Suicide Girls: The First Tour
Suicide Girls: The First Tour
I watched the Showtime special tonight about the Suicide Girls first tour and I am feeling mildly conflicted about what I saw. The film was part interviews, part burlesque, part Girls Gone Wild and part music video. Several girls were interviewed, shown interacting with other Suicide Girls and then performing on stage in front of a crowd. I have been a fan of Suicide Girls since I first saw the debut film on Showtime introducing who and what they were about last year. Since then, it has become a globe-trotting burlesque show and now many disaffected young girls dream of becoming an SG. I have always had a weakness for goth chicks and I thought that this film would be an entertaining look at some of the women who have earned the title of SG. However, while I was watching the film, I had mixed feelings about all of it.
Yes, I know that SG is about art and entertainment and, ordinarily, I would recuse myself from any comment about such things but I was disturbed by several things. Mostly, some girls talked about how good it felt to be "around other people like them" and I found that disturbing. First of all, I thought SG was about individuality and uniqueness. I got the impression from the film that everyone was trying to be so very unique that they were becoming LIKE each other. I have seen this happen before inside a local corner bar that I frequent, but it became clear to me that this film showed the Suicide Girls as a group and a club. Yes, they all look different, but I was drawn to the fact that they were still, despite their non-comformist attitudes, conforming to a group. I could easily see how much they wanted to have a sense of belonging and they were finding it in SG and in the comradery of the other girls.
Several girls commented that when they were performing on stage, they felt more like themselves. I have a problem with this. First, their hair probably isn't really blue or pink and that much mascara isn't what I would call "natural" nor are tatooes present at birth. I firmly believe that people are beautiful without hiding behind makeup, body piercings, tatooes and the like. I got the impression from watching these girls that each of them were unconsciously screaming "Look at me!". Believe me, I would have looked at you anyway without the all of vibrant colors and studs in your face. You were beautiful before that. But then again, perhaps I am just getting older.
I watched the Showtime special tonight about the Suicide Girls first tour and I am feeling mildly conflicted about what I saw. The film was part interviews, part burlesque, part Girls Gone Wild and part music video. Several girls were interviewed, shown interacting with other Suicide Girls and then performing on stage in front of a crowd. I have been a fan of Suicide Girls since I first saw the debut film on Showtime introducing who and what they were about last year. Since then, it has become a globe-trotting burlesque show and now many disaffected young girls dream of becoming an SG. I have always had a weakness for goth chicks and I thought that this film would be an entertaining look at some of the women who have earned the title of SG. However, while I was watching the film, I had mixed feelings about all of it.
Yes, I know that SG is about art and entertainment and, ordinarily, I would recuse myself from any comment about such things but I was disturbed by several things. Mostly, some girls talked about how good it felt to be "around other people like them" and I found that disturbing. First of all, I thought SG was about individuality and uniqueness. I got the impression from the film that everyone was trying to be so very unique that they were becoming LIKE each other. I have seen this happen before inside a local corner bar that I frequent, but it became clear to me that this film showed the Suicide Girls as a group and a club. Yes, they all look different, but I was drawn to the fact that they were still, despite their non-comformist attitudes, conforming to a group. I could easily see how much they wanted to have a sense of belonging and they were finding it in SG and in the comradery of the other girls.
Several girls commented that when they were performing on stage, they felt more like themselves. I have a problem with this. First, their hair probably isn't really blue or pink and that much mascara isn't what I would call "natural" nor are tatooes present at birth. I firmly believe that people are beautiful without hiding behind makeup, body piercings, tatooes and the like. I got the impression from watching these girls that each of them were unconsciously screaming "Look at me!". Believe me, I would have looked at you anyway without the all of vibrant colors and studs in your face. You were beautiful before that. But then again, perhaps I am just getting older.
posted by Hugh Redmon at 6:47 AM
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