The Show Must Go On

Marina Della Giusta (1) , Laura Scuriatti (2)

1 Henley Business School [University of Reading]
2 European College of Liberal Arts

This article presents an interdisciplinary analysis of the glamorization of the courtesan image as proposed by Baz Luhrmann's film . The film sparked the appearance of high-street fashion inspired by the image of the 19th-century Parisian courtesan, which prompted the authors to examine how and why such images might appeal to female consumers. The critical analysis reaches beyond the images themselves to identify and discuss the modes of circulation of such images, and their function in achieving both the material ends of capitalism (ever-increasing consumption and production) and the promotion of one of the system's core values (patriarchy). Moreover, the article hopes to illustrate the possibilities offered by integrating cultural and structural analyses of current social phenomena.

Mots clés: advertising; commodification; consumerism; fashion industry; feminism; film; prostitution (images of); subversion

Marina Della Giusta, Laura Scuriatti. The Show Must Go On. European Journal of Women's Studies, 2005, 12 (1), pp.31-44. ⟨10.1177/1350506805048854⟩. ⟨hal-00571233⟩