies everything that Princess Di earned that nickname for; that undeniable European heavenliness yet accessibility to people in the real world. According to Brown, Hepburn represents leisure, travel, beauty, fashion, war, holidays; things that all nationalities aspire to have at the level she displays in her films. "What nationality Hepburn is or was is not as important, however, as... her very lack of identifiable origin is what allows this actress... to arrive as an "event" (Brown 134).

A modern star that has been given the name is Anya Taylor Joy, or any celebrity that demonstrates a down to Earth, non-star like quality while audiences clearly still hold them to that celebrity distinction. It's used now more as a joke, like Ayo Edebiri being the people's princess of Ireland despite having no relation to the country. Similarly in Korean pop culture, some stars like Lee Ji Eun (IU) have received titles like ‘the nation’s little sister.’ Though her nickname is very much related to her identity as a Korean idol there is a similarity in their femininity as one not belonging to the definition of the “mammary woman.” They often display the Hepburn-like femininity of demureness but independence, a distinct “funny face” that is striking to look at and has an ethereal innocence to it. A look and a thin body that seems to never have known hard labor. She’s the attainable girl-next-door (or girl above the garage) that’s naturally predisposed to European properness.

An interesting fact Brown brings up is Hepburn’s relation to fashion – her relationship with Givenchy and the want for her fans to dress like her (I am not immune to this want). Even stars of today that are known for relationships with their stylists (like Zendaya and Law Roach) don’t commit to the old Hollywood level of being styled both on and off screen to create the “holiness” that Brown points out. It’s hard to think of a stylist-star duo that has done more for creating a high-fashion image than Hepburn and Givenchy, so much so that it’s even referenced in her films (How to Steal a Million, Peter O’Toole has a line saying her disguise to rob the museum will “give Givenchy a night off.” It’s interesting to me then, to have her posed as an event, unlike Garbo who was an “idea.”

Can a majority of the stars of this era, as opposed to the silent era of Garbo, be categorized as an event? How can we categorize our movie stars in this way today (if we can at all)?

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