"Mr. [DeMille/Williams/Wayne], I'm ready for my close up!"

Pretty soon into the play, it seemed clear to me that Williams was drawing on a number of other characters in his creation of the Princess, Alexandra del Lago. In particular, she seems similar (a little too similar for my taste) to Norma Desmond of Sunset Boulevard, a movie made nine years before Sweet Bird of Youth. Del Lago, like Desmond,  is an aging movie star who tries to stage a comeback and fails. She starts a romantic/sexual relationship with a man who acts as a financial parasite. And, of course, reference is made by both del Lago and Desmond to the dreaded close up. In Act One, Scene One (page 34 in my edition), Princess says, "The camera advances and you stand still and your head, your face, is caught in the frame of the picture with the light blazing on it and all your terrible history screams while you smile." Hmm... sounds familiar. Perhaps because that same nightmarish sentiment is captured in Sunset Boulevard's infamous climactic scene in which Desmond goes mad obsessing over the close-ups that will reveal her changed appearance in her comeback film. I've linked to the scene so you can decide for yourself whether Williams borrowed too heavily. I mean, Desmond even calls herself "The Princess"in reference to her role....

But putting the issue of similarity to the side, I think both the movie scene and the scene in the play approach capturing how painful it can be for women who suffer because they are valued as things to be viewed. How successful are they in expressing that idea? I'm not certain. Many viewers and readers will pity Desmond and del Lago, sure, but I'm concerned by the madness and addiction that plague both characters. For me, it seems to almost bridge into stereotypes surrounding female hysteria and instability. Additionally, I'm not sure readers and viewers outside of our class who aren't familiar with Mulvey and the theory of the (straight) male gaze will necessarily read the works as critical of social structures. I think it may be all too easy for the texts to be seen as extending pity to women who can't handle getting old or losing fame. And I'm not sure pitying female characters who are depicted as highly flawed in stereotypical ways really does much for feminist causes. But hey, maybe others read the scenes differently than I do. I'd be interested to know and hear from you guys.

by Jack Flynn