Excessively obvious cinema means a cinema which “makes manifest what we and Hollywood already know” (www.mulholland-drive-net/studies/rl_connection.htm). This definition imparts an idea that what the Classical Hollywood cinema was showing in the late 1940s was a picture of people’s life in the society and a story of every person in a certain community. The best example for this is the movie “Gilda” starring Rita Hayworth, one of the bankable and daring actresses of her time. In the movie, Gilda is a singer and a dancer. She is married to Ballin Mundson who happens to own an established casino. Gilda is loved and valued by her husband and this becomes evident when her husband said “She is not a woman, she is my wife” (www.mulholland-drive-net/studies/rl_connection.htm) when asked about his wife by an associate. However, this love is not demonstrated for the husband portrays a role of a stereotype man who would rather show the society that he dominates his wife rather than show the woman how he values her. Gilda’s character, on the other hand, exemplifies a strong-willed woman who would do anything to realize her desires and needs in life. Typically, a beautiful woman would marry a wealthy man for money but Gilda does not reflect the same character. When Gilda marries Ballin she feels vengeful towards Johnny, Ballin’s friend. The man broke her heart so she thinks that through marrying Ballin she will be able to realize her revenge on Johnny (www.mulholland-drive-net/studies/rl_connection.htm). Gilda is referred to as a canary by her husband, thus, just like the bird she is treated like a prisoner and she is not allowed to participate in her husband’s business. This kind of treatment did not tame Gilda instead drives her to rebel and demonstrate
her will even more. As planned by Gilda, her sexual relationship with Johnny gets rekindled and their reconciliation materializes as Ballin bid goodbye to life through a plane crash. Gilda willingly marries Johnny who agrees to pursue the ceremony because of Gilda’s inheritance. Johnny turns out to be an opportunist and mean to the woman. He ruins Gilda’s life. The woman flees to a place far from her husband whereas the man enjoys his freedom. Later, when Johnny has apparently used up all of Gilda’s wealth and is struggling to survive the woman comes back and saves the man from the certainty of failing in life.
Most of those who have reviewed the film “Gilda” and have the knowledge of the lead role’s Rita Hayworth life story concluded that most of the experiences and situations shown in the film as portrayed by Rita are parallel to her very own experiences. For example, Rita used to be a dancer for she came from a family of dancers and stage performers. As a character in the movie, she demonstrated wit and great intellect by orchestrating a plan as to how she would be able to get Johnny back. In real life she did everything to attain stardom. She had undergone physically painful processes like electrolysis - raising her hairline, having her hair cut, bleached and later, colored as well as “de-ethnization” which put her nationality and ethnicity to risk. Thus, she was referred to as “manufactured”(McLean 1993). Rita Americanized herself to get to the peak of success. She gambled her reputation to get to Hollywood. Nevertheless, she never denied her citizenship and origin which others perceived as a sign of intelligence and great courage. Gilda married twice and had extra marital affairs whereas Rita had her first husband – Edward Jundson (sounds like Mundson), a second husband – Orson Welles who later on left her for Dolores del Rio, a wedding to Prince Ali Khan in 1949 and two more other men who took advantage of her passivity and merely fulfilled their dream of sleeping with Gilda. As she allegedly said “Every man I’ve known has fallen in love with Gilda and wakened with me” (www.muholland-drive-net/studies/rl_connection,htm). All were unhappy marriages. Gilda is a voluptuous creature, capable of getting hold of any man she meets along the way. Rita was herself a bomb. In fact, she was tagged as “The Love Goddess” in 1948 by Life Magazine. Then it was followed by a movie in which she did the role of Greek Goddess of Dance, Terpsichore (www.muholland-drive-net/studies/rl_connection,htm). This movie led her to more daring roles and fame. Gilda as a character fled when she felt the manipulation of her husband and came back, nonetheless, to help her husband when she learned of his sufferings. Rita as an actress demonstrated the same behavior. She went away when her popularity declined but came back and faced life’s difficulties until death took her. As an actress Rita’s influence and popularity cannot be denied. She was a metaphor for a bomb, in fact an atomic testing undertaken in Bikini Atoll was named after her. Madonna made her part of her song “Vogue” and Nicole Kidman portrayed a role which so much like Rita in “Moulin Rouge” (McLean 2003). The movie “Gilda” as a whole did not only reflect us the life of Rita Hayworth but illustrated the vulnerability and plight of women in the society during her time, specifically, those who have husbands like Ballin Mundson and Johnny. Despite Gilda’s demonstration of courage and intellect she was overcome by her husband’s masculinity which at that time was very much evident among women, a conviction which brought the idea double standard, which according to Tolstoy in “Ana Karenina” permits men to take advantage over women. This was portrayed well by Ballin with the help of his cane.
He managed their livelihood without Gilda’s involvement and whatever he wished for must be done not only because he is the manager but above all, he is the man. The use of casino and women in it mirrored men’s way of life in 1960s. The way men gave value to gambling and wine reflected real life’s situations. As a whole the movie let the viewers see what life is in the society, how millionaires like Ballin treats his wife and go about the ins and outs of gambling business, how men like Johnny abuses women having been weakened by love, and how women like Gilda gets back to life after the rejection. Viewers were not made to think by the movie considering that there was nothing left to think of about the scenes presented but instead they were made to see and feel each character. This example of an excessively obvious cinema let every viewer see what Gilda has and what she can do with it. Further, it led them to discover that a woman needs to not always stay behind a man but do something to make use of her intelligence and physical strength without being domineering.
References:
McLean, L. A. (2003). ‘I’m a Cansino’: Transformation, ethnicity and authenticity in the construction of Rita Hayworth, American Love Goddess.
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