preview

Carmen Jones And Carmen: A Hip Hopera

Decent Essays
Open Document

The film was praised and criticized in a similar manner to that of Carmen Jones for its racial representations of black men and women through character portrayals and its fashion choices. The viewer’s first glimpse of Carmen is Knowles-Carter dressed in a red-form fitting sweetheart neckline gown with a high slit at the hem and red rose pinned at her ear (fig. 24). She wears simple gold earrings with smoky makeup and bright red lips. Her body moves seductively and persuasively as all the men in the club’s eyes are drawn to her. This scene is a divergence from the 1954 film but appeals to the pin-up aesthetic popularized during the 50s in way modern viewers can receive it. Beyoncé as a performer is seen as a sex symbol and embodiment of female portrayal. She is in contrast to Dandridge who didn’t want to be defined by her looks. Beyoncé’s image as a fashion and music icon is often hyper sexualized to which Beyoncé capitalizes upon by embracing her sexuality. …show more content…

Like Carmen Jones and the variations that follow, Carmen: A Hip Hopera adheres to a similar stylization in regards to fashion and the time period being portrayed. Other fashion choices in the film appeal to early twentieth –century pop culture and fashion trends of the “urban male” through prominent placement of rapper clothing brands and sneakers (fig.25). Carmen Brown clothing sticks to a similar color palette of red and black portrayed in the original play and in Carmen Jones . Various references can be seen throughout the film to the original play evident in a scene when Carmen attempts to seduce Hill and she is shown scantily clad in a red and

Get Access