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Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'
The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by
6 reviews
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
1.5
In an early chapter, O'Meara mentions angrily that some people were dubious that Milicent Patrick's life story could "fill an entire book." In setting out to disprove that, she unfortunately seems to have done the opposite, since the bulk of this book doesn't really feel like it's about Milicent Patrick at all.
Instead, we're treated to lengthy paragraphs about supporting members of Milicent's life -- do we really need that much backstory on William Randolph Hearst (whom O'Meara assumes readers won't know of aside from as the inspiration for Citizen Kane, which feels strange to me) to understand his wife's friendship with young Milicent? -- and O'Meara's own experiences, including many not related to her search for information. The former could have been heavily cut down to the relevant details, and the latter could have been interesting... as an introduction and/or afterword, rather than dispersed throughout the book. Quips and subjective interpretations overwhelm the actual facts, making it difficult to tell what can be gleaned from the records and what comes down to O'Meara's thoughts (and projection).
There's also quite a bit of repetition (so many sentences start with "Remember"), particularly regarding bigotry and abuse. Like, I guarantee you just about anyone interested in this book understands sexism is bad and was rampant in the 1950s. Any sense of intersectionality toward that, additionally, comes across as lip service; the seeming implication that a non-feminine woman would be more easily accepted into spaces dominated by cishet white men than a glamorous woman in "sparkling pumps" particularly rankled. Maybe I'm oversensitive as a butch lesbian who hates that kind of take, but your personal relationship with dressing up/makeup does not magically erase the standards of conventional femininity women (especially marginalized women) are forced to uphold.
O'Meara does note that Milicent's race, gender/sexuality, appearance (which she comments positively upon in the same breath she criticizes others for focusing on), and social status enabled her opportunities other women didn't and still don't get -- but fails to really delve into that. If the main point really was to simply describe Milicent Patrick's life and work, that would have been fine, but if there's room for everything else I've mentioned... why not add another layer of social commentary?
A Portuguese man is also described in passing as a person of color? I admittedly haven't seen The Creature from the Black Lagoon yet, so maybe his character there is Indigenous, but odd either way.
All that contributes to a sense of complete disorganization, to the level that I genuinely questioned if anyone had edited/proofed this multiple times. There is some interesting information about Milicent Patrick's life in here, but I do feel I could have learned the same from a more concise, focused article. In short, a super interesting premise and person overrun by tangents and an obnoxiously quirky narrative voice.
Instead, we're treated to lengthy paragraphs about supporting members of Milicent's life -- do we really need that much backstory on William Randolph Hearst (whom O'Meara assumes readers won't know of aside from as the inspiration for Citizen Kane, which feels strange to me) to understand his wife's friendship with young Milicent? -- and O'Meara's own experiences, including many not related to her search for information. The former could have been heavily cut down to the relevant details, and the latter could have been interesting... as an introduction and/or afterword, rather than dispersed throughout the book. Quips and subjective interpretations overwhelm the actual facts, making it difficult to tell what can be gleaned from the records and what comes down to O'Meara's thoughts (and projection).
There's also quite a bit of repetition (so many sentences start with "Remember"), particularly regarding bigotry and abuse. Like, I guarantee you just about anyone interested in this book understands sexism is bad and was rampant in the 1950s. Any sense of intersectionality toward that, additionally, comes across as lip service; the seeming implication that a non-feminine woman would be more easily accepted into spaces dominated by cishet white men than a glamorous woman in "sparkling pumps" particularly rankled. Maybe I'm oversensitive as a butch lesbian who hates that kind of take, but your personal relationship with dressing up/makeup does not magically erase the standards of conventional femininity women (especially marginalized women) are forced to uphold.
O'Meara does note that Milicent's race, gender/sexuality, appearance (which she comments positively upon in the same breath she criticizes others for focusing on), and social status enabled her opportunities other women didn't and still don't get -- but fails to really delve into that. If the main point really was to simply describe Milicent Patrick's life and work, that would have been fine, but if there's room for everything else I've mentioned... why not add another layer of social commentary?
A Portuguese man is also described in passing as a person of color? I admittedly haven't seen The Creature from the Black Lagoon yet, so maybe his character there is Indigenous, but odd either way.
All that contributes to a sense of complete disorganization, to the level that I genuinely questioned if anyone had edited/proofed this multiple times. There is some interesting information about Milicent Patrick's life in here, but I do feel I could have learned the same from a more concise, focused article. In short, a super interesting premise and person overrun by tangents and an obnoxiously quirky narrative voice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Chronic illness and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, and Infertility
danimacuk's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide, Cursing, and Terminal illness
Minor: Infertility, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Cancer
bradleygiselle's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Upon reread I love this even more! O'Meara is hilarious and so engaging. I devoured the whole book and instantly grabbed her next book Girly Drinks: A Women's History of Drinking even though I don't drink because she's just such a pleasure to read!
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Body shaming, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
laura_crowther's review against another edition
Really enjoyed biographical content relating to Milicent, but the autobiographic anecdotes and commentary on modern Hollywood could have used more editing. The quality of writing between the two varied widely and it was really distracting. I wanted to push through but just couldn’t.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
itsemlyyn's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
snaxolotl's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.5
What I thought I was getting:
A focused telling of Milicent Patrick's life, zeroing in on her work in Hollywood on monster movies. An homage to Patrick and new things to say about the treatment of women in Hollywood.
What I got:
A lot of the author talking about herself, her research journey, her obsession with Patrick, a LOT about the men in Patrick's life (you'll read more about her father and the William Hearst before you hear much about Milicent), and some interesting and never-before-told information about Milicent Patrick.
I want people to read this book because Milicent Patrick was walking, talking glamor and skill who smashed glass ceilings with poise and a dazzling smile. She deserved better in life and in this book. She deserved an author who would let her shine on her own instead of fangirling over her.
I had a lot of problems with the technical skill in the writing and how unsuited the author is to telling a biography, but it is a recognizable, researched book so I won't dive into that here. I'm glad I read this because it does include information that you won't find anywhere else on Milicent Patrick and it was a delight to learn more about her.
Content warning: Note that this book does discuss sexism and sexual harassment quite a lot but there are no on-page depictions of sexual assault.
A focused telling of Milicent Patrick's life, zeroing in on her work in Hollywood on monster movies. An homage to Patrick and new things to say about the treatment of women in Hollywood.
What I got:
A lot of the author talking about herself, her research journey, her obsession with Patrick, a LOT about the men in Patrick's life (you'll read more about her father and the William Hearst before you hear much about Milicent), and some interesting and never-before-told information about Milicent Patrick.
I want people to read this book because Milicent Patrick was walking, talking glamor and skill who smashed glass ceilings with poise and a dazzling smile. She deserved better in life and in this book. She deserved an author who would let her shine on her own instead of fangirling over her.
I had a lot of problems with the technical skill in the writing and how unsuited the author is to telling a biography, but it is a recognizable, researched book so I won't dive into that here. I'm glad I read this because it does include information that you won't find anywhere else on Milicent Patrick and it was a delight to learn more about her.
Content warning: Note that this book does discuss sexism and sexual harassment quite a lot but there are no on-page depictions of sexual assault.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism and Sexual harassment
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