Gentlemen prefer blondes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Gentlemen prefer blondes - Essay Example The novel takes a narrative of Lorelei’s personal account as she wanders, shops in fancy stores, and dines with men of recognizable popularity and fat pockets. Featuring a satirical approach in presenting a popular culture’s stereotypes towards blonde women during the 1920s, Blondes is said to be amusing, mirthful, and gay, but â€Å"full of shrewd observation and devastating irony† (Frost 292). Anita Loos: Experience and Life in Understanding the Novel Anita Loos was early exposed in the world of theater when his father worked as a theater manager after becoming unemployed as a newspaper publisher. Also, she earns knowledge about acting when she starts the craft from her early childhood up until her teens (Szpytko 1). Most of the time, she happens to be the center of attention every time she joins a particular play, and her father is extremely proud of her (Loos and Beauchamp 9). Aside from acting once in a while, Anita is also considered as a â€Å"child prodi gy† as she started writing scripts when she was 12 although reports told that she was already 24 years old when she sold her first book (Loos and Beauchamp 11). Also, when she reached 20 years old, she is already considered as a â€Å"professional screenwriter,† who prolifically worked in over 60 silent films and talkies (Szpytko 1). Moreover, her influences are invariably philosophy readings and the society pages of the New York newspapers (Loos and Beauchamp 11). The early 1900s is characterized as the age of Jazz and the â€Å"Roaring Age of Twenties,† the phenomenal â€Å"flamboyant flapper,† and the age where baring skin becomes a trend (Szpytko 1). During that period also, Anita Loos wrote scripts and stories, which she submitted to various film companies including Biograph production, Mutual production, and D. W. Griffith’s affiliated film outfit (Loos and Beauchamp 13). As a curious child, teen, and young adult, Anita has a penchant for exam ining the lives of the upper class Americans (13). She also has a series of rich boyfriends, which she admittedly dumped and sent to tears when she got bored of the relationship (14). Hence, Anita considers herself â€Å"a failure as a gold digger† (14). However, the significant experience she had when she was young was when H.L. Mencken, a formidable journalist of the early 1990s, to whom she devoted admiration was in fact had a penchant for blonde women. She characterizes one particular blonde woman as empty-headed, leaving her puzzled as to why men compete over a blonde’s attention. As a result, Loos makes careful conversations with herself regarding the status of blonde women in the society. Right then, Loos thinks that blonde women must belong to a certain kind of class that can be considered a privilege. Her novel speaks of this contention. Some aspects of Loos’s story reflect in her masterpiece as the theme of the book reveals women’s fascination o ver a diamond â€Å"that lives forever,† which is both an analogy of women’s inclination towards beauty and material possessions, and a satirical approach in stereotyping women particularly those who are blonde (Snodgrass 335). Anita’s encounters with rich men and the timing of the Great Depression all contribute to her amusing yet meaningful depiction of women in her age. Knowing the author’s background somehow gives readers a deeper understanding of the issues that surround the plot of the novel. It gives readers an added perspective in digesting the