Great stuff as always, Graley.Your piece brings to mind the Gorgeous George moment in I’m Not There (obviously riffing on Chronicles) as well as Cate Blanchett’s performance in the movie (obviously riffing on Dylan’s “androgynous” period). Your observations on burlesque and Dylan’s performances really have me thinking. Imagine being so influenced by burlesque yet not adopting any of the overt trappings of burlesque. (Or maybe we don’t have to imagine it since we can just witness Dylan).
It's interesting that "burlesque" derives from the Italian "burla": to joke, mock, or ridicule. It initially derived from vaudeville, a more readily apparent influence on Dylan, before assuming its more risque elements.
While we're on the subject, one of my research sources suggested that "drag" was originally an acronym for "dressed resembling a girl." I don't know if that's true or not. But would that make Cate Blanchett a "drab" performer?
When you described Gorgeous George's appeal in the beginning, I immediately thought of drag culture, and how iconic villain behaviour is celebrated– it's so interesting to see a mainstream example of this, and the impact it had on so many. This essay also deals with some topics I've been thinking about for my Denmark paper. I can't wait to hear yours, because these outtakes are already so good!
Wonderful! I can't wait to hear your Denmark paper, too, Laura. Glad to hear that we're already tuning into some similar frequencies. We'll turn up the pirate radio full blast in Odense!
And while we are on this sort of thing, Dylan and I grew up with curly hair...I think this also affects the personal relationship to masculinity. No data though!
Great 3rd essay in this series. Somewhat unrelated, have you thought about Dylan's height, maybe especially important when he's was about 15 to 20? Not easy to fit in as a macho man if you are 5 6 or 7. As with his guitar playing, he was searching for a niche as a man and hoping to attract and keep a woman...peter
Interesting that you should mention height, Peter. Gorgeous George might have inspired Bobby Zimmerman on this front, too. Even though George Wagner's wrestling persona had a larger-than-life ego, he was actually only 5 feet 9 inches tall himself. But in the ring he was a giant!
Great stuff as always, Graley.Your piece brings to mind the Gorgeous George moment in I’m Not There (obviously riffing on Chronicles) as well as Cate Blanchett’s performance in the movie (obviously riffing on Dylan’s “androgynous” period). Your observations on burlesque and Dylan’s performances really have me thinking. Imagine being so influenced by burlesque yet not adopting any of the overt trappings of burlesque. (Or maybe we don’t have to imagine it since we can just witness Dylan).
It's interesting that "burlesque" derives from the Italian "burla": to joke, mock, or ridicule. It initially derived from vaudeville, a more readily apparent influence on Dylan, before assuming its more risque elements.
While we're on the subject, one of my research sources suggested that "drag" was originally an acronym for "dressed resembling a girl." I don't know if that's true or not. But would that make Cate Blanchett a "drab" performer?
D.R.A.B. but hardly drab! Those acronym etymologies are usually spurious. “Dress resembling a girl” doesn’t even sound like English.
When you described Gorgeous George's appeal in the beginning, I immediately thought of drag culture, and how iconic villain behaviour is celebrated– it's so interesting to see a mainstream example of this, and the impact it had on so many. This essay also deals with some topics I've been thinking about for my Denmark paper. I can't wait to hear yours, because these outtakes are already so good!
Wonderful! I can't wait to hear your Denmark paper, too, Laura. Glad to hear that we're already tuning into some similar frequencies. We'll turn up the pirate radio full blast in Odense!
And while we are on this sort of thing, Dylan and I grew up with curly hair...I think this also affects the personal relationship to masculinity. No data though!
He must have felt the odds were against him, the world positioned for his own failure.
Great 3rd essay in this series. Somewhat unrelated, have you thought about Dylan's height, maybe especially important when he's was about 15 to 20? Not easy to fit in as a macho man if you are 5 6 or 7. As with his guitar playing, he was searching for a niche as a man and hoping to attract and keep a woman...peter
Interesting that you should mention height, Peter. Gorgeous George might have inspired Bobby Zimmerman on this front, too. Even though George Wagner's wrestling persona had a larger-than-life ego, he was actually only 5 feet 9 inches tall himself. But in the ring he was a giant!